New2NY: Shoes! Shoes! Shoes!

I grew up in awe of the number of pairs both my mom and my Nana amassed. I’ve always known the difference between patent leather and suede, pump and wedge, peep-toe and sandal. I watched Sex and the City. I always thought I understood the shoe thing.

Until last week.

When I started working, I had to put the Puma’s and flip-flops aside for more professional looking footwear. I already owned a couple pairs of “nicer” looking shoes - a solid black, solid brown and a couple in betweens. Even though none of my shoes were too high-heeled, the bit of extra height became cumbersome to me and I would find myself packing my flimsy little ballet flats in my bag to wear in case blisters decided to pay me a visit.

I’m on a limited budget, so the thought of spending hundreds of dollars on shoes gives me nightmares. Although, the thought of spending thousands of dollars on bunion surgery in 20 years also gives me the creeps.

So I came to the conclusion which my great grandma had always preached to my dad when he was young: Be frugal, but never skimp on doctors, dentists and shoes. The doctors and dentists thing makes sense, but I used to thing the shoes thing was more for vanity.

If you never walk, you buy shoes for pure aesthetic reasons. If you are carried everywhere, whisked around in a limousine, lifted into a piggy-back or if you by chance have wings (although that would be a whole other medical problem), you need comfortable shoes.

I moved to New York because I love walking and I hate driving. Southern California traffic raised me to loathe gasoline, abhor stoplights and fear parallel parking. I’m not ashamed to admit any of this and I’m sure I will most likely own a car someday when I live somewhere else, but right now I’m content. The trade off with this agreement is that I must walk or ride the Subway everywhere. By now I’m sure you’re familiar with my Subway exploits, but I’ve done my fair share of walking as well. Just this past weekend I walked back and forth across Central Park, from my apartment on 94th down to 50th and then back up to 58th.

So I decided to give in. With the financial support of my generous Nana (yes, the same one with at least 300 pairs of shoes, I counted once), I purchased a new pair of brown Bandolino boots. Chocolate brown, buttery soft leather, they are practically heaven for my feet, and the low heel allows them to be classy but comfortable. I also indulged in a pair of black, patent-leather, Franco Sarto pumps (they were on sale!) which are like paradise for my feet. Super shiny, even my boss commented (that’s saying a lot).

I do get the shoe thing, finally. Now I own heaven and paradise, and unless you fantasize about bunion surgery, I’d suggest you do the same.

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