Sparkly Shoes

Posted by Marci on Dec 2, 2010 in | 0 comments

I’ve always been a tomboy. Each year I would buy a few cheap pairs of shoes and wear them until they’d stretched beyond a normal shape. It wasn’t uncommon for me to be dressed up for an event and later find myself walking in the woods in heels. I felt I was too hard on my shoes to spend any kind of money on footwear.

When I wrote my novel, I created a fashionable character and I was forced to do a crash course in style. I spent hours watching Sex in The City, looking at magazines, and shopping. During this time I began to appreciate the artistry of shoes; All the different colors and styles created to dress the feet and show off the leg. When I went to Vegas I tried on my first pair of Manolo Blahniks, a pair of silver heels with rhinestones, and I fell in love. Footwear had never felt as supportive nor looked as beautiful. I felt like Cinderella dressed up for the ball and I didn’t want to return the shoes. Then I looked at the price tag of $900. It was more than my hotel for the week.

When I made my list of dreams, I told myself that nothing was off limits. The thought of the silver shoes flashed through my mind, but I still couldn’t imagine spending a large sum of money on footwear.

Six months later, I walked into a consignment store and saw the most beautiful pair of heels I’d ever seen. The Swarovski crystals draped in sparkles. The Rene Caovilla shoes had never been worn and they fit like they had been customized for my foot. They had a retail of over a thousand dollars, but since it was a consignment shop they cost a few hundred.

Every time I wear my sparkle shoes I feel like a princess. To me they’re more beautiful than the pair I originally desired. They remind me that I don’t have to confine my dreams to practicality and when I wish for something, many times when I receive it, the wish will be better than I  imagined.