The Shoe Thing

I’d like to say something about shoes and aging. 

As though aging and trying to maintain some sense of fashion isn’t awkward enough, here come the six-inch-plus platform shoes.  I observe in wonder Kate Middleton’s beige patent pumps, magazine and TV ads and shoe store displays. How can anyone possibly walk in those without risking unexpected injury?!  Most everyone my age with whom I share secrets admits to a bad back, bad neck, sciatica and arthritis, among other bodily assaults. If we have any brain cells left, we know by our 60s that we have to take care of whatever we have left—like our feet.  So where does this leave us? 

I can answer that.

As a young woman, I wore ill-fitting shoes with pointy toes.  As a young adult, I graduated to too-tight boots that I bought on sale. They looked great. As a middle-aged woman, I ended up with a thing I’d never heard of called Morton’s neuroma–nerve damage in my right foot (and I’m not going to even mention the bunion). I could no longer wear pointy toes or tight boots, as the pain was unbearable. As I got older, I got smarter, but as I try to stay in the game in my sixties, the most I can manage is occasional two-inch heels. Unfortunately, that is not fashionable. 

My husband’s daughter was recently visiting us. She is tall and slender and a fashionista.  We were going out to dinner. She showed up looking dewy and beautiful at forty-two years old, wearing six-inch platform heels. They complemented her outfit and the overall effect was stunning.  But that left me, at 5’4”, with two-inch Cuban-heeled sandals. They were all I could possibly walk two feet in.  Standing next to her, at 5’7”, with the addition of her six-inch platforms, I had the look of the shrunken old crone.

 Oh, well, she’s young.  As for me, I reassured myself that, most importantly, I always land on my feet.  I just hope they’re not in some old-lady sandals. I’m looking for the new chic for my age.  I can’t give up.