ALL OF MY SHOES ARE WRONG.
So I bought a pair of men’s pants, washed them, and I'm in love. Now they definitely need to be hemmed, and I can definitely do that. I have my trusty sewing machine that I got at Walmart for $60 and it works great. My husband and I even made lined, floor-length curtains for our bedroom with this little machine. I’m not a great seamstress, as in squares and hems are my entire repertoire. But the pants, no problem. But I soon realized something— I have no idea how long the legs should be . And that is because ALL OF MY SHOES ARE WRONG. As you might remember, I own 11 pairs of shoes. And yet, there is not a single pair that will work with men’s pants. When I used to wear them, I always had combat boots or else men’s steel-toe construction boots to wear with them. Once, I had an all-black leather pair, and then the classic Timberland sueded tan leather style. The way the long pants broke at the top of the boot was absolutely essential to the look. And I have nothing like them in my current wardrobe. Let’s take inventory: five pairs of heels which I never wear. A couple of pairs might work, but that’d be for dressing up only. Next: Superga slip-ons. These might be ok, but if they’re long enough for the “break,” they’d just get stepped on in the back. My tall Sorel boots have a wedge heel, and with the pants going over the boot, it just doesn’t have the look I’m going for. Tuck them into the boot and what’s the point? The same goes for my snow boots. My ankle boots are completely flat, so no break, plus the stepping on the back hem. And my brown hobbit shoes are just all wrong in their very existence, never mind their status as part of my shoe collection. The main problem with all of my shoes seems to be that they’re not heavy enough, not substantial enough, not grounded enough. Part of the look of the men’s pants for me is a substantial, thick-soled work boot to go with them. I suppose another option would be the white Adidas thick-soled sneakers that I bought the other day. But I’ve tested them out on the treadmill twice now, and have gotten cramps in the sides of my feet walking at a speed of 3.0 and an incline of 4 for 20 minutes. I’m pleasantly surprised that they don’t hurt my bunions at all, so I am tempted to keep them. But the fact that they’re not leather is another hesitation that I have. I worry that they won’t have the longevity of a leather pair. In the past, I might have said, “well, for $34.99, it’s fine,” but I am consciously trying to change this mentality. Investing more in a pair that lasts much longer is more environmentally agreeable, and leather has the added bonus of stretching and conforming to your foot. (On a side note, veganism is clearly not for me.) But the fit of the Adidas shoes is surprisingly good, so I think I’ll investigate their real-leather options. I wonder what kind of results I’d get giving my other shoes the intensive treadmill test. Am I setting the bar too high for comfort? I imagine walking miles around Berlin in these shoes (my husband is scouting the city this week with an eye on us staying there for a month— he’s walking pretty far every day). I think I’ll hold out for leather. A pair of sneakers that you can’t walk a mile in without pain seems pretty silly. Yet they are fashion shoes, not running shoes. I could definitely rationalize the purchase.
But I’ve digressed far enough. While thick-soled white sneakers could definitely work with men’s pants, they are still not as ideal as a pair of work boots. And when I owned work boots, I wore them completely out. There was also a random pair of Victoria’s Secret (of all places) chunky-heeled lace up boots in brown leather that I wore to death. I remember saying, as I got rid of them, “I’ll get another pair like this,” but I never did. I think it’s high time I did. As for the rest of my shoes, they are all on parole. My whole wardrobe is being called into question since the pants epiphany, and I’m not quite sure where this will all go.