During weekends, my Mom and some of my siblings would cram into our light blue Ford Escort and be driven by the family driver to my dad's office. There, we'd wait until after office hours, so that our Dad would be free then to take us to the department store or shopping center. They weren't referred to as malls then, except maybe for for Ali Mall.
I especially liked it when we'd shop for dresses and shoes at Rustan's or the first Cinderella store in QC. It was located then near Farmer's Plaza. In Luth Garda's shop in Farmer's Plaza, we'd stare at the one of a kind, hand-painted, frilly satin and lace dresses, but found them too frou-frou for Sunday mass garb.
If I didn't like the styles in the previous stores, we'd skip over to SM Cubao or scour the shops in Marikina Shoe Expo.
My Mom usually bought me a dress in blue, then buy another with a similar design for my younger sister in pink. So in my younger years, I was programmed to consider blue as my favorite.
We'd find a pair of shoes to go with the new frocks. My Mom usually chose either pastel colored patent maryjanes or black leather maryjanes for me. I loved choosing colorful socks with lace or pompoms in the ankles. I remember having a pair of ruby red clogs with ankle straps. I wore it with just about anything. I had a picture taken while wearing it, and I was in a floor length bottle green and orange striped, spaghetti-strapped gown. I also had a pair of cream sandals made of faux fur, I also have a photo in that pair of sandals. I was wearing a navy blue and red polka-dotted jumper with cherry embroidery in the bodice, and my Mom's evening bag made of pearls was slung across my shoulders.
My Dad used to ask me to bring my pairs of shoes to him so he could shine them while he did his.For school shoes, I had a hard time finding a pair that was comfy and sturdy. I usually chose Otto shoes or Gregg shoes. They lasted for years but my feet grew big fast so we had to buy new ones even though they were still serviceable.
I also remember my first pair of Nike rubber shoes. It was blue and the swoosh was white. Then in my second grade, when Power Rangers was all the rage, I asked my Dad to buy me a pair. When I went up the stage to be pinned for being an honor pupil, five of my friends had the same style of sneakers. When I outgrew it, I bought a pair of Adidas with the thick soles. It was the 'in ' thing to have when I was in sixth grade. I would have bought the red one but the store I bought it from didn't have one in stock so I settled for light blue, which was high maintenance.
It was so durable, I was still able to wear it to my PE classes while I was in college in UP.
In the 80's I mimicked Madonna's fashion. I wore spikes on my hair, with aquanet hairspray to keep it in shape and dabbed on Nenuco cologne. I had lace gloves, jackets or tops with shoulder pads, neon spandex leggings, patterned stocking and velvet boots.Who cared if it were hot, as long as we were trendy, it didn't matter if we sweated buckets. We had house parties, with rented sound system, mirror balls and pot luck food. Eat Bulaga had contests promoting the latest dance craze and the hippest British band's new albums. One was considered cool if you were one of the first to see the newest videos on vh1 and mtv. Cooler still if you could watch Cyndi Lauper, Vanilla Ice, Fra Lippo Lippi, Tiffany, Bon Jovi and other artists perform live in Araneta or Ultra.
I had to have a pair of 50's looking Bla-Blas, and Penny Loafers in cordovan leather, worn without socks, of course.
I was envious of my fellow students and prayer group members (the fashionable Corinthians) who had Tretorns in every color, but instead of joining the Trets band wagon I purchased a pair of leather K-Swiss tennis shoes, which I regretted the moment I took it home. The five-striped style made my feet bigger than they actually were. I wished I'd have bought Trets after all.
After the EDSA Revolution and when Malacanang was taken over by the new administration, when former First Lady Imelda Marcos was found to have left more than two-thousand pairs of shoes, my sisters , Mom and I didn't find anything wrong or shocking about the discovery.
We understood. We loved shoes. We were passionate about all kinds of footwear. And we followed the axiom, if the shoe fits, buy it. Of course, one should also be able to afford it.But with hundreds of brands and styles to choose from, one need not break the bank and grab other people's money to support a fetish for shoes.
So when I started working, on payday, I hied off to the nearest mall or boutique to add to my shoe collection.
I especially like the styles in Janilyn, Charles & Keith, VNC, Alberto, Celine, Nine West, Steve Madden, BCBG.
If I find the prices too steep in the designer boutiques in metro malls, I'd check online stores.
I still can't afford the really chichi brands but I really don't care that much now about the label, sometimes, it's all about the design.
Sometimes they were not just pretty, one could actually walk in them, other times, I just bought them for the sheer pleasure of appreciating the finely handcrafted materials used or the gracious curve of the heel...or just because i saw my favorite celebrity photographed wearing the same style.
On tv and the big screen, I loved watching Carrie Bradshaw running in her pair of Louboutins or Jimmy Choos. I watched Cameron Diaz' movie In Her Shoes, I loved the shoes but the movie was so-so.
I'm now on my comfort before style phase.
I have two pairs of Crocs Sassari, in celery and white, and pink and white, which I love wearing for malling. My feet never hurt in them.
I also bought two pairs of Laney, Juicy sandals, one in red/blue and white, the other in yellow and white, they have comfy footbeds but my ankles hurt because the rubber material they used for the soles were too heavy for the thong straps. Wear it when you don't intend to walk long distances.
I swear by my Rockport leather slides, you can walk for hours in Mall of Asia without getting any blisters.
My pink Ipanema beach slippers, with embossed hibiscus flowers on the straps, which I bought on sale in Orchard Road in 2007, are still usable. They too are a bit heavy so I only wear them when I don't intend to go far walking on the beach.
The violet pair of Steve Madden rubber platforms I bought online are comfy except the size runs smaller than the standard size 8 US, (like I should have gotten the 8.5 or 9) so for long walks, the thong straps would cut a bit on one's foot, after the foot has swollen.
I was interested in getting a pair of sparkly Fit-flops but it looked better online than when I tried them on. And I need to have at least an inch of heel so my feet won't cramp.
For a time, my favorite was my Kenneth Cole pewter colored thong slides with sparkly beads on the straps. Being a mall rat, I think I overused it and the thongs need to be sewed on tighter to the footbed.
I sometimes let my sister use the shoes and sandals I've grown tired of , and then I'd raid her closet too and get the ones she's not fond of using anymore. That's the beauty of having the same shoe size. So usually when we go shopping, we egg each other on to buy instead of thinking twice of buying the pair of shoes we liked enough to try on, especially when we both like the design, knowing full well we could swap anytime.
But aside from looking out for comfy styles, I am still in the quest for nice looking, vavavoom looking shoes. The more fabulous they are, the better.
Need I say more? I HEART SHOES.
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