Walking Art: Shoes!

My first Theme Thursday was shoes so I was a little stumped this week. I certainly don't want to reuse my old theme but if you want to you can see it here. You'll see ten photos of my favorite pairs of shoes. To keep with the theme of favorite pairs of shoes I have two new pairs that I've recently purchased.

I absolutely love heels. I'm vain and I'm short (5'2") and these make me tall, leggy, and sexy. I love wearing this pair with white chinos, a royal blue knee length dress, and with a black or gray pair of slacks for a pop of color.

Now these are my second pair of walking pieces of art. With no arch support these shoes are a little hard to wear but look fabulous with a pair of jeans or a beautiful summer skirt.

Shoes have the power to transform people. They can make us feel pretty or sexy, comfy and cozy, professional, casual, athletic, grungy, convenient or laid back. Like clothing shoes can make fantasies come true. Children often believe their shoes are a gateway to fulfilling their dreams.

Whenever my mother took us shopping for new shoes my brother would run towards the sneakers. He looked at the coolest and fastest looking shoes he could find. He would put on the first pair and run up and down the aisle claiming that each subsequent cooler looking pair is making him run faster and faster. My sister on the other hand would try on anything sparkly pink and pretty. She'd slowly walk down the aisle on her toes gazing with her big dark brown eyes over the little girls shoes. Humming to herself prancing around in her shoes she would get lost in her own head. Was she pretending to be a princess? A ballerina? Both? I still don't know to this day.

I secretly liked looking at the heels. Little girls don't wear heels but some shoes do have a small block which in the mind of a little girl are heels. I was always fascinated with the click-clack that womens' heels made as they walked up and down the malls, church, the kitchen during parties. I could not wait to grow up and wear real heels.

As adults we still transform ourselves with shoes. Women stand taller and strut when they wear heels and a nice outfit. Men, too, stand taller in their nice dress shoes, or as my baby brother once put it, "old man shoes." (Don't you just love how children think?) Walk into a dance studio and you'll see the pep and swivel in the dancers steps. Ballet dancers stand gracefully as they sharply point their toes in their slippers. Athletes, such as runners, lace up their shoes with a sense of pride knowing they're doing something healthy and good for their bodies. Cockyness come out in some runners too as they begin to chase and race each other proving to themselves and everyone around how fast they are. (That one's for you Jesi.)

Learning how to walk and dance in heels is a great feat and an art form in itself. Just watch an episode of Dancing with the Stars or watch a runway fashion show to see for yourself. I'm sure you have already. Go ahead and give it a go and see how hard it is to pull off while looking steady and graceful. (I miss dancing and really need to go back to ballet.)

Funny, I've taken my both my brother's dreams of running fast, my sister's ballet dream, and my fascination with heels and made them come true for myself. Donning on a pair of dancing shoes transforms me into a dancer, my running shoes into a runner, and my heels into a grown woman click-clacking and strutting away.