“If the shoe fits… buy it in every color!”




sperrytopsider.com

Let me just start off this post by saying that I really do enjoy shoes. Pretty much all women do. Actually, scratch that, I prefer to be barefoot. But, there are some establishments and social obligations that require shoes. Then, when I must wear shoes, I actually quite like them.

Once I find a brand of shoe I like, I tend to stick with them for quite a while. My mom’s closet is full of different brands, heel heights, materials, prints, patterns. My closet has tried and true brands (like Tory Burch, Vera Wang Lavender and Sperry), consists of flats, 2.5-3 inch heels and flips flops, all in pink, navy, gold or black. Why am I telling you about my shoe collection? There was one particular shoe that I did not have, yet constantly wishing it was part of my closet, especially as summer crept closer and closer.

I had been thinking about these shoes for basically the last 4 months. “You silly goose!” you are probably saying. “Why don’t you just buy them?” you ask me. Splendid question, darling. When I decide to make a purchase like this one, I do my research. I pull all the information I can find, I stalk observe people’s shoes when they walk down the street, I ask myself, “Would I want to be associated with this shoe?”

These shoes had been sort of teasing me, especially the weeks leading up to the eventual purchase. Wherever I looked, someone had these shoes. Wherever I turned, someone was strolling through the quad wearing them.  It was like all I could see was soft cream colored leather, white ribbing on the bottom and the same milky laces tying the shoes together. You could say I was a little obsessed. Only slightly…

Finally, Memorial Day Weekend came. It was now or never. I marched into the Sperry store, asked for the white leather classic boat shoe and popped it on my foot. As is the custom when someone is trying on shoes, it is only right to march around the store in them. You know, just to make sure they really fit.


sperrytopsider.com

Well, there I was, prancing around the Sperry store in the “ice” leather, when I spotted them. Exactly like the ones I had on my foot with one tiny little difference. While the ones I had on my feet felt like a stifling leather sock, the bright white ones seemed like a shining beacon of hope (and breathable canvas). Instead of a dull, muted white, these were a fun, exciting, bright, light, happy white! I could imagine myself hoisting the rigging on a sailboat with these. I could see myself skipping along PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) with an Arnold Palmer in my hand, living the life of a carefree teenager, basking in the sunshine. The white leather ones suddenly seemed like a stamp of conformity. As a prepster living among surfers and hipsters, I have never been one to cave into conformity, especially when it came to dressing myself. Would these symbolize my complete retreat into a society of beach babes and surfer dudes?

I put on the white canvas boat shoes, the last pair in the store and conveniently in my size.  They so happened to fit perfectly. If they hadn’t fit, or weren’t in my size, I could have easily said, “oh, I am supposed to get the leather ones. It’s meant to be!” Apparently, that wasn’t in the cards for me that day.

Then, the real question became could I let go of this dream? I had wanted these “ice” (the legitimate color of the shoe, as opposed to just white) leather Sperry’s for literally 5 months. I had spent hours babysitting, dividing my wages between my savings account and my Sperry fund. Every time I saw someone wearing these shoes, I felt a little pang of despair that I didn’t have them, but a glimmer of hope because I knew I would soon be the proud owner of some ice leather Sperry’s.

As a side note, let me just say that most people go in to buy some shoes. I go into a store knowing exactly what I want, then if I decide to deviate from my original plan, I start asking myself questions about conformity, letting go of dreams, who I am as a person, etc. Yet I still laugh when people say I am high matinence when it comes to shopping…

Anyway, it came down to one thing: canvas or leather? Leather is classic, canvas is contemporary. Leather is quality, canvas is casual. Leather makes your feet sweat, canvas keeps them cool and dry. Leather suffocates your foot, canvas lets it breathe. Leather is for work, canvas is for play. Leather is for winter, canvas is for summer.

There it was! The revelation! Canvas in the summer, leather in the winter! The fanciest shoes I wear in the summertime are flip flops anyways. Realistically I would never even wear the leather ones till fall. The canvas was perfect; it was dressed up but still casual. It was bright white, so it matched all of my outfits, it went with my summer accessories, and looked fab with Lilly Pulitzer shorts, and accented my new white nautical belt and white sunglasses. They were PERFECT.

A few minutes later, I strolled out of the Sperry store, the gold flats I had worn into the store conveniently tucked away in the shopping bag, and my new white canvas Sperry’s on my feet. I’ve already planned tons of outfits to wear with them, and I think I’ll officially debut when I go sailing with a special someone this Saturday. Nothing says “I’m a very experienced sailor,” and “these are the latest “it” shoe” and “hello summer!” quite like white canvas Sperry’s.

sperrytopsider.com

Oh, and did I mention they are the new unofficial shoe for summer? Sailing, sun and summer, here I come!