I never owned more than one pair of shoes and one pair of flip-flops at a time when I was a child. The shoes would be worn to school and the flip-flops to everywhere else. We usually would get a new pair of shoes only during Christmas or when the school year started. Some of the school shoes I had were hand me downs from cousins. I remember wearing those shoes out until there were holes on their soles and then still keep using them because there was no money to buy a new pair. I used to stuff them with folded newspaper to keep the ground's dirt or rain water from getting to my feet.
It was an embarrassment, especially when I became a teenager. We know at that age, it was all about impressing people and avoiding becoming a social pariah and a laughingstock. Besides, I was an honor student, a high achieving popular figure in my school. I was surrounded by my rich and famous school friends. I didn't want them to know and discover my impoverished circumstances. I would always hide the bottom of my shoes so no one would see the holes. I avoided any situation that would cause me to lift my feet up. I adjusted my stride to ensure my feet hardly left the ground. Looking back, I don't know how successful my attempts were. Maybe my classmates knew. If they did, they never let on. Maybe they didn't care but for me it was a big deal.
I lived with my aunt in my teenage years. She had several pairs of shoes for different purposes...formal wear (with heels), sneakers (sporty), and varied colors to match her outfits. However, her feet were about a size or two smaller than mine. There were a couple of times when there were important occasions like church dances or school activities that I didn't want to miss that I "borrowed" her shoes despite the discomfort and eventual pains they would cost me later. At that time, they were worth it. Well, that probably would explain why my feet are not the best-looking ones you would ever see. They were battered from all that abuse.
Comfort or fashion sense were never factors in the shoes I wore then. It was all about what my parents could afford or what our well-intentioned benefactors chose to give away. Oh, how well I remember the blisters! And when the shoes were bigger than my feet, I remember stuffing them with paper to make them fit and to avoid them slipping off my feet while walking. I cringe now when I look back and imagine how horrid I must have looked with the clashing colors of my different clothes and only pair of shoes. At least, I remember now, that whatever footwear I had then were always neutral in color. It was only either black, white or brown. Oh, and don't let me forget...I never owned a pair of sneakers until I got here in the USA in my mid-twenties.
When I finished college and became employed, that's when I declared freedom from footwear bondage. Not by much, but enough to at least consider comfort, style and fashion in addition to cost. I no longer had to endure wearing holey shoes, or suffer through blisters or clashing colors, unless I want to.
So, with that in mind, does it come as any surprise at all that I indulge in shoes now? Not that I could come close to the imeldific collection that other women may have but enough to have several choices when I look in my closet.
Hmmm, what would I wear today? Stillettos (red, blue, black, print, etc), boots (formal, heeled, fur lined, mid-calf, knee high, etc) sneakers (puma, adidas, nike), pumps, wedges, open toed, flip-flops, crocs, etc, etc... Ahhh, I have nothing to match my clothes! I better go shopping!! ;-)
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