February 26, 2008

A Madison Avenue shoe space.

Buying shoes

Buying shoes

Oh, you think I bought the Camper shoes? No, I bought Arche — the only brand of shoe that has the official Althouse seal of approval.

17 comments:

Trooper York said...

Hey is that hd house at the end of the bench checking you out. Cool.

Anonymous said...

Did you ever get those shoes you wrote about a year or so ago which separated each toe? And no, I'm not talking about the yoga toes. :)

Trooper York said...

It does look like you got the blond hair toss thing down though. If you can pick up the black tigh high boots with the stilleto heels,
next stop, Whitesnake video.

Ann Althouse said...

Alan: Yes!

Anonymous said...

I thought you were going to review them? Or did I miss the review? My bet is you never wear them.

Ann Althouse said...

Yeah, I should wear them some time and review them. I'm a busy person.... That's not much of an excuse...

They are just so strange. It would be embarrassing to wear them anywhere.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Nice choice!

My favorite brand for dressy is Sofft.

For work I buy Naturalizer basic plain low heeled pumps. I buy 5 exacttly the same (except for color) pairs twice a year (red, navy, black, brown, grey/putty). I never try them on because I know that they will fit. It takes me about 15 minutes to shop for work. The first time I did that my husband about fainted from surprise.

Anonymous said...

I wasn't thinking of embarrassment. I thought you wouldn't wear them due to comfort. They looked uncomfortable.

If you thought they were comfortable, I'd consider getting a pair. But you'd have to rave about the comfort. :)

Larry Sheldon said...

"Shoe space"?

George M. Spencer said...

Check out the old bald guy in the background....he's definitely been dragged out by his old lady....looks like he's having a dandy time...no doubt he carried the big bag home. The shopping bag, that is.

Peter V. Bella said...

Yeah, but I bet he may be getting laid tonight. Especially if he bought her a lot of shoes. I wonder if his wife is like the prostitute in Catch Twenty Two who beats men over the head with her stillettos?

From Inwood said...

Ann Althouse, meet Sammy Glick!

Beth said...

Thanks, Larry. What's a "shoe space"?

Larry Sheldon said...

I was just on the phone with lawyer-daughter that lives south of Houston and Imelda Marcos's shoes--she would know.

But she was stressed about not having been able to buy cat food for her cats and I dint think of it.

LoafingOaf said...

Do New Yorkers wear anything but black? Oh, wait, the one woman there has a gray top on. The new black.

Sir Archy said...

To Professor Althouse.

Madam,

Among the many Rules delivered for Writing well, none is so easy or just, as that which bids us mingle the Useful with the Pleasant.  'Twould appear but a trifling Waste of Time to divert oneself admiring Shoes, yet there are very many amongst the Fair Sex who consider the Choice of a Shoe with perhaps greater Care than they would the Choice of a Candidate on Election Day.  I am sure that there are many Ladies who will find your Example most Useful; and that there are Persons of both Sexes among the Audience at this your Theatre of Topicks (as I call it), who will also find the polish'd Pictures you have made of the Occasion most Pleasant.  An honest Person must admit in any Event, Madam, that your Shoes are a much more diverting Topick than the Wretches who would be your President.

'Tis another Rule, well-observ'd in this Venue, to make One's Performances short & smart.  I cannot forbear to remark, however, as the Ghost of Someone in his Grave these 250 Years and more, that yet another Thing little chang'd over the Centuries, is certain Ladies' Love of Shoes.  I hope you will not take it amiss, then, if I tell you a little Tale, perhaps neither short nor smart, illustrating this.

I recall Imelda, a young Wife of a Cavalry Officer and Neighbor to my late affianced Wife.  Imelda had been a true Friend & great Help to my poor Fiancée when her first Husband died of the Pox (and so became the young Widow whose Acquaintance 'twas my great Fortune to make).  A more Kindly & Generous Soul you would never meet than Imelda; she was also possessed of those Qualities of her Person that, while not Beauty of the first Rank, would still turn Heads upon Occasion.  Knowing that she was not, perhaps, a great natural Beauty, Imelda sought those little honest Improvements that Ladies may make by the proper Choice of Cloathes & Attention to their Hair, not forgetting some small Dose of Emollients to soften the Appearance & improve the Colour of the Skin & Lips.  For all this, she had nothing about her of the paint'd Harlot, nor did she attempt the pert Gaiety of a Frenchwoman with colour'd Ribands, Flow'rs, &c.  Nay, she cultivated an Air of Tastefulness & Sobriety, rather above her actual Station in Life, giving every Impression of a well-to-do Gentlewoman .

To this End, there were no Lack of Dress-Makers, Milliners, Hair-Dressers and the like, to whom she was wont to pay Custom.  But there was one Establishment where she was habitually to be found, even when her Husband was expected on Leave, even when her Relations, come all the way from Wapping, were to appear at any Moment.  You may guess that it was the Cobbler's Shop.  Some People waste their Time & Fortune with Gamblers & Sharpers; others concerned with their Souls spend many an Hour with Priests; some seek Improvement with Musick-Masters, and still Others with Dancing or Fencing-Masters; so 'twas that Imelda spent every free Moment with Mr. Crispin, Shoe-Maker.

Crispin had made any Number of Lasts upon the Model of her Feet, and found greater Employment than with any other making Shoes & Slippers after the latest Fashions of Paris and our own London Taste for this Lady.  When her Husband return'd from the Wars on half-pay, he found that Mr. Crispin's Bills exceeded his Income for the Year, and that he was forced to draw upon his modest Estate to pay them.  Imelda used to tell, by way of a Jest upon Herself, of the Occasion when she was Ten, when she ran barefoot into the Parlour where a very grave Bishop was paying the Family a Visit, and cried, "Are not my pretty little Feet fine, Sir?"  Her loving Husband finally chided her that, "Your pretty little Feet are bankrupting us, Madam!" and forbade any new Shoes until He had put their Estate in Order.

Here is proclaimed the Folly of an irrational & unwholesome Attachment to one Part of the Female Body that seems to afflict both Sexes.  Certain Ladies love their Shoes too much; and, it must be said, certain Gentlemen love female Feet too much, as well.  The making & selling of a Superfluity of Ladies' Shoes seems to have continued unabated from my Day to This, proving that Foolishness was not, in my Age, our especial Possession.

For my part, while in Life not immune to the Charms of each Feature of the Feminine Form, and glad to have had them well-drest or display'd, as may have been Proper, I took Delight in the Effect of tout l'ensemble, and remember'd that Nature gave us the whole Woman; and that whether she wore a Sabot or a Silk Stocking, She was, and always will remain, more than the Sum of her Parts.

Begging your Pardon for having gone on this Subject for too long, and praying that you will not see Yourself in any of my Anecdotes,

I remain, Madam,

Your most humble & obt. Servant,

Sir Archy

P.S.—I must confess that my Pride almost saw my Name in your Choice of Shoe-Maker, and thus my Attention was drawn to this Topick.

. said...

man, womens' shoes are ugly