Have you ever been told by an older person such you mother, father ,grandfather, grandmother how in their day, they only had one pair of shoes which had multiple purposes? One pair of black regulation school Bata Toughees which were worn Monday to Friday to and from school. These were taken off the moment one returned home from school, thoroughly polished with black Kiwi nugget and left under the bed while you go play barefoot in the street, inevitably with tens of other barefoot children who just completed a similar ritual at around 3pm that very afternoon. Those black Bata Toughees were once again brought out on Sunday morning, to be worn to church along with the appropriate bobby socks, hat and handbag for girls and black shorts, white shirt and tie for boys. By the time I was young, things had changed slightly. I went to a school that had brown shoes and it was the 90's. Children ceased to be children and were now Kids. I had one pair of sandals for summer, one pair of pleather takkies for winter and school shoes. I once attended a wedding wearing a pair of Addis skate shoes circ 1997.
I rewatched Powell & Pressburger's The Red Shoes (1948) recently and began to think about the way people view their shoes; from Kurt Cobain's All Stars and Carry Bradshaw's Manolo Blahniks to Vincent Gallo's red ankle boots in Buffallo 66, it is amazing that what we use to protect our feet have become a symbol of rebellion, wealth, luxury and individuality. I think Cobain's Converse All Stars were a sort of inspiration for me, I always wanted a pair, and then I finally got them. I wore them for three years non stop until the side was ripped by a nail. But alas I had a few adventures in them; I wore them my first day of film school. I was late (as usual) and had to run from Observatory station to campus in them. When I finally arrived I took the first available seat, when I looked behind me I saw someone who I thought I knew, but it turned out I didn't. He turned out to have quiet an impact on my life during that time. He also wore the same Converse takkies, but in a faded black. I once wrote him a note and hid it in his shoe.
I think this is one reason why I wear the same shoes over and over until they break, I get too attached to them and cant let them go. I agonised over buying a pair of winter boots at Edgars last month. I didn't know if they were too expensive (R150 is not expensive), they weren't even real leather (I am used to pleather y'know), they are ankle boots ( I have three pairs of knee highs already) so they fit the criteria for buying a new item of clothing- 1) inexpensive, 2) I don't already own a similar pair, 3) CHEAP, 4) I haven't bought myself a new pair of shoes in three years. I even called my mother so that she could offer me some advice as to whether it was worth it to buy the boots, instead she offered to pay for them herself, I had to decline as I have a job, so it's not really about paying for the boots. It's about me being cheap and suffering from latent Calvinistic impulses - fear that spending money on something I actually needed was going to send me to hell and the poor house. At this point I needed to lay down. I couldn't because by 6pm the floor at Edgars isn't the most hygienic place for one to lay ones head. I eventually just bought the friggen boots. That was over a month ago, I have yet to wear them, I don't have anything that goes with them.
I rewatched Powell & Pressburger's The Red Shoes (1948) recently and began to think about the way people view their shoes; from Kurt Cobain's All Stars and Carry Bradshaw's Manolo Blahniks to Vincent Gallo's red ankle boots in Buffallo 66, it is amazing that what we use to protect our feet have become a symbol of rebellion, wealth, luxury and individuality. I think Cobain's Converse All Stars were a sort of inspiration for me, I always wanted a pair, and then I finally got them. I wore them for three years non stop until the side was ripped by a nail. But alas I had a few adventures in them; I wore them my first day of film school. I was late (as usual) and had to run from Observatory station to campus in them. When I finally arrived I took the first available seat, when I looked behind me I saw someone who I thought I knew, but it turned out I didn't. He turned out to have quiet an impact on my life during that time. He also wore the same Converse takkies, but in a faded black. I once wrote him a note and hid it in his shoe.
I think this is one reason why I wear the same shoes over and over until they break, I get too attached to them and cant let them go. I agonised over buying a pair of winter boots at Edgars last month. I didn't know if they were too expensive (R150 is not expensive), they weren't even real leather (I am used to pleather y'know), they are ankle boots ( I have three pairs of knee highs already) so they fit the criteria for buying a new item of clothing- 1) inexpensive, 2) I don't already own a similar pair, 3) CHEAP, 4) I haven't bought myself a new pair of shoes in three years. I even called my mother so that she could offer me some advice as to whether it was worth it to buy the boots, instead she offered to pay for them herself, I had to decline as I have a job, so it's not really about paying for the boots. It's about me being cheap and suffering from latent Calvinistic impulses - fear that spending money on something I actually needed was going to send me to hell and the poor house. At this point I needed to lay down. I couldn't because by 6pm the floor at Edgars isn't the most hygienic place for one to lay ones head. I eventually just bought the friggen boots. That was over a month ago, I have yet to wear them, I don't have anything that goes with them.
The best way for me to keep these boots looking ship shape is to take them off every evening after work and polish them religiously. But I have yet to wear them so who knows when I will ever have a reason to polish them.
No comments:
Post a Comment