Our Goal: A Well Made Shoe for a Well Made Life ...
What Are Your Shoes Saying About You? Are they telling the real story?
(Manolo Blahnik Leopard Shoes)
iCafe Woman Moderne wish you all an abundance of miracles and blessings during this wonderful Advent Season. We're able to live full, rich lives because of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. I get chills just thinking about it. God knew us before we were knit together in our mothers' wombs. He knows our personalities, traits and the number of strands on our head.
Life is a gift, live it wisely.
The Gift
Guess What's Talking
Did you ever wonder what our hair, clothes and accessories say about who we are? A hint of our personalities can be revealed in what we choose to wear, specifically in our shoes. I guess you saw that coming from the title. It's a fact, Jacqueline ... women love their shoes, a fact carried throughout the generations. And we love bargains. Unfortunately, finding cheap designer shoes for women rivals climbing Mt. Everest.
Our fixation over shoes started when mom an grandmom took us on the avenue or downtown, (if born in the 1950s and 1960s), and to the mall (born from the 1970s on). Whether it was Baker's Shoes or Sears ... you probably remember your first big girl shoe, mine was a Buster Brown Mary Jane style at Moe's Department Store (three storefront rows made into one store) It was where my Aunt Theodora worked as a sales clerk/store manager.
(This town reminds me of my childhood neighborhood before urban blight)
To my five year-old eyes, she was queen of the store ... the boss. I can still smell the Italian Hoagie and Wrigley Spearmint gum on her breath.
(Italian Hoagie)
She pulled out a Charms cherry lollipop from her floral work apron and waved it in front of me as incentive for me not to squirm. A promise of anything sweet always did the trick, after all I was the Candy Man's daughter, the youngest of five. (Dad owned a candy vending business)
(Buster Brown Mary Janes)
I felt like a princess when Mom hoist me onto the cracking vinyl seat. My eyes grew wide rolling up the shelves of shoe boxes surrounding me in a rainbow of colors and stripes. Then it appeared with a halo of light, (from Moe's extra wattage) a patent leather Mary Jane shoe transforming before my eyes into Cinderella's glass slippers.
Cinderella Glass Slipper (Mini)
I wasn't wearing it to a ball, but it would make an ethereal entrance at my Episcopal Church's Christmas Eve Pageant where I was playing Angel Number Three.
My first Mary Jane shoe must've had a profound effect on me because through every phase of my life, I've owned a Mary Jane style of shoe. I kid you not. Even today, I've got a pair in my closet. Of course, now it comes on a platform with four inches.
What are my Mary Janes saying about me? I'm a creature of habit? Not exactly ... it's the only symbol of tradition in my life. It says I value vintage and reflecting on the past, especially during a time when I didn't walk this earth. Granted it doesn't show my kooky side, but that's where the rest of my eclectic collection comes into play.
Instead of inching closer to the floor, my dress shoes seem to be sticking their tongue at my equilibrium with each passing year. My last shoe purchase was a four-inch, red Bandolino Stiletto. And I actually had the nerve to dance in them at a wedding reception. Take that ... Father Time!
"In Her Shoes," the 2005 movie starring Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette, sisters Rose and Maggie couldn't be more different except when it comes to their taste in shoes where only designer labels will do.
Rose, the plain Jane, Princeton Grad Attorney, gives viewers a sneak peak into her psyche in the beginning of the movie when she says, "I love shoes because they always fit." It doesn't take a genius to figure out, she struggles with weight and self esteem even though she's barely a size 12. Maybe she can't wear a so-called perfect size 6 or 8 dress, but she can wear a perfect size 8 1/2 shoe that always fits.
Her rows and rows of designer shoes heels display like a high-end shoe boutique ... Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin, Gucci, Prada, Betsy Johnson ... all playing nice in her closet. I wouldn't be surprised if she shoe shops with "Sex and the City's" Carrie Bradshaw.
(Manolo Blahnik's Zebra Shoes)
You'll see in her closet: zebra, leopard, polka-dots, tartan, candy apple red ... mostly stilletos. They're flirty, sexy, playful and unique. You wouldn't think they belonged to someone whose standard wardrobe the world sees consists of dark suits and dark pumps. Her eye-catching designer shoes never leave her closet on her feet. They don't live in her life, they represent a life she wants to live.
Case in point, she lives in a swank Manhattan apartment, but when nighttime rolls around and she staggers out of her law office around 8 p.m. She meets up with a quart of Moo Shu Shrimp, a pint of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia and a Breakfast at Tiffany's DVD.
A Common Sole
But wait ... scroll back up to the "In Her Shoes" movie poster. Posed next to her, is her polar opposite younger sister, Maggie. They're wearing the same basic pumps, one in red, a little shinier and the other in a matte black, but they say two different stories.
The black pumps whisper, "I'm responsible and successful, but don't look at me. While the red pair screams ... "I like to have fun ... made you look!"
Maggie's the party girl, hopping from job to job and from Mr. Wrong to Mr. Disaster as fast as she changes shoes. She's a high school graduate who thinks her only asset is her beauty, until she finds herself homeless and living with her Grandmom Ella in a retirement village. If that isn't an eye-opener, I don't know what is.
There's only one thing Rose and Maggie have in a common, they both wear a size 8 1/2 shoe. Rose's shoes say, she loves taking risks, but they only leave her closet when they're on her sister's feet.
Kate Spade Women's Luci Slingback Pump,Black,8.5 M US
Maggie's shoes say she's a "live life to the fullest party girl." But, they're her sister's shoes, borrowed because she can't afford them.
Slipping into a Pair of Shoes
You Never Thought Would Fit.
(Anthropologie Heels)
In the 2007 movie, P.S. I Love You -- our protagonist Holly spent years working in a lackluster job and the past year grieving her husband's sudden death.
In the 2007 movie, P.S. I Love You -- our protagonist Holly spent years working in a lackluster job and the past year grieving her husband's sudden death.
Her husband, Gerry, pre-arranged for the letters he wrote to her to arrive by mail throughout that first year without him. He gives her tasks she would never do on her own and helps her find her way. With the completion of each task, the shoes she wears become more creative and daring. He awakens in her a talent she never knew existed.
Reconnecting with a maternal grandmother they thought was dead, helps Rose and Maggie find peace with themselves and each other before the closing credits. They step into a balanced life wearing a great pair of shoes.
Before we see what a few of our iCafe Woman Moderne divas shoes are saying let's check out popular Dansko shoes on sale ...
Dansko Women's Sally Mary Jane,Red Suede/Croc,42 EU / 11.5-12 B(M) US
INSIDE ICAFE WOMAN MODERNE
Several of our iCafe Woman Moderne divas will share their shoes and reveal what they say about their personalities.
CELESTE
Here's Celeste's favorite pair, Manolo Blahniks, she treated herself after landing a big sale. Twenty-eight-year-old abstract painter Celeste just had her first solo gallery show and sold quite a few pieces to an upscale hotel.
Thirty-eight-year-old Desiree, an executive assistant to a Senator, enjoys her Kate Spade slingbacks because they show her playful side. She ballroom dances and take gourmet cooking classes. There's not a polka dot she doesn't like.
(Aerosoles)
Aerosoles Women's Sunshine Mary Jane Pump,Black Suede,10 M US
(Click on the link for more sizes)FELICIA
Felicia, 55, a Emergency Room Physician, mother of three and grandmother of two -- is another fan of the Mary Jane classic shoe. She likes the updated version from Aerosoles above. Since her hectic days center around real life drama changing from minute to minute, she takes solace in a super comfortable shoe that makes her feel safe. Aerosoles Sunshine shoe fits the bill. This shoe lets her exhale and still look fashion forward.
When you live a well-balanced life, you reap great rewards that fit into your life's purpose. Yes, that's when the shoe fits.
What does your shoe reveal about you? We want to know.
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