Sole Mates

Photography by Michael Dumler 

I’ve always had a thing about shoes and feet. It’s hard for me to watch women walk in shoes that are uncomfortable. It actually pains me because I know first hand how much it can hurt! Johnson and Johnson owes me one for my support of Band Aids through the years.  When I read fashion advice columns telling women they must invest in sky high heels to look their best I wince. In fact, most fashion books today insist one cannot maintain a fashionable life sans high high heels. I would like to challenge the status quo on this one. To me, there is nothing worse than watching a woman try to walk in heels that hurt, do not fit or are work to walk in. If cobblestones or hills are involved, forget it! I will stop here and say some people just have better feet and can better handle the unnatural strains some shoes put on our feet. Unfortunately, I realized late in life that we only get one pair of feet and mine have become particularly sensitive to modern day binding techniques.  I fall into a camp of people whose feet just simply were not made for walking in sky high heels. I distinctly remember my ballet teacher at the Washington School of Ballet letting me know after several years together and a Nutcracker under our belt that I would not be going to the major leagues of the dance world based on the structure of my feet. My soles couldn’t support a life on steel point shoes and lambs wool. When the teacher who teaches you point, points out you have a body structure issue, you never forget.

What you may or may not know is that we have Louis XIV to thank for making heels a thing. I am not saying that heels don’t make our legs look terrific AND when I go on tv or know that all I have to do is stand in place- I will wear them-  BUT for me, they just don’t work for real life all day long- I’ve learned the hard way #saveyoursoles. The best things that could have happened to me is the proliferation of comfortable shoe options that exist in the world today from sneakers to loafers to mules to kitten heels and even the return of the Birkenstock! What an absolute pleasure!! So I am basking in the foot comfort glow and investing in things that keep me as down to earth as possible which is where I like to remain. The great news is that the clothing has caught up to the footwear and our eyes have adjusted to this new beautiful fashion reality. In these pictures, I’m wearing my Alexander Wang mules back to my new favorite wide leg cropped pants from Apiece Apart, a must-have summer pant and new *ish* brand I'm loving.  I’m attaching some of my favorite shoes in the summer rotation #mules. If this resonates with you, get comfortable walking in your own shoes -being able to walk on solid ground is always chic in my book.

Xox

Brooke