Diamonds Are Not My Best Friend
March 27, 2008 by Veronica Mitchell
Okay, I don’t actually believe in soulmates, but Az the Husband and I listened to this guy’s commentary on the radio and Az said instantly, “This could be you.”
I love my boots. I know there are all sorts of fashion shows on television now, preaching the importance of style above usefulness, but they leave me unpersuaded. A fancy pair of shoes might look pretty for an hour before you can’t walk in them anymore, but a good pair of boots can save your life.
Warm and fluffy on the inside, sturdy and water-resistant, my boots have got me through many a difficult day. When we had no functioning car for eight months and I had to walk everywhere I went, my hiking boots kept my feet dry and unblistered. When I worked in factory jobs or went investigating the precipice in our backyard, my steel-toed boots kept my toes unbroken. A good pair of boots are the podiatric equivalent of homemade chicken soup on a cold night. And yes, they are good for the soul.
They are also ugly. My boots will win no beauty contests, and I have no doubt that if I were ever on one of those humiliating makeover shows, my boots would be the first thing the tyrannical fashionistas threw away. Bah. Fools. My boots will keep me fit enough for hiking when I’m 70 and the high-heeled maven is home recovering from her second bunion surgery.
So the next time you are hobbling around in fashionable shoes, dying for a place to sit down, take a moment to take stock and reconsider your life. It could be that the real secret to women’s empowerment or contented living is a pair of these:
Hi. I just started reading you, and I don’t usually comment a lot (i.e. you may not see me around much), but I had to chime in because, well, I love my steel-toed boots! They are hiking boots and they’re awesome in the snow. I’m an engineer and have to go on site sometimes, so they have a practical bent as well, but I wear them at all times and not just for work.
Steel-toed boots and jeans are my favourite look.
I love my hiking boots, too. I love it when it rains and I can just walk right through the puddles and not have wet feet. Plus they remind me of the awesome backpacking trip for which they were purchased, and that makes me smile. Mine are much uglier than yours, though, and more scuffed.
My kids are boot wearers, too, one wears cowboy and one wears galoshes. I wonder if it is genetic.
Veronica, I find it funny that in the 2000s boots are unfashionable, while in the 1990s they were all the rage during the “Grunge” scene. I had a pair of boots in the 90s, oh, yeah, and I wore them with jean shorts and the flannel shirts my Pappaw gave me that he had worn out.
Not a great look, but VERY comfy!
So, I can’t ever nominate you for “What Not to Wear”? I bet you’d be one of those very stubborn, uncooperative projects and that’s okay because I LOVE those episodes! I love it when they get sassy with Clinton.
My husband and I both love our boots, though if I’m feeling dressy I will break out the Doc Martins. Yes, I’m a slave to fashion.
And you’re on to something with the high heel theory. My b-i-l is a chiropracter and that’s the one sure-fire thing to get him all wound up.
I love your boots, too. Sheesh. You are the curmudgeon I aspire to be, truly.
I got addicted to boots in high school (grunge again– I had to have my Doc Martens) and the obsession has never left me. Thankfully, I have always been such a geek that I didn’t care what was fashionable. And so I was happy in my comfy boots.
What, all that and you don’t tell us what kind they are? I’m with you–function over form.
And you may not believe in soulmates, but solemates are a different thing altogether.
Give me an opportunity for a good pun–or even a bad pun–and I’ll take it every time.
I believe we all have a soulmate. (oh look, you’re rollling your eyes) BUT that we look for Him in the wrong places.
Someone who understands me without being told? Someone who completes me? Our primary partnership is with God, and that equips us for effectiveness in all our other relationships.
Yup.
My favorite gardening shoes are low hiking boots.
And most of the time, I wear Danskos - which aren’t boots, but are comfortable.
Shoes with heels are not for me.
Ah, boots. Mine leak. I need new ones.
Sigh.
Do you not believe in soulmates, really? I actually believe that my husband is mine, mainly because he’s the only other human being I’ve been able to really stand for any extended period of time. WE must, therefore, have been mystically intended for each other, right?
That is the way I feel about my Birkenstocks and gardening clogs. I usually only wear boots when hiking–I am definitely a slip-on, slip-off person. But I completely approve of function over form.
Diamonds? Bah!
Fashion is overrated, and high heels are evil. I have a pair of plain, brown SAS shoes that are both practical and comfortable (though probably not as rugged as your boots), and in the cooler months I wear those or my tennis shoes. My feet, I hope, will thank me one day. We are sole mates, after all.
Hmph. Too bad you don’t believe in soulmates. I think you could have been one of mine.
Give me comfort any day!
(But I’d still take the diamonds. I like pretty shiny things.)
I have two pairs of warm boots that keep my functioning in New England - brown and black. All outfits from mid-November to April 8th are planned around these boots & thus it shall ever be. My life here doesn’t work without Land’s End.
A-MEN.
I miss boots!! I live in the South. Most of the time, even in the winter, it’s far too warm to wear real boots. I like pretty shoes, but they have to comfortable too. I have flat wide feet, so I can’t wear those ridiculously strappy little jobs with four inch heels.
Hiking boots are a bit too hot for me, but my flip flops are the shoes I swear by. They are not attractive in the least, but they are comfy and fit me perfectly. I dread heels.
How do you say boots in Esperanto?
I think they are lovely. This coming from a woman who has worn hot pink Crocs to church.
Lisa, better watch it. Ha!
Yeah, I save the sassy shoes for weddings. Most of the time I’m in comfy shoes, even for work. My friend once walked into our house and said, “Oooh, Husband, nice shooooes.”
I said, “The black ones? Those are mine.”
She didn’t say anything more. Guess they were fit for a guy, but not for a lady. Then again, she wears stilettos to the mall.
I’m the same way with tennis shoes, my problem feet are just much happier in them. This makes me stick out in my environment, but I’m past caring.
I just found your blog and I love it! I wanted to post and say that you’re in my blogroll now because so much of what you write about is what I’m thinking half the time. Thanks for putting it out there!
Oh, and as long as we’re on the topic, I have worn my comfy tennis shoes to death. I am currently sporting a very painful ingrown toenail because I had to switch to my cute-but-not-so-comfy shoes.
I love big sturdy shoes. I was in heaven when all of the big thick soled mary jane type of shoes were in style because they were just so - solid and practical. I still have doc martens.
And you KNOW how I feel about shoes in general. (That is to say - confused.)