Shoes

They say there are two terms in the female vocabulary that men simply don’t get; “cuddle” and “shoes”. Cuddle is a bit tough because it gets too randy before, and too sleepy after. Now ‘shoes’ is another kettle of fish altogether. It is an enigma which has escaped the comprehension of most members of the male species. I think footwear is like paying the road-tax; once you have bought it you don’t want to think about it for another year until the sticker starts peeling off. I look at my footwear collection and I struggle to think of why I would need more than four pairs at any one time; one for work, one for play, one to walk around and a pair of Tevas for everything else under the sun. Mind you, often the functional purpose of ‘play’ and to ‘walk around’ intertwines with blurred boundaries in definition, thus a single pair may suffice.

I don’t label myself a new-age metrosexual even though I seem to be well-aligned with most things that fall within that stereotype. I do, nevertheless take particular care about matching a nice shirt with a decent pair of pants. But shoes attract little of my concern, because really, who looks at feet. I have been quite happy with my ‘one-shoe-fits-all’ concept that has allowed me to challenge the life-expectancy of my shoe regiment. I have this concept that the apparel is as fashionable as it is able to bring out the comfort and confidence of the wearer. A week ago, however, my age-long worldview of fashion was called into question.

I was out with this friend who has a keen eye to the do’s and don’ts of what to wear. Her notion of fashion apparently contradicted mine. After a delightful evening watching Suzanne Vega with this young lady, the topic of my fashion sense was raised. With a breath of relief, the garment from my ankles up received her tick of approval. On the other hand, what wrapped around my feet seemed to have discredited all the points earned.

My ‘walk around’ shoe is this pair of brown Merrell which I’m convinced will match anything from jeans to kaki shorts for occasions from concerts to funerals. I’m not big on brands, but I like the logo of Merrell which reads like my initials – it is always useful to have your initials on your shoes during house-warming parties in Asia.

The report card I received from my fashion-keen friend recommended a dress shoe to match my shirt. It took me a while to appreciate the concept of a dress shoe. The term itself sounds rather feminine and one would suspect it is men’s shoes with tall slender heels. I was then explained that it is like my work shoes except pointy in the front and glossy like a showroom car. The whole concept sounds rather painful but I have always been quite receptive to new ideas.

The engagement with my fine-fashioned-friend certainly left an impact in my worldview of apparel. I began to notice the shoes people wore when I roamed Orchard road, and I stopped to take notes at the window of Florsheim. The repertoire of men’s frivolous wants and essential boy’s-toys is already quite extensive. Adding shoes in this list can be rather daunting. I was defensive at first against this heightened concern with foot fashion, but the denial of the new awareness exacerbated the unnecessary tension.

Maybe it was pay day, or maybe it was an impulsive decision made at a subconscious level. I went home last night with my fifth pair of shoes. It was made of leather. It was pointy in the front.