There are people who will tease a girl about her obsession with shoes, and the sheer number of shoes she desires to have in her closet. And to those people I say PSHAW! Because my shoe obsession turned into a very, very good thing yesterday.
It seems Sweetie is suffering from tendinitis of the posterior tibialis tendon which means he's in a boot for the next 4-6 weeks.
The thing about the boots is that the sole of the boot is a bit thicker than the sole of your standard shoe. So while you're treating the issues with your ankles you can also be causing hip problems as you walk off balance. The doctor mentioned he should get some shoes with a higher sole to help compensate. That's where I came in.
So, we needed shoes with a thick sole. They either had to be so cheap that we could justify him wearing one of them for 4-6 weeks and then kicking them to the curb, or attractive enough that he might wear them once he had use of both feet.
The doctor suggested Danskos- he was on the phone with her at the time, and I was standing right in front of him - he repeated the suggestion out loud so that I could interpret, and I just pointed down to my feet. They would solve the problem at hand, but I knew they wouldn't pass the cheap test, and doubted we could find a pair to pass the attractive test. Especially with limited time available.
My first thought had been Dr. Martens air cushion soles, but I was open to suggestions from the experts. So we started our escapades at Nordstrom, and confirmed my suspicions. Sweetie also tried on a pair of eccos and a pair of Clarks, but it was quickly determined that the Docs were the best sole for the job at hand. Now it was simply a matter of finding a pair that met Sweeties fashion standards.
I started out hopeful. I figured the bright yellow stitching attaching the upper to the sole was the issue, and knew we could find something with a more subdued look. Worst case we'd go to the Dr. Martens store the next day. However, the issue was not the stitching, it was the color of the "snot-yellow color" of the sole.
Now we were in a quandary. I could easily find him Docs without the standard sole. Heck, Portland has a Dr. Martens retail store, so I knew we could find ourselves in Doc mecca if we had to. But the air ware sole was the reason he wanted the Docs in the first place.
Compound that with the fact that Sweetie has a large foot and the Sweetie has made it to the Dr. Martens party about 15 years too late and that further limited our options. Luckily, we found a pair that meet all the necessary requirements.
The thing that made me chuckle throughout the whole process is that prior to last night Sweetie was unaware there existed a brand of shoes known as "Dr. Martens." We'll turn him into a cool kid yet. Even if it is a cool kid from 15 years ago.

Hey! The cool kids today still wear Docs! (But I must run out and get a new pair. Even with the "snot yellow" soles!)
Good luck with your new project! Maybe your Sweetie will realize that it's a wise move to pay more for good shoes that last a long time.
Posted by: tommyspoon | 07 February 2008 at 07:44 AM