Shoes

As I was packing for this trip I had a mental conflict over what shoes to bring.  "Boots," I thought, most Londoners must wear boots all the time since it rains here so much.  Well, now that I have been in London for over a week, I can positively say that I was absolutely wrong.  Most women in London wear heels.  Not the safe kind either, the kitten heeled varieties that are just a step up from a nice comfortable pair of flats.  Women in London wear the staggeringly high, super narrow stiletto death traps that I can barely hobble around in.  These astounding women tackle stairs, and tube cars, and cobble stoned streets with apparent ease in these tricky shoes. 

For my Women in Literature class, we are going to a huge store that has recently opened up a The Shoe Galleries.  This gallery contains over 4,000 pairs of shoes by every notable designer that you could think of.  My teacher proceeded to read an article about the new gallery, in which they were describing this seasons hottest pair of shoes.  They were a very edgy looking pair of heels, that cost roughly about £1500.  I guess they have been just flying off of the shelves. 

As my teacher told us about these shoes, he explained why it is he was taking us to these galleries.  His theory is that women buy shoes like these, not because they want to attract men, but actually because they want to assert their dominance over other women.  As he was saying this I looked down at my feet, and encountered my simple pair of leather moccasins, that literally not even an hour before had made me applaud myself because they were so comfortable. 

What does my choice of shoes say about me I wonder?  Is that why all the women of London were these terrifying looking heels?  Is it a statement of their power and dominance? 

They longer I pontificated over this point, I realized that regardless of what it says about me, I would much rather be wearing these moccasins than a pair of heels that would surely make my feet bleed from all the walking that is demanded in this city.  So maybe, on just this one topic at least, I have an edge over the Brits.  Because when push comes to shove, I certainly don't need a pair of heels to prove that I am intelligent, and strong, and can kick pretty much any of these lady's asses.  If I do wear a pair of heels, I hope it's simply because I like them.