I had an Uncle Guido growing up.
Now he wasn’t actually my uncle, nor was he actually Italian, so I have a hard time associating “guido” with anything but a towering wall of Irish muscle who lived across the street and kayaked with my actual –though still not Italian– uncle and married a woman who was given MY ruby earrings right out of my ears, not that I’m still bitter about that twenty four years later, DAD.
(You may say a six year-old has no business wearing ruby earrings, in which case I weep for the depth of your wrongness. I loved those things and have NEVER had a pair since.)
ANYWAY
Apparently the old less-than-flattering term has surfaced again from the cast of that show with the little orange girl and the big orange guys. I’m not familiar with the show or its cast, but I do get PR invites to go to parties with them. Yeah. Which incidentally cracked my brother up since I put on my facebook page “What’s a Jwoww and why would I want to go to a party with it?”
I still don’t know the answer to either of those questions.
I DO know, however, that I want to lick these shiny shiny shoes, the “Guido” patent leather drivers from Salvatore Ferragamo:
Right?
Also I DEFY you not to be cheery when wearing a shiny pair of red patent leather drivers. It cannot be done.
They’re on sale at Saks so the sizing is limited and getting increasingly so, but they were available in bigfoot sizes last I checked.
These do actually make me very happy, just looking at them. What makes them a “driver”? Is it the leather bit on the back? Or is it the grippy soles?
And there’s the fact that I think you need to go get you some ruby earrings. This was clearly a wrong that should be righted. Especially given what I know of your coloring. I love rubies and they don’t look particularly good on me. So that’s that. Do it for me. It’s practically philanthropy!
I was reflecting on the cheap shoe comments today (which is why I am on word 193 of the 1,000 word writing assignment for the day and it’s 4:30) and it occurred to me that I am going to stop giving the utilitarian rationale for expensive shoes: they last longer, they’re an investment, blah blah blah, even though that is technically one of the reasons I buy investment shoes. And I made that argument on my blog because of the social arguments made against them by a well-known utilitarian philosopher, arguments that may be wrong, actually, from a practical standpoint.
The reason I am going to stop giving that reasoning is that as a fat woman, I’ve been told by mother onward that I should “go cheap” and “wait to go expensive and invest as a reward on for that magical day when I finally lose weight”. Yeah, sure. Some of us will wait forever for that. And guess what? We’ll look frumpy and feel frumpty and people will go “gosh that fat woman is frumpy.” Only the problem with that is that I do deserve nice things now and screw anybody who thinks I don’t, and I may not be movie star quality, but I make the best of what I got, and, again, screw anybody who thinks I don’t.
When Manolo announced his plan to launch Big Girl, I was very excited about it because I knew it would about treating yourself and other people well, living life well, having a good time, and quality–all of those things are about quality and enjoyment.
Manolo’s beginning of the week entries where he describes how Mondays rather bite, holidays rather bite, families rather bite, and yet they are all truly wonderful…the beautiful shoes he shows are an escape. Nobody’s out there buying every single shoe he shows us Mondays or Fridays, though I am thinking about that nude pump from Kate Spade (today). The shoes are there because they are beautiful. You don’t have to own a building by Pei or Kahn or Gehry to feel the joy of them when you walk by it; it’s there, it’s beautiful, it reminds you that life isn’t all diapers, equations, squinky bosses, calorie counting, and clogged drains. We may live slogging through the dirt and the mud and sadness and the toil and blood and pain, but our eyes are on the heavens, and we can craft absolutely stunning things.
So if I want to look at expensive shoes, I’m doing it. If I want to buy expensive shoes, hey, it’s my bank account and I can afford it. I don’t have to explain myself. If you aren’t into using your resources that way and you still want to look good, take a look at the expensive shoes, like this one here, to see what makes them work. Here, the patent red = awesome. Ferragamo doesn’t have a monopoly on that. Take a look at them on the Sak’s page: I think that in addition to that color, that wrapped bit to one side is just the right detail. Ferragamo doesn’t own that either. You can find the color and that kind of look in less expensive shoes: that’s the motivation behind the frugal fashionista or any of the “get the look for less” sites–and the challenge of doing so can be good fun.
So rock on, ride free, and wear something that makes you smile, no matter what it is.
Comment by Lisa — June 4, 2010 @ 8:15 pm
Ferragamo drivers are awesome. In grad school, I discovered them at Nordstroms and had 4 pair…granted I was eating ramen noodles, but my feet were happy and stylish.
This version…red + patent leather + Ferragamo = shoegasm
Comment by Dawn — June 5, 2010 @ 1:49 pm
Mocs aren’t really my thing, but I love how they’ve incorporated the Ferragamo logo-thing into the buckle, so it’s there, but it’s not “there” there, if you know what I mean.
Comment by daisyj — June 5, 2010 @ 4:58 pm
Has anyone seen a pair of women’s white drivers? or have any thoughts on size conversion from men’s? I have a deep deep lust for a pair of beautiful white driving mocs.
Comment by Leah — June 6, 2010 @ 9:32 pm
Oh man nevermind now I just want them in python! http://www.zappos.com/geox-d-grin-38-acquamarina
(Also, zappos didn’t have any cute white ones in an 8.5, and why does Uggs insist on stamping their name in giant letters on the heel of their shoes???)
Comment by Leah — June 6, 2010 @ 9:40 pm
@leah: Oh little grasshopper, just you wait. I think I did a feature on my love for white mocassins last summer, and there will be another one this month.
Comment by Plumcake — June 7, 2010 @ 12:34 am