Ruby Slippers & Kinky Boots

There is a store on Hollywood Blvd., Lady Studio Exotic Shoes, in which can be found some of the kinkiest boots on the planet. Towering stiletto heals, day glow neon colored boots, platforms, vynel, leather and plastic, if you can imagine it, it’s probably there.

If it’s true that shoes make the man or woman, in Hollywood at least, footwear has created timeless images shared by all. From Judy Garland’s ruby slippers to Julia Roberts thigh high boots signature footwear has made it’s mark on the big screen. During the height of the cold war ballet shoes faced off against tap building a bridge of mutual respect and showing we’re not as different as me might think. Dying with your boots on is a Western tradition that took on new meaning when Tommy took on Elton John at pinball.  Footwear completes and compliments a character.  White shoes, biker boots and stilettos tell vastly different stories about the person wearing them and the story being told.

The Bata Shoe Museum gives a historical perspective to the study of footwear. A used pair of combat boots at the Vietnam War Memorial strikes an unexpected chord of pathos and humanity.  Shoes have inspired superstitions from lucky horseshoes to caling out "baby needs a new pair of shoes" for luck when playing dice. They’ve inspired proverbs and fairy tales in many countries.  Sayings like "walk a mile in my shoes" or "I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes" are commonly used. 

You can have a pair of shoes but if you have two left shoes you tend to fall over.

Whether you get a good pair of walking boots, gladiator sandals or blue suede shoes there is a certain magic in finding the right ones. The shoe maker’s elves were there when times were tough and during the Great Depression shoe soup was always an option, however today’s footwear would probably hold less nutritional value being made mostly from synthetics instead of leather.  Gum shoes look for shoe prints and hope they don’t end up in cement shoes when investigating organized crime.  Puss in Boots had a wonderfully uncomplicated outfit and Crocodile Dundee had boots that perfectly fit his character.

Jumping in mud puddles wearing a yellow pair of rubber boots may seem like defeating the purpose of wearing them to begin with but it is glorious fun. Not too many year ago Converse and Keds were the only athletic shoes available now the market is flooded with options.  Children play at being adults by wearing a pair of their parents shoes. Evolving into parents they find out how big those shoes really are to fill.

Shoes protect us from the elements, they help shape the way we want the world to perceive us. The right pair of shoes inspire confidence. But sometimes, the best feeling of all, comes when we take off our shoes and walk barefoot in the grass.