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bookmark_borderSex on a Stick: Blue Shoes of Delight

Posted on by Christine Elias

There is an odd sticker on a signpost near my place. I see it every day on my way to work. I am not sure if “No Fun” is a comment on the affixer’s life or if it’s intended to be a directive for the passing pedestrians.

Well, not on this day, Mr. Affixer. Not for me.

That day – that bright and sunny day – was blue brogue day. A day filled with fun and frolic in the office. A day filled with skipping down the hall. (I do skip sometimes, and yeah, it is a bit incongruent.)

Brogue Backstory: I decided a few weeks ago that I needed a pair of brogues – or if push came to shove – a pair of saddle shoes. They’re in all the magazines. And on the feet of cool people everywhere – especially New York – where most of the cool people live. But most of the styles I saw online were too dainty. Too cutesy. Too delicate. Just not Christine.

I said hell no to the flowered ones, no to the patent ones with the silk ribbon lacing and nuh-uh to these babies.

Over the course of browsing during my lunch hour, I sent several shoe links (they were not all hell no’s) to my colleagues, J. and V. They’re young and stylish and I value their opinions on the hip, the cool and the now.

Oh sure, they liked some of the examples I sent, but nothing was doing it for them (or me) until I saw the shoe. Yes, I found the sexy shoe of smoldering delight.

I giddily sent them the link to my new beloved, which they disliked. (Actually I think the emotion was hatred but they struggled – oh, they struggled – to be polite with their comments.)

So I wore my shoes to work (after I brought them home and fondled them for a bit) and solicited opinions. (Which apparently is an odd thing to do about a fashion choice.) But I was so excited about them and I wanted to show them off.

They were not a hit with the under-40 crowd.

To wit:

  • “They might look better with bootleg pants”
  • “They make your feet look smaller.”
  • “If you like them, that’s the important thing.”
  • “How many outfits do you have that would go with blue shoes?”
  • “Did they come in any other colours?”
  • “They look like short cowboy boots.”

I though perhaps the shoe was just a tad mature for them and that my contemporaries would see the beauty of the shoe and, in fact, two did express a fondness for the shoe. But a third’s comment was…..”ummm….”

Oh, here’s the shoe, both on formal display and live and in a meeting…

 

Yes, Yes, Yes Shoe

Live and in a Meeting

Flowered No

Silk Ribbon No

Not Sure What to Call This No

Odd Sticker

bookmark_borderThanks, Jimmy!

Posted on by Christine Elias

When I was in High School, I pitched the idea of a column to the editor of the school newspaper, Jimmy. He suggested that I join the paper instead — I guess “Christine’s Corner” didn’t strike him as an especially scintillating regular feature. But he needed writers — and there I was — an eager tenth grader who could spell. (I could, however, not type.)

And so I joined, eventually rising through the (not very) competitive ranks to become the editor of the Spark — named (as some older students suggested) after a Trotskyist publication.

Then a few years later, I followed Jimmy – who was a bit older – to Ryerson to study journalism. My portfolio submission? Copies of the Spark. In addition to the portfolio, there was a typing test. We had to write a story on a typewriter and were not tested for speed, but rather content. So I got in, since we could look at the keys.

“Christine’s Corner” never did come to fruition. Jimmy was right, it was not such a hot idea. And grown-up Christine is not a journalist today, either. (I do, however, finally have my own corner.)

But I love what I do and I have Jimmy – and all of the other kids who hung out (and sometimes drank) in the Spark office – to thank for it.