2009 Aug 05: Saturday shoes

I don't normally post on Saturdays, it's outside the original mission statement of this blog, but since I mentioned these in the LL Dorkmo entry, I thought they ought to get their due.

These are my original GBX pull-on shoes; you know, I don't even know what we're supposed to call these things? They're not "loafers" although they don't have laces. They sometimes call them "mocassins" but that's a pretty liberal interpretation of the semantics of that word. If "comfy, not appropriate for work unless you work around the house" is what you mean by "moccassin" I suppose you could get away with that but really. Pocahontas never had injection molded soles, gimme a break. While these shoes look like crap, they're very comfortable, and have a great sole that doesn't slip. I recently glued the tread back on with some Elmer's flexible plastic glue, and it's holding up great so far. It's a funny thing about shoes. I love new shoes, I love all kinds of shoes, but I also fall in love with particular pairs of shoes that have served me well.

Many years ago (more than 20, that's how long ago) an Indian friend of mine was blabbing on about how wasteful Americans are, how we're a disposable culture, toss everything out when it breaks, rather than fix it. To which I replied, "what about our sneakers?". That stopped her in her tracks. She thought for a minute and said, "That's not even natural, that's like a love affair. Americans won't even throw out decrepit sneakers with holes in them that are falling off their feet and held together with duct tape."

Hah!

And speaking of not wasting usable clothes, please pay no attention to the mis-matched socks. It's Saturday, clothes don't have to match on Saturday's, that's the rule. Saturday is leftover day, when you make lunch from the odds and ends from the week's dinner leftovers, and I've naturally extended that to clothing as well. I mean, you wouldn't want to waste your good clothes that you could wear to work just vacuuming and tidying up and doing laundry, would you? And after all, these two socks are the same kind of sock, my favorite online retailer, http://sockdreams.com, their own brand of "slouch sock" made in a wild array of colors. They're kind of too small these days, because, shh, don't tell anyone, but I'm cross dressing, they're actually sized for women. At any rate, why waste two perfectly good socks just because their mates went on a walkabout? Apparently, I mortified my partner this morning by going to a local favorite restaurant for brunch in these socks. So I'll wear long pants next time. I suppose we probably wouldn't be together if he'd known me when I was pursuing my "See if I can embarrass my friends with my appearance" personal challenge.

Hey, everyone needs a hobby. And in this town, didn't used to be you could get thrown out of a restaurant for how you were dressed. But it was so much fun to try.

2009 Sep 03: LL Dorkmos

I took this picture on July 23, before I started this blog, but these are what I have on today. So I suppose I've failed in my shoesaday quest, and alas, they'll never make a movie about my shoe fetish, and Fluevog will never have an opportunity to publicly say he hates my blog.

These shoes are nearly brand new and if they weren't so damn comfy I would have returned them, because shoes like this belong only on people who say things like "a-yup" and "woo doggies! that's a kick in the carbuncle!" and are called things like "Papaw" or "Grampops" by their younguns' younguns. They're LL Bean Suede Comfort Mocs, men's size 8.5 wide, and as wide shoes go, they are very narrow. They fit like a glove and are so damn comfy it makes me want to cry. Maybe that's my next career, making comfortable shoes for old fat guys with bad backs and a keen sense of style.

I bought these to replace my original GBX suede slip-ons, which at the time were considered weird and ugly, and yet two years later every nimrod and their cousin, the same nimrods and cousins who called my shoes ugly, were wearing knock-offs of this very style. Turns out a little Elmer's plastic glue and some heavy duty spring clamps was all I really needed to fix those old shoes right up, it was just the treads were coming unglued after 10 years of hard use. They're once again good enough to wear while working in the garage and falling off of step-stools, comfortable enough for trawling around town on a Saturday, yet cruddy enough to not have to worry about spilling paint on. These replacements were meant to replace those venerable old kicks, but of course, being new and all, and even though I find them hideous, I don't want to actually spill paint on them just yet. Plus, they're great for strolling unperturbed through airport security, and I blend right in at the Luby's early bird special. Oh, and did I mention that they caress my feet, molding to my sole, every step an epiphany of pure bliss?

So.

Are these better or worse then my El Dorkmo's, the New Balance sneakers I blogged about?