I hate to say this people, but I am having a lot of trouble finding what my Step-Dad used to refer to as a 'good sturdy pair of shoes' for my girls. What he was talking about, and what I am so avidly seeking, is a pair of everyday shoes that the girls can wear to school, out to play, or to just stomp around the yard... not sneakers, or flashy dress shoes, just a regular pair of comfortable everyday shoes that go with mostly anything. An alternative to my oldest wearing Hannah Montana tennis shoes all the time... and to hopefully wean my four year old out of her black multicolored star-covered hightop Converse knock-offs that she insists on wearing with everything... Even *GASP* to church!
Although these practical shoes may be made of leather, mary-janes, reddish-brown, or black, they are tried and true, with good soles, and cozy cushy inserts. You know, a pair of shoes that you hated as a kid, but could stand up to a Tennessee tornado... 'cuz honestly that's about the wear & tear my girls will put on them as they run around here like wild-fire!
Why is this even an issue?! I'll tell you why! Because today I dragged all three girls around to THREE different stores in Oak Ridge and I am disgusted with the utter lack of selection & availability of sizes. Here was the cake topper - when I complained at the final store, a BIG name department store that doesn't even CARRY children's shoes, the associate, who I can describe at best as being a little on the moderately snubby side, rolled her eyes and said to me, "Well, this is Oak Ridge..." As if to say, 'Honey - don't you know that Oak Ridge is in some abyss far away from any semblance of meaningful civilization?' I don't think that this is just an Oak Ridge problem. I can tell you that I went to Stride Rite in the mall in Knoxville yesterday & their selection of everyday shoes for girls was almost as well, sad. There were a few more options and colors, but at a real hefty price. Actually, my friend commented that it's the smallest Stride Rite store she's ever seen... and I really would have to agree!
Really, is this such a strange thing for a mother to request- a good pair of sturdy shoes for girls? Have the styles changed so much? Really, I often see such cute shoes in catalogs, or online, but I can't imagine actually buying shoes from either a catalog or online. Ladies, we all know shoes are meant to be tried on & admired in the store. What ever happened to the shoe salesperson waiting on you hand & foot, bringing you endless boxes of deliciously different styles and assisting you in trying them on, like you were Zsa Zsa Gabor?! Okay, I'm sorry, I was in dreamland for a second, things are different here on planet earth now, but it seems to me in the not so distant past, that the shoe salesfolk of my dreams existed... they even brought me those horrid Buster Browns I had to wear as a kid, when my Step-Dad took us to Van, Dyke, & Bacon in Baltimore, and I hated those 'good sturdy shoes!' Now, at most, you tell them what size to bring, there is no fawning over you, they just come & go like ghosts.
Anyway, my girls are fast a-growin', and as my Mom & Step-Dad always say, "You need to wear good shoes. Because if your feet hurt, everything hurts!" I have to agree, of course, because like many fashion conscious women, I know what torturing oneself for beauty is feels like... don't I perform that ritual masochistic act of standing in front of the bathroom mirror in the one-legged flamingo stance meticulously plucking my brows? Don't I wait until 1 0'clock in the morning to hide out in the bathroom & 'dye' my hair to hide all the grays these girls have given me?! Okay, maybe these beauty regimens have since suffered now that I have the three lil' nippers to run after, but in my younger days, didn't I used to try to be cute, teetering around (pre-pregnancy) on 3 inch heels all day... What was I thinking?! Anyway, children are too young to be thinking too much of what's in fashion, right? So then, why ever do they sell high-heeled shoes for little girls? Isn't it bad enough we adults of the feminine persuasion torture ourselves when we get older- why torture your child with shoes that only look cute when standing completely still? I see these poor little girls all the time clodding along in heels thinking, Oof- that's not even remotely cute, that's just plain painful to watch. Look - I am not a stick in the mud! After all, I do have a tattoo & a nose ring... and so what if my husband could probably pass for an extra on Sons of Anarchy, but you better believe when it comes to our girls, it's pink corduroy & denim all the way! Eh-gads, have I turned into my mother?!
If you can recommend a good place to find shoes, please let me know. We like cute shoes, but they must be practical as well, right? We are not going to buy satin froo-froo lacies, and sparklies that'll fall off after one wear... even though my daughters would likely la-la-love them!
