There are shoes and then there are SHOES.
Imagine if you will a 28 year-old version of myself. A somewhat thinner, somewhat less weathered but also more insecure me – on my first trip ever to New York; the city of dreams and all things unobtainable. Sex and the City had just finished it´s last season and the aspirational lifestyles of the four main characters are a real every day influence on many a 20-something. The Cosmopolitans were easy to get our hands on, the designer shoes and clothes we dreamed about.
Barneys. My very first pair of Manolos. I think I may have held my breath the whole time I tried them on. I had a hard time choosing between blue or green. Until I realized that I was choosing between two perfect pair of Manolo Blahniks. Even after walking out onto the street, my pulse was up and I had the momentous feeling of being “there”. I might have walked around Fifth Avenue for an hour or so extra that day just to make the most of the moment.
I have walked many a mile in th
ese shoes; had
them repaired and resoled to keep them going for many more. And they will always be my very, very first.