A matter of height

Well, excuse me for being frivolous once again. But this is really a big issue for me. I'm on my feet 6+ hours a day, typically non-stop (uh-uh, don't tell me that 15-20 minutes is a lunch break, I will throw my shoes at you).

And thus, I'm here to talk about footwear. This is serious stuff folks.





I typically wear these two for teaching. They are flat, comfortable, and allows me to chase down those little booger-snot miscreants. Just kidding. Actually, they allow me to run away from the heftier 5th-6th graders. Some of them are taller than me!







So because they can be taller than me, I do like to add a little height, you know, for that "authority" look. But nothing says lack of authority than tripping all over the school like some sort of drunk ballerina. Thus I end up with the above three.

The red pair recently died - as all Payless Shoe Source shoes will do after about a year or so. The black open-toed ones kind of pinch. Besides, clumsy me can't seem to stand up straight in open-toed shoes without looking like this:

Photo

The gold pair I got on my HK trip this past summer. They are on the expensive side, so I don't like to wear them among the dangers of gum and spit and mud. Not to mention the perils of American public transportation. I can never understand that image of a woman stepping off of the bus in shiny, costs-more-than-the-bus shoes. You can't see from the crappy photo, but they are open-toed too. But they are much easier to wear than the black ones, probably because of the wedge. Only for cars and special occasions, this one. But I'll remember your fit in later teaching shoe hunts.





These next two are slightly higher, at about the 2" mark. The navy ones are from my HKU days when I had to wear them to high table dinners. They hurt like nothing else and really belong in the "to donate" bag. I don't anticipate wearing them to anything anymore, let alone for teaching. Despite the fact that they are my most "professional" looking shoes.

The transparent/silver ones I wore as a bridesmaid. I've only worn them once or twice in the five years since. They are nice, and the sole is molded very well for my feet. I wonder what would happen if I wore these to school? Shall I try it? Will it be painfully hip, or painfully "China fab?"



This last pair hovers at around 3.5-4", from H&M and is the tallest shoe that I have. I love this pair. It only took me one wear to get used to them. They are comfy, provides Amazonian heights, don't make me wobble, makes that confidently authoritative clicking sound with each step, and they go with everything. Only problem is, I have to walk twice as fast because they make my stride twice as short.

Which I can live with.

Note: What is China fab, you ask? Here's an example:



It's usually sparkly, and glittery. Full of Engrish as well as boot-legged from legit designers. Cheese to the max.