Sepia Saturday #114 - Shoes - I've Got Nothing! or Wait, Maybe I Do!

I suggested shoes?  What was I thinking?  It's been a busy week at work and every time I would think about this week's theme at Sepia Saturday and get time to go through my picture stash I came up empty handed.  I thought I was going to have to throw in the towel.  Then I remembered this wonderful print I bought at an art show about twenty-five years ago called "Electric Hightops" featuring a pair of plugged in turquoise Converse.  Guess what?  It's missing!  Not hanging on my walls, not in the closet, not under the bed, it just seems to have walked away (parden the pun).  I paid quite a bit of money for the picture and it is gone, gone, gone!  I've wasted more time looking for that darn thing this week that I could used working on this post. 

I went back and looked through my pictures and found these two young girls and I noticed something different. Almost every vintage picture you see of girls (and boys) they are wearing laced up boots.  These two are both wearing what appear to be slip on heels, kind of like today's low-heeled pumps.  I don't think I've seen these anywhere else before.  I'm hoping someone else can identify the style. Both girls appear to be between ten to twelve years wearing dresses with lace as well as jewelry such as necklaces and bracelets.   The photographer of the first is Baker & Potter of Columbus, O. and and this photo was probably taken around the late 1880's. The photographer of the second photo was Isaac West Taber of San Francisco.  Taber was in business in San Francisco between about 1873 and 1906 when his gallery was destroyed by the San Francisco earthquake and fire.  I estimate this photo to be around the late 1880's or early 1890's.

Back to present day, I have had a love/hate relationship with shoes most of my life beginning with this photograph taken when I was about 19 months old.  I believe the shoes in this photo are what you would call Mary Janes.  I was quite cute don't you think?  Except I wanted those shoes off because I have always had claustrophobic feet!  Present day, working in offices, I have worn high heels most of my adult life,  beautiful shoes, many shoes, closets full of shoes.  However, in my early thirties I began developing the dreaded bunions, especially in my left foot.  Arghhh!  Wasn't this what old ladies got?  At some point I finally gave in and had surgery to correct the problem.  I could never understand how this happened to me at such an early age until I was told that this was most likely hereditary. I later learned that my paternal grandfather, Howard Wilson had this same surgery in 1937 at age twenty-eight.  He had his surgery in the doctor's office with only local anesthesia and they put a sock in his mouth - literally!    After my surgery I changed my ways and began wearing more comfortable flat shoes.  In 2007 I took a "work from home" job with my company at the time.  This became my work shoe  of choice:   Ahhhh......

After being laid off in March 2010 after fourteen years,  I took it easy for awhile.  In January 2011 I started a new job and was back to wearing closed in shoes with heels.  Within one month I developed a stress fracture in my left foot.  Diagnosis - wear flat shoes!  I gave up and am back to comfortable shoes. No more high heels for me, but every time I see ads in the paper for beautiful shoes or am out shopping and see a shoe display my heart rate increases, but then I remember, that oh yeah, I can't wear those nice shoes.   I have OLD LADY FEET!!!

As I sit here and write this post in my bare feet I encourage you to step on over to Sepia Saturday to see more stories on "Shoes."