New shoes-we all get them-we all like them. For the last 24 hours there’s been a girl walking around my house on cloud 9-cause she got new shoes-or in her case new boots.
We’ve all heard the stories of days gone by-how most folks only got one pair of shoes a year. They went barefoot from spring till fall to save the shoes for winter months when they were really needed. Stories of having one pair of shoes re-soled several times and passed along to the younger siblings as they were out grown. In today’s world most of us have too many shoes to fit in our closet floor.
When I was growing up I was a spoiled child-and a vain child too. I wanted the cool clothes and shoes that everyone else wore. I was in middle school when I got my first pair of Nike tennis shoes-I still remember them-white canvas with a light blue stripe. That blue stripe started a yearly expense for Pap and Granny. Looking back I know they couldn’t afford it-but each summer before school started Granny took me to Tigers in Hayesville to pick out new school shoes-most often Nike. I don’t recall Steve or Paul ever getting any Nikes-just me. Was it cause I was the only girl-or cause I was the only one who demanded them? I’m sure it was the latter-the boys weren’t swayed by peer pressure like I often was. Even though I was selfish enough to beg for the shoes-on some level I must have known what a sacrifice it was for me to get them. I never wore them unless I was going to school or town-I religiously kept them clean by using an old toothbrush and a soft rag. Taking care of things-is something me and the brothers have in common. I think it’s a running joke or maybe a source of pride on which one of us has the oldest pair of Nikes in our closet today-not just any old pair-but ones that are in mint condition-ones we’ve had longer than we’ve had children. Steve’s-white leather with black stripes-mine-brown hightops with turquoise stripes-Paul’s-white with blue stripes.
Chatter and Chitter have proved to be different types of girls than I was. Any expensive tennis shoes they may have wore along the way came from yard sales, hand me downs, or clearance racks. I’m cheaper than Pap and Granny and can’t fathom paying for the top brands-and the girls aren’t interested in them anyway-maybe they inherited that trait from their Uncles.
The Deer Hunter took Chatter boot shopping yesterday-which is a good thing for her-I would have tried to talk her out of the expensive boots she came home with. Thinking of the money they spent made me cringe. But after seeing she loves them enough to wear them with her pjs-I’m reminded of my blue striped canvas Nike and how they made me feel. It also helps to know she paid for half the boots herself-something her Mama never did.
Ever have a favorite pair of shoes or boots?
Tipper
In my younger days, rode horses, chased cows, and my daughter raised steers and hogs. I still have two pair of the boots I wore back then….(won’t say how long that was ago). Just can’t seem to get rid of them.
PS. Have my old cowboy hat too!!! Silly old man…
Being the hippie chick that I was, I only wore moccasins with the fringe all the way around. Ones with no soles for in-house wear and ones with soles for outside wear. Most comfortable shoes I ever wore. For school, our mother used to buy us one pair of good shoes and one pair of white tennis shoes for gym. The tennis shoes were not name brand, but I heard later in life that they were referred to as ‘fish heads’ cause that’s the way they were shaped and they had no arch support whatsoever. The boys got Keds hightops. I’m sure they did their best to make sure us 7 had shoes at all. xxoo
Your girls are adorable..I remember we used to cut out the toe of our shoes in the summer when they had grown too small. We must have been a sight! Well we went barefoot mostly, but if we had to walk on the hot asphalt or tarry street that ran in front of our house, we needed shoes, or else we would have been “Tar Heels”.literally. Love your stories.
Reminds me of the western song ‘Mommas gotta a new pair of dancin shoes’…
I also only got one pair a year, and went barefoot in the summer, used the old for fishin, and did it until I married a man who made a good living eleven years ago, but now I only buy two pair, one for dancin, one for workin, old ones for fishin and walkin (I think I just made a poem for myself, lol)
Tipper: what fun, it sounds like you have changed to a frugal person. It is good to have two different perspectives in a marriage.
I have a pair of cowboy boots that I love and are just now beginning to wear like they should.
This is only the second pair of cowboy boots that I have ever bought – the first pair was resoled until they could not resole them again. When we go anywhere that requires walking (like the festival in your area) I try to wear those boots. They are so comfy.
When my oldest daughter was in the 7th grade – about 12 years old – she got mad at me and decided to run away from home. She packed her stuffed animals and her new cowboy boots. Period. Not sure how long she could have lasted with no clothes but she made sure she had those boots! blessings, marlene
Tipper,
I love Chatter’s boots. I know she’s really proud of them.
Yes, I remember the good ole’ days when I had only one pair of loafer shoes per year to wear to school. One time Daddy took me to Cut Worm Phillips’ little country store in Hayesville and told him, “Get this boy a pair of boy shoes, she’s hard on shoes.” Well, Cutworm brought the biggest, roughest, uglies, boy shoes I’ve ever seen. I was so ashamed of those shoes, but had to wear them to school. I hated them and was so happy when I “outgrew” them. I never could wear them out. Great posting. This brings back a lot of memories.
A fun and happy-faced article all the way through, Tipper. My shoes came from the Salvation Army Store and the Goodwill Store until I grew up and could buy my own.
Ah, yes, I too fell victim to the power of the powder blue Nike swoosh!
What a memory. That and the Jordache jeans, woo hoo! I was raking in some decent money babysitting, however, and had to buy my own, which was a good lesson (thanks, mom).
My boys are like your brothers–they don’t care about brands at all. The girl child wants what she wants, but the litmus test is, if you don’t “love” the boots enough to pay half, you don’t want them enough to have them!
Your girl definitely passed that test! Nice boots!!
🙂
Great Boots! My first Nike’s (pronounced Nike not Nikey where I lived) were white with a red swoosh and I found laces with strawberries on them. I was in 6th grade. I wish I was fanatical about taking care of my stuff.
Those boots rock. I’ve never had a pair. I only own one or two pair of shoes at a time. I have a really hard foot to fit. When I was young it was ugly lace up shoes and they had to last. We went bare-footed from the time school let out until it started in the Fall. I loved that. (no ugly shoes) I did have church shoes. When we moved, we could barely afford shoes, period. As a new kid in a new school, I was picked on. Some mean girls threw my sneakers on the roof of the PE building. I remember my panic thinking how hard it was for my mom to buy me those shoes and I had let them get away from me. I still have very few shoes but prefer clogs now. I would love to have enough money to buy a pair of Danesko clogs I saw in a catalog. LOL
Nice boots, Chatter. You can do some high stompin in them lol. Can you Contra Dance in them.
When I was little, a long time ago, I had cowboy boots. I had to have cowboy boots, it was the uniform, I lived in Texas! When I started to school I wore my cowboy boots. I loved those boots. Well, my teacher called home to tell my parents that either the boots had to go or I had to go. Seems that I made too much noise in them. As I recall the noise was when I ran out of class, down the hall, out the door, and across the bayou to home. I didn’t like school, you see, so every time I got half a chance I split! You understand, I thought it was me that should go not the boots. You know how parents are, though, so I was no longer allowed to wear the boots to school. Pity, too, those boots had wings, I could fly in them.
Well I was still in school and the boots were gone, but I was gone too every time that teacher turned her back. You might think that I learned to love school. NOT! I got over my dislike for school several years after I graduated!
Nice boots, Chatter, I can’t wait to see them!
Oh yeah! I HAD to have Converse. Loved those shoes. They made me run faster and jump higher. LOL
But I don’t have them anymore, wore them completely out.
The boots look nice! When I was younger I wanted Reeboks. I was like you and just had to have them and never paid for them myself, either.
A good pair of boots is more inexpensive than the three pair of cheap boots they will outlast.
Nice boots!! I went to the shoe store today with my dh-his 10+ yr old hunting boots starting leaking this past week during the rain while he was on a hunting trip (no, he didnt’ get anything, nor did the other 3 fellas that were with him. Rain and high winds don’t make for good hunting). Anyway, I was thinking how I just dont know how to buy shoes. Growing up, the youngest of 6, my shoes were bought out of necessity, not ‘oh i need a pair of shoes to mathc this outfit’. And I wore them til they were worn out. Add to that a size 9 1/2 W foot that is just as thick as it is wide-well, it’s hard to even find my size. Guess my foot shape came from spendign too much time going ’round barefoot. Shoe shopping stresses me out. Blah!
Enjoy your boots!!
Hooray, Chatter! Love those boots. Boots are my great weakness, and it’s so hard to keep from buying every beautiful pair I see. Please tell Chatter she made a great selection!
I really enjoy your blog. This one brought back memories.In our family we had one set of shoes and clothes for school and another for church. Always got new ones at Easter and Christmas. My first grade class picture shows most of the children without shoes.
Cool boots, when I was in seventh grade , it was penny loafers. I am sure that my parents couldn’t afford them either. Each year, I got a new pair. Each year , they were a different color. Brown, navy, black and the dark wine color. They had to be made by Bass. I took good care of them. We did have them resoled if needed.
Oh Ms Chatter I love those new boots. So very pretty. If you even put them on a rummage sale please let me know. I’ll buy them.
I just recently bought my first pair of leather lace up boots (I blogged about it several weeks ago) I am so proud of mine tot, in fact I have been known to wear them to work with docker slacks. I polish them weekly.
Tell Deer hunter congratulations on a very nice deer too!
Deer season today has been rained out. Rained out by buckets full, it looks like we have had over 3 inchs since the early morning.
Patti
Now those are some nice looking boots, I’m happy for her.
Yahooooooo Chatter! Love your boots! You see, I happen to LOVE
cowboy boots. Because they hold up to any weather, I wear them spring, fall, and winter. Of course, during the summer, I wear sandals. I own two pair of boots, and they’ve lasted for years. Not so much because of the money, which of course, anyone who has any respect for the dollar cannot deny, but because they wear so beautifully! They’re the most comfortable shoes I own! And the more worn, the better they look!
Wear them in good health, Chatter! Fun post, Tipper! :))
That’s one happy girl! I understand how she feels… I don’t buy things new often, but when I do, it’s usually something I really want! Hopefully she’ll take good care of them and get her use of them!