Day 23 Was running around like crazy, multiple school pickups, getting stuff in the mail for my Skincare business and meeting my husband for dinner (which I am always happy to do … always thankful for it, and it saves having to clean the kitchen). As I am running out of the post office directing my five year old to hold the door like a gentleman, don’t cut in front of people, don’t be loud, don’t run off in the parking lot, don’t stare and hold my hand … you can imagine I was more focused on him than keeping myself upright in a forward motion. I trip over something imaginary, not wanting to drop the 15 packages and envelopes I had precariously balanced in my one free arm and, almost in slow motion as I feel myself going down, I hear my little guy say, “don’t worry mommy I will catch you.” Thankfully his little body in front of me trying to keep me up was all the cue my body needed to stay upright, not crush him and not drop the packages. Then I hear him say, “phew that was a close one!” Even though I spent most of my younger years as a competitive dancer, then and now I still had and have a phenomenal ability to trip over myself. But that didn’t and does not stop me from my love for platform sandals.
That is why I incorporated a pair of platform sandals into my static wardrobe. If you’re wearing the same thing every day, it is essential to choose an item that brings you to your happy place and for me that’s platform sandals. One of my first pairs was 1994 in NYC: platform espadrilles that laced around the ankle. I wore them with a super short neutral color plaid, pleated mini skirt that had buckles on the side and a black cap sleeved tee shirt. An outfit made to deal with the heat in NYC, where the summer is usually stifling and very smelly.
I was working for the company I previously blogged about that timed the frequency and duration of coffee breaks (even when you were working a 16-hour day). So of course since I was the rule follower then (as I am now), I decided running for my coffee was a good idea – need to keep that time out of office to a minimum! And yes, in my new platforms … why not? Every Manhattanite knows the travails of rolled ankles in the City: some of the cracks in the sidewalks in New York are so big they could swallow your foot, but other times it’s a bump you can hardly see. Those are the killer, the sneaky ones that you’re not prepared for. You guessed it, as I was running I feel my ankle turn and I start falling in slow motion. This time I half-caught myself and then kept falling … you know, the super ungraceful fall. The one where you are thinking “oh good, I caught myself …. oh no, I am still falling.” I landed on my hands and knees in the middle of a super busy sidewalk. I am quite sure my panties were showing since I had on a mini skirt. Then I see a hand extend down in front of me as if it were from heaven. I was too embarrassed to take the extremely well-manicured hand and I also had a very “no one is going to help me” attitude. I stood up knees and hands bleeding and looked over to see Dustin Hoffman staring at me. He kindly asked if I was ok. When I said yes, before I could say another word out of my stunned state, he turned around and went on his way headed north toward the Theater District. My building in the Fashion District was only three blocks from the Theater District, so celeb sightings were not entirely rare. I walked back to into my office with no coffee, bloody knees, and bloody hands but I had a good story to tell. Unfortunately, I did not make many friends that day coming back from a coffee run empty handed, and late on top of that.
That did not stop me from wearing my favorite shoes. To answer my blog question: How can I walk in platforms? Honestly, it’s much easier than stilettos, and far more comfortable. The base of the shoe is big and that redistributes the weight, whereas in stilettos you are teetering on a tiny 1/2″ square. I do have to say, however, that I think wearing Birkenstocks plus CrossFitting has make it slightly less enjoyable when I do wear platforms: my feet are more used to being flat and I have a bit more calf pain the next day after sporting my platforms. But I am absolutely not giving up on them and I am hoping they never go out of style. Over the years I have seen the style of the platform change and the evolution to a smaller platform in the front (almost nonexistent: they’re called a wedge). But I think they too are here to stay. Not so sure about the Doc Martins, even though they are back at the moment. I wore Doc Martins in high school, college, and some of my first days while working. They had a good run, and they are back … we will see if they stick this time around. Now with the big recycle, “vintage,” second hand market place I don’t think any trends will really die fully!
Tomorrow pop back for another fun Fashion Industry story about padlocked doors and more tips on the long term use of a static wardrobe.
Fashion Drawings Just for fun!
