A really long post about shoe shopping
Why? Because I haven't posted about shoes in a long time.
Hayley has very particular taste in a lot of things, and I found out yesterday that one of those particular things is shoes. Not that I mind her having a very particular taste, and particularly in shoes, but it does make for somewhat of a frustrating shopping trip when her particular tastes don't mesh with mine. (Spoiler alert: it turns out fine in the end). There were lots of knitted brows and sighs and curled lips and grrrrrrrs.
She wanted skater shoes for school and I guess I didn't mind what she had in mind (although secretly I had hoped she'd changed tastes in the nanosecond before we opened the doors to Kohls--the store for which I had a 30% off coupon--to something a little more teenager girly that maybe involved the color light blue or had pink stitching or something other than a black pair of Chucks)(whew, that was a long parenthetical remark. Are you still with me? I could live with her having black DCs with colorful accents because they weren't boys' Chucks) but I wasn't hip-hip-hooray about it. I had the coupon, which I find somewhat ameliorates the discord between her tastes and mine.
But sadly for Hayley, Kohl's did not have DC black skater shoes for girls in stock. You had to order them online. I refused because I didn't want to bother with guessing what size she would be and I didn't want to mess with sending them back if they didn't fit. I suggested that she look at other shoes in the store. She gave me that "I can't believe you just said that to me" look, and I gave right back the look that said, "I'm your mother; don't give me that look." Then I suggested we look at pants and she perked up. (We had come to Kohl's in search of pants too). There we had more luck. Stuff is always on sale at Kohl's and it didn't take more than a few minutes for Hayley to find pants that she liked and that I approved of (It's my money so I get to do the approving) and fit in my budget.
But still, what to do for shoes? (Be glad I skipped over the part where we shopped for underwear--although, I have to mention that Hayley said that thanks to the sewing talents of Grandma Olsen, she never knew underwear could be purchased in a store until she was in her late elementary school years. We had a good laugh and not at Grandma's expense. We love Grandma and her penchant for sewing underwear and giving it as gifts for birthdays. Really. Really really)
I suggested another store that was close by and Hayley said ok. But still no DCs. Because I love shoes, I couldn't help but try several pairs on just for fun. I tried on the biggest platform stilettos I have ever seen. They were sparkly gold and on sale! I felt seven feet tall when I finally managed to hike myself up to the altitude necessary to put them on. I managed a few wobbly steps, much to Hayley's horror. She pleaded with me to take them off because I was hurting her eyes and embarrassing her.
She finally found a pair she liked, and I thought they were too boyish, but since they were gray and not black, I would be ok with it. We looked some more because I wanted to try on more outrageous shoes. She stood, trying not to be appalled at my choices. Then she spotted another pair of shoes that she liked better and that I liked better too.
Happily, we were in agreement and they were $20 cheaper than the gray ones. Then I suggested she look for church shoes. She complains about her one pair of black flats that flop all over the place, so I asked her what kind of shoes she might like. She said not flats. That was news to me because for so long, she didn't want anything with a heel.
There was still the problem of her particularity. No strappy shoes, no pumps, no pointy toes, no really high heels, nothing pink or sparkly or anything with a bow. Really, child, that pretty much leaves us with nothing.
But the heavens did smile upon us that day because I found the cutest pair of gray houndstooth black low heel pumps with a buckle on the front that was just enough Japanese prep school girly for Hayley and just enough normal looking church shoe for me. She likes them very much and I am glad she has something nice to wear to church.
They remind me of the two pairs of shoes Jennie and I had in our dress-up box. One of the pairs was dark green and had a buckle across it kind of like these shoes. Happy memories!
Have I mentioned recently how much I love shoes? I don't think I have. I love shoes. I consider it a travesty (and also a supreme exertion of will power) that I walked out of DSW with only one pair of shoes for me, and they were tennis shoes. Those platform stilettos in gold are calling for me!
Hayley has very particular taste in a lot of things, and I found out yesterday that one of those particular things is shoes. Not that I mind her having a very particular taste, and particularly in shoes, but it does make for somewhat of a frustrating shopping trip when her particular tastes don't mesh with mine. (Spoiler alert: it turns out fine in the end). There were lots of knitted brows and sighs and curled lips and grrrrrrrs.
She wanted skater shoes for school and I guess I didn't mind what she had in mind (although secretly I had hoped she'd changed tastes in the nanosecond before we opened the doors to Kohls--the store for which I had a 30% off coupon--to something a little more teenager girly that maybe involved the color light blue or had pink stitching or something other than a black pair of Chucks)(whew, that was a long parenthetical remark. Are you still with me? I could live with her having black DCs with colorful accents because they weren't boys' Chucks) but I wasn't hip-hip-hooray about it. I had the coupon, which I find somewhat ameliorates the discord between her tastes and mine.
But sadly for Hayley, Kohl's did not have DC black skater shoes for girls in stock. You had to order them online. I refused because I didn't want to bother with guessing what size she would be and I didn't want to mess with sending them back if they didn't fit. I suggested that she look at other shoes in the store. She gave me that "I can't believe you just said that to me" look, and I gave right back the look that said, "I'm your mother; don't give me that look." Then I suggested we look at pants and she perked up. (We had come to Kohl's in search of pants too). There we had more luck. Stuff is always on sale at Kohl's and it didn't take more than a few minutes for Hayley to find pants that she liked and that I approved of (It's my money so I get to do the approving) and fit in my budget.
But still, what to do for shoes? (Be glad I skipped over the part where we shopped for underwear--although, I have to mention that Hayley said that thanks to the sewing talents of Grandma Olsen, she never knew underwear could be purchased in a store until she was in her late elementary school years. We had a good laugh and not at Grandma's expense. We love Grandma and her penchant for sewing underwear and giving it as gifts for birthdays. Really. Really really)
I suggested another store that was close by and Hayley said ok. But still no DCs. Because I love shoes, I couldn't help but try several pairs on just for fun. I tried on the biggest platform stilettos I have ever seen. They were sparkly gold and on sale! I felt seven feet tall when I finally managed to hike myself up to the altitude necessary to put them on. I managed a few wobbly steps, much to Hayley's horror. She pleaded with me to take them off because I was hurting her eyes and embarrassing her.
She finally found a pair she liked, and I thought they were too boyish, but since they were gray and not black, I would be ok with it. We looked some more because I wanted to try on more outrageous shoes. She stood, trying not to be appalled at my choices. Then she spotted another pair of shoes that she liked better and that I liked better too.
Happily, we were in agreement and they were $20 cheaper than the gray ones. Then I suggested she look for church shoes. She complains about her one pair of black flats that flop all over the place, so I asked her what kind of shoes she might like. She said not flats. That was news to me because for so long, she didn't want anything with a heel.
There was still the problem of her particularity. No strappy shoes, no pumps, no pointy toes, no really high heels, nothing pink or sparkly or anything with a bow. Really, child, that pretty much leaves us with nothing.
But the heavens did smile upon us that day because I found the cutest pair of gray houndstooth black low heel pumps with a buckle on the front that was just enough Japanese prep school girly for Hayley and just enough normal looking church shoe for me. She likes them very much and I am glad she has something nice to wear to church.
Have I mentioned recently how much I love shoes? I don't think I have. I love shoes. I consider it a travesty (and also a supreme exertion of will power) that I walked out of DSW with only one pair of shoes for me, and they were tennis shoes. Those platform stilettos in gold are calling for me!
Comments
Shopping with kids can always be a frustrating experience. Morgan used to (and still does) work herself to tears. We all just try to find some concensus, right? I firmly believe that it is the parent's responsibility to over see clothing purchases. It was so much easier when they were babies and wore whatever we put on them...