Put your right foot forward
The actress Bette Midler once said, “Give a girl the correct footwear and she can conquer the world.â€
By Timothy Bukumunhe
The actress Bette Midler once said, “Give a girl the correct footwear and she can conquer the world.â€
Women have more of a shoe fetish than men. And for much of history women’s shoes were kept in the dark, concealed beneath a froth of petticoats or a ballooning crinoline.
While they were one of the most closeted parts of a woman’s attire, ironically they were and are one of the most revealing. Eyes may be the windows to the soul, but shoes are the gateway to the psyche.
Psychologists have vigorously explored the hidden meaning of shoes from phallic symbols to secret vessels. Some say that the woman who collects shoes is a frustrated traveller; others suggest she is symbolically searching for enlightenment.
When it comes to shoes, practicality and comfort are beside the point. It may be one reason that 88 percent of all women buy shoes that are one size too small for them. Shoes can be witty or drop-dead gorgeous, but not very comfortable. All too often they don’t fit like a glove or conform to the foot’s natural contours. But that really doesn’t matter, admits clothing designer Diane von Furstenberg. “You look down at your feet and wink at yourself.â€
Marie Antoinette of France had well over 500 pairs of shoes and the irony of it all is that by the time she was beheaded she did not even know tie her laces! She also had a servant whose sole job was to catalogue her shoes by colour, date and style. During her time as first lady, Imelda Marcos was famed for travelling the world buying new. By the time she went into exile in 1986, Marcos had lost count of how many pairs of shoes she had. So great was the number, they are now housed in the Marikina City Footwear Museum in Manila. Closer to home, designer Sylvia Owori has countless of shoes to her name that she practically has to store them in her garage.
As far as dress is concerned, Ugandan men and women falter when it comes to buying shoes, says Anthony Ogalo a shoe expert at Wina Classics. “Men tend to buy shoes as an after thought. Men also have no clue about buying shoes. So long as they fit, that’s enough for them.â€
He says Ugandan women are a different breed altogether. “They do not take into account if the shoes they are buying will go well with the clothes they have hanging in their wardrobes. Often you see well dressed women, but they have committed a crime by wearing the wrong shoes to the wrong function. Just like we men, some women have worn shoes that are meant for cocktails to the office and they see nothing wrong with it!†he goes on to say.
Ogalo also says that once a pair of shoes has been removed, they need 48 hours to breathe and for the leather to go back to shape. If you wear the same pair of shoes on a continuous basis, they can lose shape.
While the average American woman owns at least 30 pairs of shoes and the passionate collector owns in the hundreds, Ogalo thinks that 95 per cent of Ugandan’s own just one pair of shoes or less.
Taking Ogalo to task, we took some pictures of peoples shoes and this is what he had to say about them.
The actress Bette Midler once said, “Give a girl the correct footwear and she can conquer the world.â€
Women have more of a shoe fetish than men. And for much of history women’s shoes were kept in the dark, concealed beneath a froth of petticoats or a ballooning crinoline.
While they were one of the most closeted parts of a woman’s attire, ironically they were and are one of the most revealing. Eyes may be the windows to the soul, but shoes are the gateway to the psyche.
Psychologists have vigorously explored the hidden meaning of shoes from phallic symbols to secret vessels. Some say that the woman who collects shoes is a frustrated traveller; others suggest she is symbolically searching for enlightenment.
When it comes to shoes, practicality and comfort are beside the point. It may be one reason that 88 percent of all women buy shoes that are one size too small for them. Shoes can be witty or drop-dead gorgeous, but not very comfortable. All too often they don’t fit like a glove or conform to the foot’s natural contours. But that really doesn’t matter, admits clothing designer Diane von Furstenberg. “You look down at your feet and wink at yourself.â€
Marie Antoinette of France had well over 500 pairs of shoes and the irony of it all is that by the time she was beheaded she did not even know tie her laces! She also had a servant whose sole job was to catalogue her shoes by colour, date and style. During her time as first lady, Imelda Marcos was famed for travelling the world buying new. By the time she went into exile in 1986, Marcos had lost count of how many pairs of shoes she had. So great was the number, they are now housed in the Marikina City Footwear Museum in Manila. Closer to home, designer Sylvia Owori has countless of shoes to her name that she practically has to store them in her garage.
As far as dress is concerned, Ugandan men and women falter when it comes to buying shoes, says Anthony Ogalo a shoe expert at Wina Classics. “Men tend to buy shoes as an after thought. Men also have no clue about buying shoes. So long as they fit, that’s enough for them.â€
He says Ugandan women are a different breed altogether. “They do not take into account if the shoes they are buying will go well with the clothes they have hanging in their wardrobes. Often you see well dressed women, but they have committed a crime by wearing the wrong shoes to the wrong function. Just like we men, some women have worn shoes that are meant for cocktails to the office and they see nothing wrong with it!†he goes on to say.
Ogalo also says that once a pair of shoes has been removed, they need 48 hours to breathe and for the leather to go back to shape. If you wear the same pair of shoes on a continuous basis, they can lose shape.
While the average American woman owns at least 30 pairs of shoes and the passionate collector owns in the hundreds, Ogalo thinks that 95 per cent of Ugandan’s own just one pair of shoes or less.
Taking Ogalo to task, we took some pictures of peoples shoes and this is what he had to say about them.