The Right Shoes

‘Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world.’ – Marilyn Monroe.

I think it is fair to say that most women have a favourite pair of shoes. I think it’s fair to say that a lot of women, if asked which is their favourite pair of shoes, may say that it is their high heels, their stilettos, their go-to boots, their smart black brogues, their cute pumps… Something fashionable, smart, formal, sexy… Probably not a pair of manky old flip flops they’ve owned for more than three years.
My favourite pair of shoes are my manky old flip flops that I’ve owned for more than three years. I bought them in 2012, to take on my trip to Ghana. They cost me £15 from New Look. It’s probably the best £15 I have ever spent. They’re black and pink and had ‘Pineapple’ written across them. They’re so worn now that the ‘Pineapple’ is all but gone. The sole of them is wearing thin and if I accidentally tread on a stone, I wince and have to jump quickly off as it goes straight through the foam!

I love my flip flops for the simple reason that if they could talk, they would have some fantastic stories to tell. They’ve come with me to Ghana, Barcelona, Morocco, Pembrokeshire, New Zealand and a thousand other places – beaches, cities, forests, rivers, hills, mountains… They’ve pretty much been my go-to shoe throughout summers and hot holidays for the past three years.

For the most part, they’ve served me well. We’ve had a couple of fallings out – the most memorable being the day we traipsed aimlessly around Barcelona and the friction of them moving against my feet buggered my feet for the rest of the trip. They have turned against me on other occasions – sometimes rubbing my left foot for no reason other than spite. Having said that, I’ve pretty much lived in them for the past four or more months in New Zealand and they’ve been great, especially since I started my new job. I wear them to walk to work every single day (unless there’s rain) and have had no problems with them whatsoever.

I took fancy sandals with me on warm/hot holidays in the past and barely wore them, preferring the comfort and familiarity of my grubby flip flops. They were pretty much the first thing I packed when I was choosing what to bring to New Zealand.

Together, my flip flops and I must have walked hundreds of miles. We have pretty much pounded every street in Wellington. We’ve walked along deserted beaches together, quite often with me carrying them in my hand so I could feel the sand and sea between my toes. We trekked around Barcelona, that awful day when I could have kicked them off and left them in the gutter they were hurting me so badly! They were pretty much glued to my feet whilst I was in Ghana and Morocco, particularly in Marrakech, where we wandered the stifling city streets and got lost in the medina and endless souks.

In Ghana, after some heavy rain, some heavy alcohol consumption (on my part, not the flip flops’!) and in the dark, they betrayed me and I slipped and fell into a ditch, which caused a nasty graze/cut which had to be bandaged/covered up for the majority of the rest of my trip. I had to wear my flip flops after that, whether I wanted to or not. They were the only thing that fitted onto my feet with my dressings!

In short, my flip flops are so highly valued by me and have been so many places and shared so many of my wonderful travel and exploration experiences, that I just felt like I needed to write a blog post about them. I feel they’re moving into the autumn of their lifespan. They are wearing thin now, as I’ve mentioned. At some point in the not too distant future they’ll probably get a hole in the bottom of them and need replacing. It’ll be a sad day.

I expect you do have a favourite pair of shoes. They may well be high heels, stilettos, go-to boots, smart black brogues or cute pumps. Alternatively, they could be a well-worn pair of grubby flip flops that have been everywhere with you. Or they could be your wedding shoes, your running trainers that get you from A to B, your Doc Martens… In short, your favourite pair of shoes could be pretty much any type of shoe, but I bet you’ve got a damn good reason, sentimental or otherwise, for them being your favourite pair. Just like me!!