This past Sunday, New York Times photojournalist Bill Cunningham chronicled the close of Fashion Week with a study on the shoes about town. While hanging out on 5th Avenue taking pictures for his weekly “On the Street” feature, Mr. Cunningham ran across studded stilettos and snakeskin stacked heels paired with super-high hemlines. Three hundred miles south, I observed a very different scene in Columbia Heights.
For a city full of people who pride themselves on being up to the minute, nay, the second, on any changes in the news, D.C. residents are sorely behind the times when it comes to footwear. I know this is a great walking city, but it’s possible to find comfortable shoes that don’t fit to the orthopedic aesthetic. There are two specific shoe styles that seem to be particularly popular among the young(ish) women of the District, and I find these two particularly troublesome.
The first is a group I’m going to classify as the “action-adventure bootie.” These usually feature a sculpted rubber base attached to what I’m sure is a very breathable upper section by stretchy crisscrossing straps. Now while I’m willing to concede that these cousins of the old school water shoe have their place in the wardrobes of outdoorsy people, I’ve seen more than a few unfortunate action-adventure/knee-length skirt pairings wandering around unchecked. There is really no reason to get so ugly in the name of comfort; if you really must be sporty and comfortable, there are always Pumas (although these are really only marginally better, as they carry “Euro Trash” connotations).
Perhaps in an effort to class up their comfort shoes, some women opt for the second group: the cankle-inducing Mary Jane. I thought these thick-soled monstrosities went out in 1996, but they’re alive and kicking in D.C., flaunting their unflatteringly high straps that turn even the most delicate of gams into tree trunks. Again, they’re a popular accompaniment to the dowdy skirts found on this city’s pretty young things.
I tend to end my columns with some kind of call to fashionable action, but I’m not even going to bother to do that today. It’s not because I don’t think D.C. could do with a little wardrobe revamp—indeed, I hope that at least one person reads this and decides to throw out their Merrells. But as much as I hope that, I do feel a little bit bad saying so. The women I’m ripping on are undoubtedly thinking about things far more important than their shoes. In a city full of empowered, informed females bringing justice to the world through their work for NGOs and non-profits, where do I get off telling them that their shoes are weird and ugly? I know D.C. is not New York, but maybe before flipping right to the op-ed section, these ladies could take a quick glance at the styles section. It can’t hurt.
Put on your boogie shoes with Katherine at kln7@georgetown.edu.
