The Red Shoes

For an unfashionable person like me, buying a red footwear took lot of courage. Add to it the fact that being a woman who buys shoes only when there is need (yes, literally!), and who sins against the entire breed of femininity by owning just 3-4 pairs, the act was one of dare. It lay there on the shelf, audacious and appealing, making my fingers itch and twitch to grab it. The temptation was so sudden and so strong that in a few minutes, the shoes that were adorning the shoe-shop were in my house. My son who LOVES red went gaga over them and would ask me to wear them whenever I went out. And I, in Hamlet-like fashion procrastinated, 'to wear or not to wear.' After I had spent umpteen moments on dawdling, I finally took the pair out and wore them. Needless to say they were attention grabbers. Those who saw them, admired them. It really made me wonder about the wonder of the red shoes. 

Sneakers, loafers, flats, slippers, stilettos, wedges, pumps, heels, slip-ons, sandals, boots.....the list goes on and on. We try different colors and styles for different occasions. But what is so special about that pair of red shoes that you have? Why is it that the red one glimmers and shimmers more? What is so catchy about its gleam and sheen? Why is it that the red shoe allures, enchants, captivates and makes everyone literally bow down? What is the secret to the fascination and seductiveness of wearing scarlet? Was Bill Blass, the American fashion designer right when he said," When in doubt, wear red"?

The color red has often been associated with vigorous energy, with impulse and rashness. It is the color of the blood, the color associated with intrepidity, with adventure, with passion and seduction. In ancient times, red color signified status and rank. It came as a surprise to me when I found out that in France, it was the privilege of the royalty and the courtiers to wear red-dyed shoes. The red shoes signified one's rank and status in the times of Louis XIV during the 17th century. The color red was expensive as an imported insect was used in the making of the red dye and only the rich could afford it. The fashion was lost after that, only to emerge in literature with all its sinful connotations. Hans Christian Andersen's morality tale  The Red Shoes depicted red in all its rashness...it was rage, it was sin, it was uncontrollable force. This interpretation took on a different meaning when in the movie The Wizard Of Oz, the Bad Witch of the East became the wearer of the red shoes, or ruby slippers as they were called but when she was killed, the shoes were passed on to Dorothy, the good girl. The ruby slippers were liked so much that they have been treasured since then as part of film memorabilia. 

So much so about the little history of red shoes. They are a rage now. Luxury brands catering to high-end fashionistas know their trade well when they bathe their shoes in red. Louboutin, majorly famous for his red-soled heels, said that he chose the color because it is "engaging, flirtatious, memorable, and the color of passion". Doesn't this suffice enough as a reason? We carry ourselves on our feet and the feet that is tucked in red sure is a winner. It shows independence, it emanates certitude, it speaks authority, it effuses happiness. Red shoes look modish and voguish. They are the style statement of the urbane stylish women in today's vanity fair. They turn heads by mere tip-toeing. Can there a something as powerful as that? The conspicuous visibility of the red color is never lost by the trotting, tapping, walking, dancing, running feet. The spectacle that unfolds with the red stride is a feast to the eyes. Then why wait, GO DARE!


(Like my posts. I feel good. Leave me a comment. I feel great!)
[Visit http://www.top10reviews.in/ for interesting articles.]

[Winds of Change: Embracing the Girl Child. Read here]