how it all began…

Ballerina flats

I think it started when I was a baby. My Mom loved shoes and had a million pairs of high heels. She wore them all the time, 4 inch heels no less. So maybe she somehow passed that love along to me while I was still in the womb. I know she did with the whole shopping thing so I guess the shoe thing was just a natural one for me to pick up from her too.

Not “cute” shoes

I’m guessing I didn’t get the whole designer cute little shoes thing yet in this picture. But I really don’t think it was my fault. I was only 3 at the time of this picture so I don’t think I had much say in what shoes I wore. Don’t judge me, I just wore what my Mom made me wear.

Saddle Shoes

In this picture I am in elementary school and saddle shoes were all the rage. I was so excited when Mom got these for me.  I loved them and wore them every single day. I polished them and took great care to make sure the white part stayed that way. The cheerleaders wore these in high school and I wanted to be a cheerleader(sadly, that never happened). My older cousin was a cheerleader and she wore hers all the time, so of course I had to wear them too!

Red T Straps

Next it was these red T straps shoes. I don’t know who made them or where we got them, but they were way cool. I wore them with everything. It didn’t matter if what I had on went with the color red or not, I just wore them. They were my first really stylish shoes. I thought I was “it.” Whatever “it” was…

Capezios, My Favorite

You have to excuse me if I get a little teary eyed here. This is my favorite shoe ever…ever!! All of my friends had Capezio shoes and I didn’t. I begged my parents to get them for me and it fell on deaf ears. They were “too expensive.” You have to understand, I was in 7th grade and all the seniors were wearing these. Since I looked up to these girls, all I wanted in my 12 year old life was to have these beautiful shoes.  My friends all had them too and I was the only one in “my group” that didn’t. We all know how that feels. So I asked my parents if I could somehow earn the money to buy them, would they even allow me to get them. They said yes.. I think mostly because they didn’t really think I could do it. But even back then if I wanted something bad enough I would find a way to get it. So I got a “job.”  I started babysitting for a family up the street. They had 3 kids, two of the kids were really sweet and good kids, but the youngest a 3 year old was a real pistol. He was so bad, they had run out of babysitters who would even set foot in their house. So they were very happy to have me. Believe me when I say I earned every penny of the money they paid me and more. It was like something out of a horror movie watching this kid. But I had a goal and when I reached the amount I needed to buy my beloved Capezios none of that mattered. The day Mom and I went downtown to get my shoes was I think the happiest day of my life. I got the shoes I coveted for so long and I paid for them myself. All was right in my world that day, I had my shoes! I wore them home on the bus and slept with them right beside me that night. I couldn’t risk my little sister trying them on and ruining them. I proudly wore my new shoes to school the next day and I was finally “in style.”

I have not been able to find a picture of Capezios, the twin button kind I so loved anywhere on the internet. You can find anything on the internet, why not these? There are a few other styles but no twin button ones like mine. A group of friends were talking about this recently and one of them told me she still had her shoes. Yes, the ones she wore in high school. So I asked her to send me a photo of them. They are pictured below. I couldn’t believe I finally had a picture, only difference is hers are red. The one and only picture I have of mine is the one above of me wearing my black ones. I don’t know what ever happened to my shoes. I miss them…

Linda’s Capezios

Penny Loafers

After the Capezios came the penny loafer. I’m the blonde sitting on the edge of the chaise with the beloved penny loafers on. Everyone was wearing these and I was older and cooler now so I had to have them too. Everyone was also wearing them with a shiny new penny in theirs but I put dimes in mine. I always was a rebel.

My Capezio Heels

For years after the loafers I wore high heels (must have gotten it from Mom). The higher the heels the better. I wore them to work for hours at a time and it didn’t bother me one bit. I loved them and had every color and style. These were Capezio. Yes! They made heels too.

Boots

At this point in my life, I like comfort,  but I still love style. So I wear a lot of boots. I wear them all winter long and if they weren’t so darn hot I would wear them all summer. I love boots. I am into the ankle boots now as well. They are so good for the transition between Spring and Summer. I do love sandals and flip flops for the hot summer months and have a ton of them too.

Right now I am searching for the prefect ballerina type flats. But really I guess I will always be searching for that perfect shoe I once had and loved so much. I loved the look of them, the feel of them and last but not least the smell of them. There was a certain smell Capezios had and no other shoe has come close. Ok, I do know how that sounds, but it’s true. I don’t know if it was a Pennsylvania thing or if girls in other states were as attached to their Capezios as we were. Sadly Capezio is only making shoes for dance now, even after all of our emails and phone calls to them. I did find a pair a few years back, Clark was making them, they weren’t the same style but they were Capezios. They only had one size left…a size 6 and since I wear an 8, they really are a smidgen tight. In reality I can’t get the shoe even half way on my foot. But I have them. I have a pair of Capezios. I open the box now and then and smell them.

I hope you enjoyed my photo trip down shoe memory lane… I leave you as always with a quote and a question.

“One shoe can change your life” ~ Cinderella

What was your favorite shoe?