ERAS TOUR: RACHEL’S VERSION
When Taylor Swift famously sang the lyrics, “I knew you were trouble when you walked in, so shame on me,” she was dissecting her romance with the charismatic cad, Harry Styles. When my daughter, Lillian, and I scored two tickets to see her Eras Tour, I applied these lyrics to my life. Not because I am dating Harry Styles. No, when I hear these lyrics, she is talking about my shoe choices over the years. For over 45 years, I’ve worn shoes that I knew would be trouble and “left me lying on the cold hard ground.” But, just as Taylor couldn’t say no to Harry, I could never say no to sacrificing comfort for fashion.
Once upon a time, a few mistakes ago, Dr. Scholl had me in his sights. Everyone who was anyone in 1978 owned a pair of his solid wood flip-flops. How could a shoe handcrafted by a doctor be uncomfortable? Dr. Scholl’s wooden sandal was contoured to cradle my toes — a bump that allowed my toes to grip it to help my little feet lift and lower the heavy flip-flops. I chose the white leather strap pair to go with all my outfits. I was eager to show them off at school, and then I needed a doctor for a different reason. These shoes were pure torment. With every eighth step, one of the heavy wooden blocks would wallop the tender spot on the inside ankle of the opposite foot. Sometimes it would bruise, and sometimes it would break the skin. It was my first lesson that sometimes the perfect shoes make you miserable.
The following year, I was a cheerleader for Halloween and insisted on wearing the all-white Tretorn tennis shoes. I was going for authenticity; everyone knew cheerleaders only wear all-white shoes. Unfortunately, I discovered that these shoes rubbed the back of my heels just a half hour into trick or treating. I limped from house to house, the back of my feet bleeding. This cheer captain wished she was on the bleachers. It was a miserable three hours, but I had a pillowcase of candy as consolation.
In college, I looked at a pair of black flats and said, “You look like my next mistake.” I insisted on wearing them to a party in the dead of winter. I had determined that wearing socks with flats looked stupid, so I trudged sockless in the snow for 20 minutes to the party instead of changing my outfit. My feet were cold, wet, and numb. The only thing saving me was that I was also numb from the beer I drank. So, it was totally worth it. I looked great.
Just when you might think we’ve all made poor choices when we were young, I must admit to the “The Great New York City Shoe Debacle of 2010.” I was in my forties and still making the same questionable decisions. I was going with friends to see a taping of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I wanted to look nice just in case I ran into Jon before the show. So, I wore my most comfortable-heeled sandals. I didn’t think the three-inch block heel qualified as high. I had worn these many times without incident but never attempted to walk ten city blocks in them. By the third block, both feet developed blisters — a feeling I knew all too well. I was hobbling and crying out in pain. The bottom of my feet bled as I saw the show’s awning in the distance. I considered taking off my shoes and walking barefoot in New York City. It was that bad. If I had met Jon at the show, I would have asked him for a ride back to the hotel instead of an autograph.
Swifties do not half-ass the opportunity to dress up for the Eras Tour. What you wear showcases your favorite Taylor Swift era — whether it’s bejeweled or country or the color red. To come to the show and not communicate something significant with your outfit is lame. Lillian wore a lovely lavender fringed dress and the cowgirl boots I gave her for Christmas. But as any good mom tries to save their daughter from the mistakes of their youth, we had this exchange.
“Hey, Lil. It’s going to be 90 degrees. Will you be too hot in boots?”
“No, Mom.”
“We are going to be on our feet for eight hours and doing a lot of walking. Are you sure you want to wear brand-new boots?”
“Yes, Mom.” (sigh, eye roll)
As tempting as it was to buy matching boots with Lil, I’m finally in my “Practical Era.” After years of unfortunate shoe decisions, I communicated comfort and well-being at the show, not high fashion. I was easy to pick out of the crowd. I wore my old, dirty, grey Keen sandals — no heels, no glitter. After all these years, I knew I needed to be capable of carrying my daughter to the car if her brand-new cowgirl boots destroyed her feet.
I finally made a mature shoe choice when I was going to see Taylor Swift. Her songs are about loss, hope, love, mistakes and redemption. I make questionable shoe decisions just like Taylor makes questionable dating decisions. I finally learned from my mistake. I hope Taylor’s next love affair is as perfect as my shoe choice for her show.
