Increase Fashion Sense With Chucks?
Chucks? Converse shoes? Huh? Ok, so I was never really much for fashion. I wore homemade clothes and Garanimals as a kid… anyone remember those clothes from Montgomery Ward and JC Penny?? Yep, that was me… striped tops and solid bottoms or the oh so matchy-matchy outfits with same color tops and bottoms!
Style?
I do have to insert here that my mother was a school teacher (go teachers!) and her outfits frequently matched from top to bottom with matching shoes and handbag too. It was quite an art form! She was a good dresser, very put together. For some reason though, I absolutely loathe matching tops and bottoms. I’m not sure whether that was just never really my style, or whether I’m completely protesting my past. Sigh. But that was me. Outfits matched for me was the start of an ongoing thing, where I just can’t pick an outfit that looks nice together to save my life!
I have to give kudos where kudos are due. About 10 years ago, after ‘What Not To Wear’ became a hit, and I really did look like all those sad looking women, I decided my “sweatpants every day” mommy phase should come to an end.
I begged a friend of mine, Misty Yost, to enlighten me on her fashion secrets. She was always so put together and wore the cutest outfits. She was cute and blonde and could pull off just about anything, but she knew what looked good on her and was confident about it. Misty helped me say goodbye to my “big girl panties,” literally, (gasp! I know, talking about underwear!) and helped me dress for the shape I was in, which was terrible at the time.
Back in black
She told me that I could, in fact, wear black. I had never owned a black piece of clothing before, but she helped me buy my first pair of tall black boots, which I wore a ton and just retired (they literally lasted me 10 years!) this past winter (because they finally fell apart). She was so encouraging and complimentary and made me try on things I would never have even looked at before. Misty made shopping fun!
I typically hated shopping for clothes because nothing ever looked right on me, or so I thought. I’m fairly short, 5’5″, but I have a shoe size of 10! My mother always told me I would grow into my feet, but I guess God had other plans. Companies that manufacture shoes expect that women who wear size 10, should be tall or large or something. Size 10 shoes are typically wide and, no offense, “granny” looking. What gives? Can’t I be young-ish, fun and find cute size 10 shoes? Evidently not.
Firsts…
Fast forward 10 years and I actually kind of like shopping, even for shoes. I now have a small boot obsession as well, I have a few pairs in my closet. I really like boots, but my new found LOVE of Converse shoes was something I just kind of stumbled into. While shopping at Plato’s Closet, an upscale second-hand clothing store, most likely on the hunt for yet another American Eagle or Aeropostale hoodie (more on that addiction later), I stumbled upon my first pair of Chucks.
Ok, so I know a LOT of people have problems with buying other peoples previously worn shoes. Have you not heard of Lysol, or some other more earth friendly alternative fungal spray? Come on! Most of the time you’re wearing socks in them anyway! I seriously picked up my first pair of Chucks for like $12! I was hooked!
They were SO comfortable and were a neutral grey color, so I could wear them with almost everything I owned. My first, Converse One Star, grey, low top, laceless, slip on tennis shoes. They even still had some of the fuzz on the sole of the shoe. I didn’t know Converse shoes were even still a thing!
I had never owned a pair before. I started scouring Ebay for my second pair almost immediately. Enter second pair of Chucks. Another pair of One Star, faded blue, low top, laceless, slip ons. Ooooo, these went with even more outfits… then on to my first pair of classic high tops. Black of course.
Favorites!
Then I found the color of all colors… burnt orange! I think I heard a chorus of angels sing when I first spied them on the shelf in Kohls. What luck! My second favorite color in the whole wide world! Orange!
PLUS, I can wear them every Sunday (this was my mental conversation as I talked myself into purchasing them) because our church colors are grey and what? Orange! They match the T-shirt I am honored to wear while serving in our children’s ministry.
Note: I’m pretty sure they took my massive love of all things orange into consideration before selecting it as the color for our new church logo… well, at least I like to think that!
It’s a 10!
10? Is there a 10? Where’s the size 10, I mean 8, can I have an 8? Yes, they’re unisex shoes, so I can either look for a men’s 8 or women’s 10. Either way, they’ll fit… and there they were! So excited! (Insert weird happy dance here.)
And so continues the saga of Converse shoes in my closet. I don’t like to think of myself as materialistic by any means. I’m much happier in jeans and an old worn out hoodie than anything else, but I do love it when I’m walking somewhere and someone says… “Nice Chucks!” I smile.
They’re not complimenting my form, or lack thereof at this point, they’re not complimenting how I look, my hairstyle or what I’m wearing on the rest of my body, they’re just complimenting the shoes. I really don’t think it’s possible for me to make a shoe look good, is it? Up until this point in my life, I just really don’t think I’ve ever had a great sense of style, so by complimenting the shoe, which I just happened to pick… I guess finally, it’s kudos to me! (If only for this one small thing.) It’s not a pride thing, it just makes me smile.
And that’s my life in Chucks.
What are your favorite pair of Converse? Or what makes you feel good when you wear it?
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