Shoes

By Hannah Cole-Leathers


As soon as I stepped out of our hotel, I knew that this day was going to be one for the record books. The sun shone bright through the few clouds over Las Vegas, Nevada and I could see my reflection in the window of our hotel, the Mirage. I waited for my mother to hail a cab so we could start celebrating her thirty-fifth birthday, (for the twelfth time since I had been born). We had planned to come to Las Vegas to take a sort of pilgrimage to a fashion “Mecca” otherwise known as Caesar’s Palace.
      The stores of this expansive Greek themed mall were known to be legendary, and I was more excited than a child in front of a candy shop. Ceiling to floor was adorned with beautiful paintings, gushing fountains, and of course the flashing logos of all of our favorite designers. Every store imaginable was there, from Gucci to Pucci to Prada, not a soul could be disappointed. Of course my mother had to go pay homage to Louise Vuitton, and I would have gone with her, but something else caught my eye. There was a Dolce and Gabbana store just adjacent and I couldn’t help but to notice a flash of purple. I wandered in the store and was immediately drawn to the most amazing pair of heels I had ever seen. They were electric plum, patent leather, wedges. The heel of the shoe alone was about six inches off the ground and I swear that I could hear the straps begging to be buckled around my ankles. I was soon approached by a very cordial, very pregnant sales woman who wanted nothing more in the world than for me to try on these heels.
      “Size 7” I requested, and she was back in a flash. 
      She helped me buckle each of the shiny purple buckles and stood back as I attempted to stand up. Keep in mind that I was only about thirteen years old at this time and had not had the experience of heels before, or the good graces of balance for that matter. So, after successfully standing up I decided to take these magnificent shoes for a test run. I took my time mastering just walking to the door but I soon found my footing…somewhat. I waltzed as proudly as I could right down to Louis Vuitton to show my mother my great discovery. Luckily she was already on her way to meet me, so I didn’t have to attempt walking very far. She took one look at me and then the biggest grin in the world appeared on her face.  My absolute first pair of heels and I had chosen to try these ones, six inch, bright purple, wedges.
      I had no intention of taking these shoes off so I convinced the sales woman to let me walk just around the indoor plaza. I still remember thinking to myself, “left foot…ok good….right foot” and I continued on like this until I noticed that I had become somewhat of a main attraction. The people around had stopped focusing on their gourmet meals and had decided to watch me attempting to walk. Once I got the hang of it I felt like a model, stretching to almost six feet tall, with the six inch boost of course. My presence was commanding and my shoes were absolutely astonishing and I marched right back to my waiting mother, the expecting sales woman, and that fabulous designer store.
       I wish I could have purchased those heels that day, but alas; what is a thirteen year old girl to do with six inch, electric purple wedges? Nonetheless I will always remember those vibrant purple shoes as my first heels. The way I felt in those shoes is exactly how I imagine Carrie Bradshaw must have felt every day on Sex and the City.