Black Boots

   I've never really followed fashion. It's sort of silly for me to do so because in order to be fashionable, one needs to be very thin, tall, and curvy in the right places. The short and stout need not apply.
   Every once in awhile I see a fashion trend that I would like to wear. This year it is boots. I see women wearing jeans and leggings tucked into all kinds of boots. There's riding boots, motorcycle boots and western boots. Some of them are short ankle boots, some are long and cover the knees and some are in between. There are boots with spike heels, wedge heels and low heels. I would look wistfully at all the boots and wish that I could have a pair to wear.
   I've had boots before. When I was in third grade I had a pair of reddish brown boots. I liked to wear them with a pair of green gauchos that I had. For those of you who don't know gauchos are a wide legged pant that is just below the knee in length. I though I was really cool when I had my boots and gauchos on. Many, many years later I was preparing to go on vacation to eastern Montana and South Dakota. I was going to be spending time with a friend in South Dakota and thought it would be nice to have a pair of western boots. I didn't want to spend a ton of money and I had to have something with a low heel. I found a pair that I liked and bought them. I wore them a few times during my trip. I didn't realize how painful it would be to shove my wide feet into boots meant for feet that were half my width. It took several weeks for my feet  to heal up. I gave those boots to Goodwill and never bought another pair.
  The boot trend had come and gone a few times since then. I was always successful in resisting it before because I reminded myself of how painful boots are to wear. Most boots also have at least a one inch heel which is something I can't do for more than a few hours. There's also the height factor. Short,stout people need to be careful with clothes because certain styles and fits can make you look shorter and stouter than you really are.
  This didn't stop me from looking longingly at the footwear worn at the Sister Bay Festival a few weeks ago. After about 20 minutes I noticed something. Not all of the boots had heels. I noticed something else. Some of the women wearing boots were built like me. The boots did not make them look bad at all. In fact they looked really good in those boots. I started looking at boot styles and colours.
  I decided that I like the reddish brown colour and a length that was halfway between knee and ankle. Then I tentatively asked C what he would think if I got a pair of boots. He had no problem with that.
  A couple days later we went into a shoe shop that sells the only brand of shoes I ever wear. I decided that if that shop had a pair of boots that I liked, I would buy them. I looked around the store and then I spotted them. There were the boots. I found two styles that caught my eye. I decided that one of them was loo long. The other pair was definitely a possibility. They were black and had a wrinkled shaft with a reddish brown top. I decided to try them on. They didn't have my size my size in the brown tipped style, but did in the all black style. Since it was the same boot except for colour this would work. They could order my size and ship it to me. (This always happens.)
  I tried them on. The foot part fit fine. I carefully zipped them up. It was a bit tight. That was all right though because leather stretches a bit. I walked around. They were comfortable. I would take them. C wanted me to try on the longer pair. He thought I would like them. I tried them on, but couldn't get them zipped up. They were a bit too narrow for my legs. I knew that would probably happen with taller boots. Fashion dictates that women must tall and skinny and that includes legs. I ordered the pair I wanted and arranged for shipping.
  A couple of weeks later they arrived. I tried them on. They looked as good as I hoped they would. I decided I would wear them with a skirt to work the next day.
  I wore those boots all day at work and they felt as good as they looked. I also felt like I was looking good. I never realized a pair of shoes could do that.
  I've worn those boots a few times since then. Every time I wear them I feel classy and sophisticated which is kind of hard to do. I like my boots. I might continue to wear them even if they do go out of style.