Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Shoes

Lately I've been thinking about shoes... this is likely due to my recent escapade to try to find myself a pair. Once I found a store and started looking... there were many shoes that I considered to be cool but weren't what I'd call "Wesley." That got me thinking... what sort of shoe does say "Wesley?" In fact do we pick shoes which reflect who we are or how we think, or are we this way due to the shoes we buy. As I searched I inevitably did find a pair that seemed Wesley enough, and I purchased them. Since then I've begun looking more closely at what people wear for shoes, something that I had never really had much interest in. I've decided you can tell a lot about a person from their shoes, a seemingly innocent piece of clothing. Of course I could be inferring a lot when I start making snap judgments about people based on their choice of footwear... but it's still interesting to see who is wearing what nonetheless.


I see alot of different styles and fashions as I peruse this city, if you haven't guessed by now I enjoy people watching. It's interesting to take in not only what people wear, but also how they act. Not being fluent in French, I don't typically know what they might be saying but according to their tone you usually can pick up alot . There are moments where I can't help but chuckle a little when I see someone, these people are typically those who may be wearing their just off to the side enough to be cool, wife beater, and a little too much bling . We can get so caught up in consumerism sometimes... If only I had a coach bag, matching shoes, and of course Oakley glasses. The more money we wear the cooler we might be... now I might be a hypocrite for saying these things, sure there are times where I really like an expensive jacket or article of clothing. Yet I don't think I get as caught up into all of it, in many cases I'm pretty stingy. I saw a teenager the other day, amongst some of his friends, visibly self conscious about not only his looks but how he stood, laughed, and where he looked. I think I used to be him, and sometimes still am that way. Worrying about what I look like, nervous about not saying the wrong thing or just looking stupid. Maybe this is just breeding out of old high school popularity-aphobia. Now I'm just ranting and rambling... but your still reading so maybe I'll continue.


In life we can always encounter certain types or groups of people we can stereotype into smaller categories, so it's easier for us to assume who they are. It starts in high school and continues on from there; Jocks, Geeks, Preps, Emo, Goth, Punk, I dunno I'm sure there are a billion other. What strikes me is how easily they are able to spot at times, based on their appearance... sure I'm sure it's their own preferences for clothing, which somewhere along the line starts to define the entire group. Almost like me wearing a big sign on my back that says "Geek/Farmer/ugh no wait Kayaker" on my back. Since high school I don't think I've ever really fully fit into a category, and I pride myself for it. Yet when I think about the clothes I wear, I guess I sort of wear skater clothes... but don't really skate board... Guess that makes me a "Poser."


There really isn't much of a point of this blog post, other than just sort of a brain dump of thoughts I've been thinking about lately. Perhaps I am saying something though about commercialism and stereotypes... ugh... ignore both! Good lesson for today!

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