I was a kid in the 1970’s, and observe of late, that fashion of a bygone era never leaves us. Instead, fashion, design, color palettes and fabrics are like the noble cicada- who buries itself in the dirt for decades, only to re-emerge like Chucky’s hand in the mud to remind us how far we haven’t come.
Smock tops, smock dresses, smocks, patchwork fabric, aprons, vests, bell bottoms- you remember. I believed velvet was for couches (as a proud Italian American) or velvet was flocked for damask wallpaper, or that velvet was the clean shave you got with a disposable razor. All true, but we also wore velvet.
We can’t talk about fashion unless we also discuss shoes. Though considered accessories- for me, if you can’t go outside, or go anywhere without shoes, they are essential. An accessory- like a hat, you can take or leave, but try going out without shoes. It’s impossible.
When I wrote The Shoemaker’s Wife, the fictional account of my grandfather Carlo Bonicelli who was trained as a shoemaker in Italy before emigrating to the United States, I learned everything I could about his work. I was stunned to learn that every pair of shoes around the world for ions and centuries had to be made by hand. It was the discovery of the rubber plant in the Congo in the early 20th century that changed everything. When soles did not have to be sewn, they could be glued. Glue changed shoe production and landed it in factories around the world. Handmade shoes are now considered a luxury, but there was time when they were a necessity. Your only option.
I’m from a big family. If you’re from a big family, you could write the rest of this Bulletin article. You know what I am about to share. When you’re from a big family, you had two pairs of shoes: school shoes and Sunday shoes. The school shoes were purchased in August before school started. You got the new Sunday shoes every year at Easter. I should point out that a third pair of shoes were introduced with a gym requirement- tennis shoes. Most of the kids I grew up with wore tennis shoes for school shoes. I did not. I wanted suede shoes. I wanted Hush Puppies.
Hush Puppies are American-made shoes, either loafer/slip-on or lace-ups. They had a black rubbery sole that felt like suede. The laces on the tie-up shoe was thin and black. You had a choice of gray suede, tan suede or dark blue suede. That was it.
I chose the gray suede, but mine, the children’s version, seemed like it had a little green mixed in- almost avocado colored. I loved those shoes. The memories of the friends I made, the teachers I loved, the school projects I was to do- are all, each and every one of them, rooted in those Hush Puppies- the most comfortable shoes I wore then and since. School shoes meant it was time to get back to work. School shoes meant new beginnings- potential- the hope that this would be the year, the most creative of years. When your feet hurt, it is impossible to move through the world with a positive attitude- and forget creating anything- you can’t when you’re in agony. Maybe it’s time to treat yourself to school shoes. Start a new year as summer turns to fall- getting the jump on 2022.
