I am sure all you girls out there can agree with me that when one planed for dressing for a date, the actual date plan/location was how the outfit was chosen.
Drinks at a nice bar = sexy top, black pants or dark denim and sky high heels.
Drinks at a dive bar = still a sexy top (but one you did not care whether Sam Summer was spilled on it), jeans (again, ones you did not care too much about) and not such sexy heels because seriously, in a crowded dive bar, your date was not looking down at your shoes.
Dinner at a nice restaurant = a sexy dress and sky high heels.
You get my point.
So how was I supposed to dress? I had never been swept off my feet like that before, so a date with nothing more then a time was new to me.
It was mid August in Boston, so the days were hot but the nights were getting cooler. I decided on a pair of jeans I had purchased a few weeks ago. They were long and lean and made my butt look good! I chose a summery top and a light cardigan. I decided to go a little "cuter" this time since I had done "sexy". I wanted to show I could be versatile.
But what about shoes? Shoes made the outfit - that is the mindset I always had. I am sure many men would agree that they never really notice their date's shoes, but girls notice other girls' shoes. I believe above the knees is for men, while below is for the women. I know you agree.
I stood in my closet organizing my choices in my head. If I wore a high heel and there was a lot of walking I could risk getting blisters. Flip flops may be too casual and my jeans were too long for them anyway. Sneakers, well those were out of the question*.
I scoured my shoe boxes looking for the perfect pair. When I finally landed on pair of sandals. Chinese Laundry natural colored raw silk wedge platforms. I think I got them at Thom Brown on Newbury street during some crazy sale. I think they may have been a half a size too small, but the clerk assured me they would stretch. They were perfect (or so I thought). They were the right length for my jeans, were still cute and were pretty comfortable (again, or as so I thought).
7 o'clock came and right on time my buzzer went off.
We were off on our surprise date and I was so excited. He was dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and sneakers* so I felt as if I was dressed appropriately. We were headed back towards the city (I lived in Coolidge Corner at the time). He kept asking if I had any idea what we were doing. I admitted I had none!
Passed Fenway - ok, no game. Passed Newbury - I guessed dinner alfresco was out too. When he pulled into the underground lot at the Public Gardens, I thought maybe a swan boat ride, wait it was 7pm - they were closed at that hour.
He parked. We started heading out, when he stopped, said he forgot something and went back to the car. Out of the trunk he pulled a picnic basket and blanket. Nice a picnic in the park. How romantic. Except I followed him passed the park. I was confused. Where the hell were we going. And seriously, my feet were killing me. Said platform wedges were not so comfortable on such a warm night on a long walk to who knew where. But I did not let on that there was a blister growing on my toe, but damn that clerk - they were not stretching.
We started to cross the footbridge over Storrow when I saw the Hatchshell up ahead. I also saw some banners for a local oldies station and made some snide remark about old people on the esplanade, when we stopped at the lawn in front of the Hatch (well I felt like an ass). I could not have been happier. Not only because the surprise was too cute - we were actually watching a movie at the Hatch - Pirates of the Caribbean - its rated "Arhhhh", but also because we were at our destination and it was a place were I could take off my shoes, who had proceeded to give me two more blisters!
We had a great night. The picnic was amazing - there was even my first piece of jewelry from him during dessert - a candy necklace is truly the way to a girl's heart.
This was the date I fell in love.
On our walk back to the car (my feet a little better since I had patched them up with some bandages I found in my purse and the fact that the wine flowing through my system made the pain a little more bearable) I told him I had to confess something to him. He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and had look of hurt on his face.
I told him how though I loved the date and no one had ever done anything like that for me, for the love of god, if you plan on doing something like that again could you please give my feet a fair warning**! He laughed. I laughed. We kissed and thus ended the perfect date.
...A few months ago I was cleaning my closet and found my pair of Chinese Laundry natural raw silk wedge platform sandals in a shoe box. They had obviously been worn many times due to their wear, but seriously every time I wore them, they killed my feet - they NEVER stretched out. I was ready to surrender them to their next owner - a co-worker with the same size extremities.
Everytime I see her donning them around the office, I smile to myself and say, they're rated "Arhhh".
*Footnote - I believe that sneakers should not be worn on a date unless it is an obvious choice: i.e. - a long walk around the city in the afternoon, some active activity, a sporting event or if you have been dating for an extended period of time. I know this is a little old school, but it works! This rule does not necessarily apply to men as they do not have as many shoe options as women, as long as said sneakers are in good condition.
**He did do it again, a few times, with fair feet warnings.
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