Comme Il Faut - as is proper

It's the end of the year and I should be resting, packing up, psyching up for the new school year and my new teaching job, but I'm still editing. I took on a last-minute project that I didn't really think was the wisest thing to do at this time of year. Against my better instincts, I agreed, and since I'm getting a little extra cash, I thought I'd make myself merry by buying something I don't need but do want.

Women can get by on one or two pairs of shoes, but few do. Instead they (okay, we) stock up on shoes that catch their (our) slightest fancy, that serve the feet on occasions that never take place, that would better suit a display case than hard concrete. I confess that I own a pair like this, a pair my father calls a museum piece. I've worn the beading-on-velvet four-inch heels only once and nearly keeled over at a friend's wedding.

It's gotten worse, now that I dance Argentine tango. At the start, I was happy with one pair. I used it for lessons, practicas, workshops, milongas. I could certainly survive with one pair of tango shoes, at most two. But then the number rose to three. These three I got at very inexpensive prices after finding a little Argentine website that makes shoes according to your measurements. Since the package was coming all the way from Buenos Aires, I figured I'd save on shipping if I got more than one, or two.

This latest pair though, is pricey and comes with a lofty reputation - "the Manolo Blahniks of the tango world" (a very well-worn cliche; every blog writer describing Comme Il Faut shoes mentions this and I suppose I'm now one of them). I am thankful that despite the analogy, Comme Il Faut shoes do not cost as much as a pair of Manolo Blahniks. But they sure look it; the shoes come in a wide assortment of colors and fabrics and styles, but not in very large numbers. All the better for tangueras then, as they don't have to cringe in embarrassment when someone else turns up at the milonga in the same shoes.

It's really funny how I told myself, when I first started dancing, that I would not fall prey to such ridiculously high and too-thin-heeled shoes. But as months went by, as my mileage on the dance floor increased, as I realized how important shoes are in tango, I learned that despite the dangerous look of Comme Il Faut's stilettos, they actually offer great support and balance, put the dancer on her toes, and keep her poised and ready to step forward or backward. I also got very used to dancing in high heels and wanted them to go higher (I've progressed from 2.5 inches to nearly four now) - they do make moving and stepping easier. And it's so true - the higher the heel, the longer the leg looks.

Well, the new local tango shoe store has a December discount and a new supply of Comme Il Faut shoes. And so, I succumbed at last and bought a pair in a color that will not match most of my clothes, a fact that failed to secure a place in my brain (moments prior to buying fancy shoes, the brain shuts down in certain areas, namely the part that exercises common sense). And about that detail of hardly ever seeing anyone else wearing your pair of Comme Il Faut shoes? Not for me, unfortunately, since I bought a pair that another dancer had purchased in a different size a little earlier this month. But then, I couldn't help it, since that particular design was the best fit for my small, uneven feet.

Posted by Monoceros at December 30, 2006 9:30 AM