Footwear’s Social Quintessence

An incident that dates back to the mid-60s is worth recalling. An airman in the Indian Air Force was spending the holidays with his parents in Calcutta (now Kolkata).

One evening, the father proposed a family outing and dining out at the Peiping’s, one of the prized restaurants on Park Street in the city.

On returning home after a hearty dinner, the son plumped his body on the sofa, unlaced the shoes and literally tossed them with his foot a-la a soccer player netting a goal.

One was booted to the right and the other right ahead. Watching this act, a shocked father admonished him. “Sonny, remember it is this very pair of shoes that peps up your social standing while you step out onto the street.

So learn to respect your footwear,” he said. Indeed, it enlightened the son and since then, he has valued the essence of that wisdom although it was spelled out in harsh words.

The footwear is reckoned as the ideal index of one’s status. Renowned French shoe designer Christian Louboutin aptly defined this by saying: “A shoe is not only a design, but it’s a part of your body language, the way you walk. The way you’re going to move is quite dictated by your shoes in our society.”

Footwear has also filled the vacuum on numerous occasions. In the Hindu epic of Ramayana, when Lord Rama accompanied by Sita and Laxman was all set to embark upon the 14-year exile, his younger brother Bharata is said to have sought the pair of toe-knob sandals known as Khadav worn by him. Bharata placed this pair on the throne as if to reflect it is Rama’s reign who was enduring exile in the faraway jungles.

From time immemorial, much prior to the narration of the popular fairy tale of Goldilocks and her golden shoes, footwear has come to stay as an essential social entity. No person is perfectly and completely dressed sans the feet slipped into a pair of shoes, sandals or sandals.

Often, an admirable personality is visualized and also depicted with comments such as ‘from top to toe’ or ‘from head to feet’.

Thus a common indulgence has been shopping for trendy shoes and slippers, be they for daily use, on the eve of a festival or to mark a cherished event.

And in today’s era of time constraints, it is a poser whether busy-bees can afford the leisurely ambling through the portals of bazaar arcades and malls for a pair of shopping slippers. In such a scenario, you can have the proverbial cake and eat it too, courtesy the IT innovations and on-line shopping.

No wonder, online shopping for footwear is in tune with Louboutin’s thought-provoking quote: A shoe has so much more to offer than just to walk.

You need not wear away the soles in quest of slippers of choice. For instance, leading manufacturers like Liberty Shoes have enabled even online slippers shopping.

By a mere click of a mouse, you can access to know every detail on a wide range of branded slippers. With the prospects of 3-D projections all set to become a reality, online shopping could be a thrilling experience.