Domesticity Retail Mini-Roundup: The Most Wanted Shoes in Metro Manila

The sales clerk at Payless Shoes in Festival Supermall was totally not kidding.

She told me that these shoes used to come in every color - not just purple, but black, blue, and red - but eventually they sold out at every single branch. Then Payless brought it back again, by popular demand, and it sold out so quickly that buyers at the SM Megamall branch were practically fighting over the last few pairs. Agawan po, ma'm, she said, conjuring up images of women snatching shoes out of each other's clutches.

And, she also added, this was the last pair in my size.

Payless, people. Not Prada, not YSL, not Marc Jacobs, not even Kenneth Cole. Payless.

I didn't know if I wanted to laugh or cry. PhP 1,150 for a pair of purple stiletto platforms that are destined to drive my parents crazy, just for the impracticality alone.

The saleslady asked me if the local shoe merchants have tried to make their own version of these babies. I told her, sadly, "No."

So what is it about these Fioni high heels that drive people crazy?

The rounded toes, for one thing. Sure, we love our high heels, but most Filipino women are not big on pointy-toed shoes, partly because they emphasize flaws in the foot and (in my assessment, at least) come across as blatantly fetishistic. Round toes, on the other hand, imply friendliness and a measure of femininity, which creates a counterbalance to the pointiness of the stiletto heel and the unusual purple hue.

Speaking of counterbalance: Check out the way the toes are turned up at the very end! Most platform shoes in the market have a block-like platform that leads to a clunky walk - a major, major problem for yours truly, since I tend to walk more with a forward-rolling foot (heel first, toe last) rather than going toe first. With these, however, not only do the toes look like they're "smiling," but they do make it easier to practice a smoother, less clunky walk.

And finally: PURPLE. Why would anyone NOT want a purple shoe? Especially in purple SUEDE? (I say this because I already own four pairs of red shoes, and three of them are flats.)

Yes, they're impractical, because I'll never get to wear them for work. (Or church.) Yes, it's hard to walk in them on the wood parquet floor in my bedroom, as opposed to the carpeted floors of the Payless store. And yes, I do get toe cleavage with this shoe, which could be sexy for some but ultimately means that I have to wear them with stockings. But do I care? No.

I could, of course, come up with several different outfit combinations to go with these shoes. Or I could just wear them right now, while I'm typing this entry... which I am actually doing at this very moment in time, by the by.

These are shoes that make me feel like I can take on the world and never back down. Like attending an important meeting with a major publisher, and walking away with a monster of a book deal. Like getting into a real-life version of State of Play, where I'm handing over a folder and a tape recorder and telling the high-ranking scumbag in front of me to sing like a canary before the deadline. Like entering a crowded bar in Hollywood, in plain sight of the paps, and exiting quietly... leaving everyone to wonder why and how I managed to engage The Hotness for three straight hours of whip-smart conversation, and still leave him flustered enough to ask for my phone number and my plans for the weekend.


Like taking a moment, and owning it like I'll never let it go. Not even for all the money in the world.

I own these shoes now. And they're mine.