The Gucci's

So am I "Imeldific" when it comes to shoes? I'd say that I have a reasonable and healthy admiration for them. I mean, name me a girl who doesn't? Oh, yeah?? Well, tell her she's a lying hypocrite!!! My current (it undergoes a steady turnover!) collection is basically pretty much composed of shoe wardrobe staples such as my black pointy Nine West pumps that I got at Winners (which is Canada's lame excuse of an answer to the US' Target!!!) sometime last winter, that fateful day when I was torn between those ones that I actually ended up getting (which are ok, I guess, and have been serving me pretty well at the office these days, as a matter of fact - versatile, quite sturdy, perhaps not the most comfy, of course, as they cram my feet into these unnaturally narrow twin-peaks, but who cares?? they're sexy!!!:p) and the contender that evoked quite the reaction in me of a shallow gaspy breath, sweaty palms, heart-a-pounding, pulse-a-racing and hands-a-shaking as I gingerly picked them up to admire - real Gucci's which have been marked down to only a whopping $500.00. But there was just no way - although I totally believe in investing in quality pieces, that would have just been pushing it, plus I was still on mat leave at the time, receiving just a measly fraction of my salary. But again, they were beautiful, and after all, I was on a mission to find a pair for everyday that particular morning, and they would definitely have fit the bill, hands down, without a question!!! It was an understated pair of black leather of the finest grain pumps embellished only with the recognizable green and red ribbon fastened together with a golden buckle fashioned into Gucci's signature interlocking, juxtaposed, mirror-image G&G logo. Time stood still as I mulled over the advantages and benefits of purchasing the beauties and got lost in thought as I imagined the fantastic times we would enjoy together. I finally snapped out of my trance-like daydreaming state, being brought back to reality by my 10-month old baby's soft whimper as he stirred and woke up from a rather longish nap in his stroller. Jaden's increasingly persistent whining from having been subjected to yet another drawn-out shopping session also brought back all sensiblility to me. Therefore, so as not to prolong my agony any further, I quicky tried the Gucci's on to get it over with already, hoping that they wouldn't be as flattering as I thought they'd be or at least just wouldn't fit, and would snuff out any vestiges of the burgeonin' splurgin' desire that I was entertaining and was threatening to get the better of me and drive me to do considerable damage to me and my husband's joint account or lead me to irresponsibly swipe some plastic and consummate the sinful retail "deed" and that way if they didn't fit, I wouldn't feel so physically ill as I was beginning to, but much to my dismay, they did fit - and so beautifully so, from every single freakin' angle, waaaaaaahhhhh!!! Eventually, in what must have seemed like an eternity to poor Jaden, I reluctantly took them off and returned them to their perch on the shelf, covered them a bit so they wouldn't be so conspicuous to my fellow female shoppers - you see, I just couldn't bear to have seen them being snatched up and whisked away and bought by somebody else, no, not on the same day, at least! That would've been just too much grief for me to handle! It was only after much emotional turmoil that I finally conceded that the shoes did not justify the price and settled with the Nine West pumps, pushed Jaden along to the cash, paid for them, took the parcel from the irritatingly chirpy, twenty-something cashier, hung it over my left forearm, the way Paris Hilton used to tote Tinkerbell and with the heaviest heart, turned my Zara boot-clad heel and proceeded to the exit, paused to fish into my oversized Club Monaco bag for my leather gloves, slipped them on, cinched the belt of my also Zara peacoat a little tighter and turned up it's Napoleon collar to brace myself for the freezing winter air, left the store and with my cashmere scarf flapping in the icy cold wind, got Jaden and myself into my car, turned on the engine and the heater, put on my Marc Jacobs sunglasses to conceal my doleful eyes, my chest-a-heaving and not daring to look back, sped away and moved on with my sad Gucci-less existence.....