If the Shoe Fits

When I was in school, I hated shoe shopping. It was the most boring thing in the world to me. My mother had to bribe me with sweeties for the yearly School Shoes trip.

This is because I had learned at an early age that the pretty shoes would not fit me. Because I had fat feet. Short, fat feet. So those beautiful shoes with the unicorn on? Either too tight or too long. The ones with the secret garden trail in pink stitching and the pretty little sparkles? Would have mangled my feet if my mother had listened to me instead of watching the way I hobbled around the shop in agony.

So I wrote off shoe shopping for my entire school career, pretty much. And then I went to University, and discovered that in the decade-and-a-bit since my traumatic shoe shopping experiences as a child, shoes had changed! They fit me better! And were prettier!

I also discovered that I have quite frankly the most ridiculous taste in shoes ever. And also pretty expensive taste.

It started when I discovered Irregular Choice.

                                                                                                                            (personal picture)

I bought these beauties shortly after discovering them. They've got a Unicorn on the sole. A UNICORN. They're basically Crack in shoe form.

And it was a slippery slope from there for my bank balance and shoe collection.

So thusly, when it came to start looking for wedding shoes, it was almost a certainty that I would find something ridiculous and love it.


THE RULES:

- No peep toes. I don't like looking at my feet.
- No slingbacks. I need all the support I can get.
- No pointy toes. I do not want Witch-feet.
- Stiletto heels. Everything else makes me look clunky.

Most importantly:

No White Satin.

Satin stains, and I'm just the sort of person to manage to stain it. And when would I ever wear white satin shoes again? It would almost be like throwing money into a black hole. No, I want shoes that I will wear again and again, because otherwise why bother? I found T.L.C. Creations.

More specifically, I saw these shoes on their facebook page:

(images from T.L.C Creations)

The lace! The colour! The music script! I was in love!

And then I read the story behind them:

"The bride lost her father a few years ago. She said she wished she had something of her father's to send us to use in the design. I asked if there were any letters or cards that he might have given her with his personal message written in them. She had a few of them so we were able to include this expression from her father in the design of her shoes. It says "I am very proud of you, love Dad". Now she will have part of her father with her when she walks down the aisle."

Well, if I ever needed any more encouragement to buy from them, that was it. I was straight there!

Their website is full of whimsical designs, combining sparkle and lace with beautiful textures - they even have a range with the artwork from an early edition of Alice in Wonderland. They could customise! They could adapt! I was in a whirl of amazing shoe-possibilities - could I get some with some of the text from Pride and Prejudice on? Could I get some with illustrations from Winnie The Pooh? - until I looked at the prices and my dream was cut tragically short.

Shoes are tragically not playing a significant part in our budget. And quality and customisation come with a hefty price tag. So T.L.C were dropped from my mental wedding plan as quickly as they'd arrived in it.

But that doesn't stop me looking.


Do you have a pair of dream wedding shoes? Did you manage to get them, or did you have to compromise and get something else?