So I found myself  on my way to shmooze with shoes. The 2010 Compass Shoe Show consisted of two floors of shoes galore. If Prince Charming showed up during his quest to find Cinderella, he would have suffered from Too Much Information.

Since heels are not really my style, I focused on practical shoes. After checking out the snow tanks for feet offered by Chippewa Boots, Sorel, and Timberland, I made my way over to Dr. Martens where I had a close encounter with zebra and cheetah fur covered clogs. I was so relieved when I was told that the fur is fake.

I thought that Rock and Candy by Zigi New York had the most creative shoe line. Sparkles and sequins and chains and rhinestones on sneakers — oh my. Edgy and shining sneakers? Who knew?

I moved beyond the flippant flip flop when I spoke with the two brothers who represented the Eastland made in Maine collection. They explained to me that they were celebrating the fifty-fifth anniversary of their family owned company which only uses materials manufactured in Maine. They said that they are proud of coming from Maine and their company adds to the resurgence of the local economy. These third generation owners of the company made me realize that local manufacturing is as important as local
food.   These guys were so earnest and cute I just had to ask them if they were married. (I mean, I was going to send two of my single friends on a shoe shopping trek to Maine!) Their answer: they each have nice wives. I am sure that the nice wives have nice shoes which are manufactured in a nice all-American manner.

When I left I could not resist channeling my inner Nancy Sinatra: “These boots are made for walkin’ … Are you ready, boots?”

– Marleen