What do we want? Sneakers! When do we want them? now! (or at least I do!)

        My daughter's marriage is coming up and I still have to figure out some footwear.  Something I'll have to wear all day long, dance in all night long, and be so comfortable in that my happiness will not be in the least diminished by how my feet are feeling.
        In other words, I want to wear sneakers. 
        So why not dress sneakers?  For women?  And men?
         In fact why don't we start a huge social revolution and throw out our whole perception of footwear so that everybody can wear sneakers all the time?
        Sneakers for every occasion?  Can you imagine how much better life would be if our feet felt good all the time?
        Though it doesn't seem that men have quite the shoe issues that women have and so maybe don't have the quite the need.   
        I've always felt that men were more fortunate than women when it came to footwear. I mean, when a man is dressed in a power suit he stands on solid shoes with firm support.  When a woman is dressed in a power suit she teeters on high heels that kill her toes and restrict her movement.   So how powerful can you be when your feet are bound?  Because when you think about the function and purpose, aren't high heels just a more evolved form of foot-binding?
        But don't get me started.  Too late, I'm already started!  
        What I'm saying is,  whatever a guy wears, there are comfortable, sensible shoes to go with his outfit. 
        Whatever a woman wears, there are cute shoes to go with her outfit. 
        Don't get me wrong, I love cute shoes.  On somebody else.  I'd wear them myself if I could find a pair that feel as good as my Asics.  Whenever I compliment a gal on her cute shoes I always ask if they're comfortable.  Usually she will reply "not really."  Or "Not too bad."  Or "Tolerable".  Which means they're really not.  But they are cute, right?
        So it just seems to me that we have to invent a new, comfortable  version - and vision - of cute. And elegant.
        Have  any of you seen the movie "The Painted Veil"?  (If you haven't, you should, it's one of the best movies ever).  Anyway, I seem to remember that  in that movie, set in the 1920's, in several scenes Naomi Watts wore some really cute lace-up shoes - remember those brown and white traveling shoes that she tapped in that mud puddle while reminiscing times gone by?  Those were some cute shoes that, it seems to me could be reconstituted into sneaker form.
        In fact, for a very brief stint in the 1990's a sort of high-heeled sneaker was on the shoe racks.  In 1995 for her high school sophmore  year homecoming my daughter Maria wore a pair of high-heeled sneakers in beige canvass with a chunk heel and pink ankle socks, which matched her pink dress. They looked adorable and were so comfy for a change!
        I do wish I still had the photo taken at the dance which showed her whole ensemble, pink socks, chunky shoes and all, but all I can find is this photo which shows the dress (which she bought at the thrift store) and a couple of  guys. 

I believe one of these gentlemen  was Maria's date, but I can't remember which one.  Maybe they both were.  Maybe neither was.  I don't know.  You know how nowadays the kids tend to go to their school dances in a bunch rather than with a date.

---

As did My daughter Theresa one time.

---

And my daughter Claire, who went to her junior prom with her "Twinkie" Megan;  they went to the prom dressed as fairies. Megan wore the same thrift-store dress worn by Maria in the above photo but unfortunately without the high-heeled sneakers and pink socks.

---

    I do believe the current practice of going to school dances with a friend or friends of either gender or in a group or even going alone and meeting up when you get there is hundreds of percents better than the practice of my day, when you needed a date to go to the dance.  Hundreds of percents better!  Though I must say that back when I was kicking around in the mid-to-late 1960's women's dress shoeware was better:  the style had temporarily shifted from pointed-toe spiked heel to round-toe chunk heel, even for formal wear, but that era of shoe history has, sadly, come and gone.
    But anyway, we are now well into the 21st century and  designing  a woman's formal sneaker must be within the realm of possibility for some forward-thinking shoe artist.  It should be a no-brainer, right? 
    I mean, think black, sequins, sparkles, bling galore, there's got to be a way!
    And how hard should it be to design a men's formal sneaker?  Black velour top over a black sole.  Nothing to it.
    So then, shoe designers of the world, my daughter's wedding is in May, so you'd better get crackin' or I'm going to have to come up with something myself, which I just may.
    Who's with me in the sneaker revolution?!