Red Boots

For some time I have wanted a pair of red ‘come f*ck me’ boots. For no other reason than I have never been able to buy boot in shops (I have hockey players calf muscles despite not playing for some time) and I like red shoes.

Earlier this year, I went to see the Polish boot makers. The Perkal brothers have been making shoes and boots in the same place for over fifty years. A and M have over 10,000 shoe lasts scattered over three floors in a corner house where they work from 7 in the morning to 3pm in the afternoon. Both of them have sons, but neither has someone to take over the business.

…Anyway, I went to see them in mid June this year to have a pair of Red boots made. I asked for a two and half inch heel with a little width, a classic toe shape and a flap that could be folded down or up depending on the situation they were being worn (down with skirt at office, up with short skirt at club).

There have been various dramas, too tight, not red enough, funny flap…lots of fittings and many lunch hours spent wedging my chunky arse legs into sexy red boot shells. Two weeks ago I went back to pick them up to be told by M ‘I don’t like them and I’ve started making a new pair, come back in a week’.

Fast forward to today. The flap is wrong, again, and resulted in the stitching being unpicked with a blade while my leg was still in them. I stood there, one boot on, one boot off, my trouser leg rolled up to mid thigh, thinking, at this rate they’ll be out of fashion before I pick them up, good job I asked for classic!

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