The Difference between Colorforms and Patent Leather
“But little girls don’t wear black.”
I’m five years old; I don’t know what ageism is, but I know it when I hear it. I don’t know what a sit-in is either, but I’m staging one (it is the late ’60 s after all). I’ve holed up under the dining room table and refused to come out until it is agreed that I will get black patent leather shoes for the holiday.
“It’s Easter, fercrissakes,” my mother says. “No one wears black for Easter. And besides, little girls don’t wear black. Black is for old ladies. You want to look like an old lady?”
She’s shot herself in the foot there. I already have a black dress. She bought it for me. Now I must have the shoes: They’re shiny, just like my Raggedy Ann Colorforms. I’ve recently learned the shoe material is called “patent leather,” and go around saying it in one of those odious loops that kids get into. Finally she agrees that I can have them but only in white.
This is the end of the world. Not only am I being denied the shoes, but now I’m being threatened with having to wear some ridiculous clodhoppers even Raggedy Ann wouldn’t wear (Raggedy Ann has black shoes). Your socks are white. If you wear white shoes they might as well be clear. And they don’t shine, not like the black ones do. I would rather stay under the table for life than wear white shoes or be in the company of people who prefer them.
My mother is a worthy opponent but I win this particular struggle for dominance. Not only do I get my black patent leather Mary Janes, but 40 years later I still have a pair. These have four-inch stacked heels, but they’re basically the same shoe, black as midnight and shiny as a lighthouse beacon. I also have five-inch fetish heels and black thigh-high PVC lace up stiletto boots.
And I’m still right about white shoes.
I’m five years old; I don’t know what ageism is, but I know it when I hear it. I don’t know what a sit-in is either, but I’m staging one (it is the late ’60 s after all). I’ve holed up under the dining room table and refused to come out until it is agreed that I will get black patent leather shoes for the holiday.
“It’s Easter, fercrissakes,” my mother says. “No one wears black for Easter. And besides, little girls don’t wear black. Black is for old ladies. You want to look like an old lady?”
She’s shot herself in the foot there. I already have a black dress. She bought it for me. Now I must have the shoes: They’re shiny, just like my Raggedy Ann Colorforms. I’ve recently learned the shoe material is called “patent leather,” and go around saying it in one of those odious loops that kids get into. Finally she agrees that I can have them but only in white.
This is the end of the world. Not only am I being denied the shoes, but now I’m being threatened with having to wear some ridiculous clodhoppers even Raggedy Ann wouldn’t wear (Raggedy Ann has black shoes). Your socks are white. If you wear white shoes they might as well be clear. And they don’t shine, not like the black ones do. I would rather stay under the table for life than wear white shoes or be in the company of people who prefer them.
My mother is a worthy opponent but I win this particular struggle for dominance. Not only do I get my black patent leather Mary Janes, but 40 years later I still have a pair. These have four-inch stacked heels, but they’re basically the same shoe, black as midnight and shiny as a lighthouse beacon. I also have five-inch fetish heels and black thigh-high PVC lace up stiletto boots.
And I’m still right about white shoes.
Love this!
Very Nice. I loved reading this!