Last year, Domer’s roommate was a shoe-a-holic.
A male shoe-a-holic.
This guy must have had several dozen pairs of shoes, from casual to fashionable. Some he kept around simply because he didn’t mind if they got muddy; others had the kind of sole that made Band practice (and that special hike-step) a breeze; still more were for show, to prove he was a “hip” kind of fella.
And that’s just fine. To each, his own.
Up to now Domer hasn’t been what you’d call a “shoe kind of guy.”
Oh, he wears them (just not around the house), and he’s fussy about the brand name (NO New Balance, thank you very much!). But his needs are pretty basic — “every day” shoes, shoes for tennis, sandals, and dress shoes — nothing close to what his shoe-a-holic roommate needed.
When he was little, Domer liked character shoes — featuring Pokemon, or whatever was popular at late summer when we’d buy shoes for the coming school year.
As he got into middle and high school, he bought what his friends were buying — usually Nikes in traditional colors of royal blue, black, silver, and white. That didn’t change much when he went off to college, although the brand-of-choice became Asics.
Then I was able to pick out and buy his shoes when he needed them. I knew his taste (and my price range!), so we were good to go.
No more.
During Spring Semester, he texted me that his Asics were showing signs of wear and tear. ‘I need some shoes,’ he told me.
So I went shopping. Took photo after photo on my camera phone and sent them to him.
Nothing clicked.
‘Maybe you’d better let me pick them out,’ he suggested.
‘Just tell me what you want, and I’ll get it,’ I offered.
No dice.
So the other evening we went shopping, and these were what he had to have:
Adidas Climacool Seduction in “Electricity”
At least you can see him coming, right?!
Musings by an ND Domer's Mom 
I LOVE THOSE SHOES!!
Cole has been wearing very colorful shoes for about 4 years—A friend lets him design his own Nike ot Adidas every year for his birthday and they are wild and crazy (not terrible expensive–FYI) . I think I posted pictures of a pair or two.
Cole has not let me buy his shoes every since I picked out a pair of very expensive, perfect for tots, shoes (striderites?) . UGLY came out of my 2 years old mouth and I was done. The good news until this year he only would wear one pair of shoes—no matter the occasion–no matter the dress. Why would anyone need more than one pair of shoes? That changed this year…and I thought I heard mumblings of Italian loafers coming out of his mouth…do hope he is saving HIS money.
Tell you boy your Chicago readers are very impressed with his sense of shoe style!
Thanks, Katybeth — glad to know Domer is becoming the cool, hip kind of guy his former roommate is! I think he’d better enjoy these new “kicks” while he can, though. It won’t be long before he has to wear dress shows every day (but then, he’ll be buying them with his own money, ha!) Italian loafers? Yea, I can totally see Cole rocking some of those!!
Are those rechargeable?
Looks kinda like they oughta be, huh? I want to see them in the dark — probably they’ll glow (which might be helpful, who knows?)
Oh my goodness. Those give “Neon Green” a whole new meaning. If only he’d been wearing them during the time of the Three Wise Men. They wouldn’t have needed to follow any star. Those shoes would have done the trick! 😉
I can only hope they protect him when he’s crossing streets at night. We haven’t tested it out yet, but both of us think those things should be glow-in-the-dark!
Those are some bright shoes! I actually like crazy colored shoes and get bored with plain white. (Though my practical side wins and I get gray shoes with splashes of color. Hey, my feet get stepped on a lot!) It’ll be interesting to see if he ends up accumulating more pairs of shoes.
The last round of shoe shopping with my older son was interesting. Everything I picked out in our price range was met with, “Mom, that’s not my style.” I think the process would’ve gone faster if I picked up a perfectly nice pair of shoes and made some comment about how ugly they were. Yes, I think that would’ve made him like them instantly 🙂
They do go through that “rebellious” stage, don’t they? And sometimes it seems to last forever! I think you’re onto something, though, with the reverse psychology. Isn’t it interesting how their sense of “style” grows as they do??
God. Kids.
HaHaHa — at least it’s not a tattoo!!
Kids today….my 6 kids wore payless shoes…LOL! I must say…I like those sneakers though.
Thanks, Tanya. Payless offers good options for kids’ shoes. My son’s pediatrician advised me when he was just a wee one NOT to invest a lot of money in his shoes because kids’ feet grow so fast (way before the shoes wear out). You knew that, though, didn’t you? Thanks for the compliment!
My daughter would LOVE those shoes. She’s all about bright and neon colors. My boys though? All black or all white. Usually Nikes or Adidas. They’ve never been very influenced by trends. Guess I should be grateful for that.
Yes, you should! I never in my wildest imagination expected my son to opt for something so “out there” in footwear. He, too, usually prefers a more conservative look. Oh, well, you’re only young once (or so they say!), and it’s fairly harmless as fads go.
Funny! My son would love these- but because he lives in Eugene and is a huge Oregon Ducks fan. Gotta love those boys…
My son likes the way they look like tennis balls because he loves playing tennis! I still want to check whether they’re “glow-in-the-dark,” though.