I have no image but I do have an example of one super incredible Mary Jane: Capezio’s heeled MaryJane. As a minister type, I often have to stand AND look good. Why not be reasonably comfortable doing both? Too few make this possible, but Capezio dance shoes are one way to this wee bit of shoe/feet heaven. Beloved Kenny and I are big tango-ers and since I had to have a pair of “Phantoms of the Opera” for tango-ing as spiritual discipline (yes, in San Francisco, there is an incredible dancer, also a breast cancer survivor, who teaches tango as a form of spirituality. I first heard of her when she came to UCSF to do a workshop for my darlin’s CPE group.)… Well, after dancing in these gorgeous shoes, I went back and bought a pair for wearing in real time. THEN the mother of our beloved godchild, SPIKE, told me she had just ordered these incredible Capezio Mary Janes. I got right back in the car (no time for public transportation. this was an emergency!) and made a trip over to the great dance shop in Oakland CA, near to my best friend in the world, the luscious goddess UU Michelle-y, and tried on a pair of these Capezios. I immediately ordered a pair of the 3inch heels. Oh, yes…

Here in our bit of Panama with hundreds of Dengue-infested mudholes in the streets of our wretched little town, one of the few places in the world one SHOULD wear CROCS or Wellies every day, I have to declare that I am a croc fan. Yes, I have had (past tense) all sorts of flip-flaps and kitten-heeled darling shoes and wonderful espadrilles with great ribbon wrapped ankles, bought for a song here in the ROP, that have been destroyed in rain and puddles and other effluvia we won’t mention… Our medical missionary who HAS to travel back to the US every three months to get a current visa (it’s a long story of a corrupt and crazy Episcopanglican diocese with a bishop who brags about eating endangered turtle, but again, I digress), returned from her last flyin with a pair of the Scholls in gold AND turquoise. They are really wonderful, rubber, and a bit wacky. And yes, great ugly. As opposed to really but lovably ugly crocs. But then I still have a pair of Earth shoes and LOTS of Birkenstocks…

If my idea of the perfect party is to invite my favorite people, who then invite THEIR favorite people, thereby allowing all my favorite people to get to know one another, I extend that invitation to bloggers on fashion. I just discovered this irish blog on fashion and I’m going to introduce the two of you : http://styletreaty.com/

Thank you, dear PB.

And FYI, we will be returning to the US, probably in June. We may be in MS for a while. Long story. And I’ve emailed the UU’s there; because Goddess knows, there are far too few thinking religious and even fewer activists thinking religious in that state of my birth. At least I will be able to see the Goddess Michelle more frequently until we manage to get back to CA…

Keep on. We love you…

And thank you for the Hooray drag queens and prayers for Mr. Swayze. I always say The Creator Holy One made a mistake: I should have been an African American woman….or a drag queen… especially fashion wise…

Hope our return to the US allows me an opportunity to meet you. My beloved esposo Kenny is a HUGE fan of your blog, too, and sends his giant hellos and muchas gracias-es… oonie
[Oonie, ya wonderful nut! So sorry to hear about la computerdora and the lost photos. Meanwhile, I’ll check out Capezio and see what I find. I do have some dance shoes but they don’t have full bottoms - they’re for jazz. Huggles y besos. - PB]

2) What do you wear with them? Surely not socks! Pantyhose? Or…?

PB, I obviously need some fashion advice from the ankle down.

The thick sole is also vital –for me anyway, because in an urban environment a thin sole will kill my feet within minutes. (I also have flat feet and need some kind of arch support — though these shoes are so good that they do not need orthotics in them.) Ballet-ish Mary Janes only work if you are in a suburban environment and in and out of your car and don’t walk much — or if you have really, really strong feet. (Oy! Who knew 15 years ago that I’d be talking about weak feet in middle age in an online forum?)

This shoe is fabulous. I had worn others from the Dansko Golden Gate Collection before (you can recognize the Golden Gate Collection by the heel and sole shape), which is why I dared to order online via Zappos and loved them, but felt they weren’t too pretty, except for the sandals from that collection which are great for summer. This particular close-toed shoe is wonderful. I have worn it in the pulpit and at the altar, on a 12 day vacation to Istanbul where I was up and town the hills and stairways of the city and walked several hours a day, at home in and around and in various cities with the usual concrete sidewalks.

I wouldn’t wear them with a dress — too clunky and a dress requires heels most of the time to give a sense of balance, but with pants they are absolutely the best and the outfit can be dressy or casual (at least if you get the black version) and I have gotten compliments on the shoes several times — and also have had no problem with pinching or any of those things dreadful pointy narrow shoes do; and no tripping or wobbling in the pulpit.

They are pricy but worth every penny. And if they get a bit scuffed they shine up really nicely with a high-quality polish.

Dansko has an outlet site where there isn’t as wide a choice as on the regular Dansko site or on Zappos or the better stores, but it has some great price cuts and the shoes are perfectly fine. There are currently two “Myla” (this shoe) colors available there in the women’s shoes section as well as some nice bargains on sandals for spring and summer — some are from the Golden Gate collection and fabulous for walking, and look nice with pants as well as skirts.

And then the Clarks people stopped making them, with no good substitutes.

I finally had to give up on the shoe polish for my black ones and lay them to rest, but I still have brown ones that I wear sparingly, to try to nurse some extra life out of them.

Please, PeaceBang, use your powers to get shoe companies not to give up on good things! It seems like they’ve got a ready market.

I haven’t had the heart to spend $89, but I covet these as well. . .
http://www.merrell.com/Product/NZSZZZ/Womens-Casual-Footwear/Slip-Ons/Womens/Dark-Taupe/J46404/Plaza-Bandeau.aspx

http://www.dmusastore.com/pc-2312-11-drew.aspx
http://www.dmusastore.com/pc-2122-11-jenna-mary-jane.aspx