Last week, I implored my husband to replace his tattered shoes. I have been imploring for a while and "tattered" is sugar coating the description. I knew that the lure of preppy, throwback, goodness would be hard to resist forever. I mentioned a little shoe store in downtown Fredericksburg that had Sebago Docksides and he finally relented.
We made a fun afternoon of it and had lunch at a charming place with awesome food and made our way down the street to Crismond's shoe store, in business since 1911.
 |
| Just to the right of center you can see the sign "SHOES" |
This is where it got weird. We went in and a very elderly lady greeted us as she swept the floor with a fair bit of difficulty. A younger man (60ish) sat in a chair reading the paper. He was her nephew, we later learned.
 |
| Did you wear these in the '70s? |
The store fixtures were decidedly vintage and it took me some time to notice, and believe, that the shoes in stock were too.
The "Hush Puppies" or "Earth Shoes" had actually been there since the 70s.
.jpg)
Most of the 30+ year-old shoes were in narrow sizes and $15, which was sported on a yellow square price tag. Remember those?
It was truly sad to see these forgotten bits of fashion in a store that curiously still exists.
I took the photos on my phone and thought I had better ask permission until I realized that the old lady could barely hear and more than likely did not know what a blog was.
.jpg)
This last crazy pair of shoes fell in the category "so ugly they are cool" and I would have shelled out $15 had they not been a size too small. I feel obligated to back for some reason. It was sad but also a sentimental journey into my childhood when sales and selling were more simple and straightforward.
Oddly, they had Sebagos in my husband's size and we bought them because they were only $50. They are $70 and up everywhere else.
He insists on wearing them with socks but at least they are presentable. Now I have to convince him to wear plaid shorts and a pink polo shirt and my work is done!
