A story like mine should never be told.

This is today. I don't like what I'm wearing very much, but I would like to explain why I am now wearing my plaid Keds and not oxfords.

Above, printed thermal: Kohl's. Cardigan: mother's. T-shirt: Threadless, BFF. Skirt: Forever21. Tights: generic. Oxfords: Payless.

Dear Payless oxfords,

We've been through a lot together. When I first saw you, I already knew there was something inside of you - something I thought that I would never find.

I stepped into Payless looking for a cheap thrill. Those pointy-toed kitten heels will never measure up to you. They hurt me more than I care to remember. And they weren't the first. After so much pain, you'd think I would give up on love. But I haven't. And while I don't believe in love at first sight, I never thought it would happen like it did. Lock eyes from across the room...

I had seen those devastatingly thin, devastatingly, carelessly hip runway models sporting oxfords in Vogue, my first fashion magazine. No one at school had them. I even thought you were a little ugly at first. I wondered what people would think of you. I wondered what people would think of me. Would they question my taste? But I decided it didn't matter. You made me feel good about myself, you fulfilled my needs, and you didn't ask much of me. In retrospect, it might seem like you let me walk all over you, but in reality, it was you who let me walk all over.

At $7.99, you were probably made with the labor of slave children, but I don't care who you are, where you're from - don't care what you did. As long as you love me.

And you did. You never complained when I would think about taking you out, then deciding not to for fear of what others would think of you. Of how you looked. Of us together. I got over it eventually, but you stuck with me through those first few weeks like the crusader you are. Our relationship has grown from something people looked at and made inane comments about, like, "You look like you're wearing little men's shoes!" to comments like, "Girl, you were so far ahead of the trend."

You may be flat. You may look a little manly. You may have hurt me the first few times we went out. And you may be a little dull at times. But I know our love was is real. I will never forget you.

When the cobbler told me that a full repair for you would cost more than ten times your original price, I knew this couldn't last forever. We're just not meant to be.

I might be looking for another pair of oxfords, but they'll never really replace you. You were my first, and I will never stop loving you.



Love always,

Fazed-Girl