A huge thanks to Olivia and Shaun for creating this fun shoot!
Every now and again, a seemingly random moment of joy pops out of the frivolous. Sometimes, it seems that life is a string of overlapping disasters that I call “character-building experiences” – you know, when everything seems to be going wrong, and you can’t bring yourself to accept the cards you’ve been dealt. A sh*tshow, as I would say out of earshot of polite company. If you step back, you can see the chaotic, positively apocalyptic landscape that is the mess of living, and it’s dotted with little specks of frivolity. Those specks are so meaningless in the moment, aren’t they? Dancing at a bar in the Castro until last call, clocking out of work to watch your dog play in the sun, learning to make your own bread. Stupid things, but joyful things.
The Most Ridiculous, Perfect Boots
These boots fall into the stupid, joyful category: thigh-high snakeskin-print boots with a stiletto heel. The most ridiculous, perfect boots – not ridiculously perfect, just perfect and ridiculous, there’s a difference. I didn’t wake up the morning I bought them and think to myself, “Stig, you know what you need today? Snakeskin thigh-high boots that every ounce of your proper upbringing will hiss at” ( I realized the pun after I typed that, and am not editing it out, ever).
No.
I walked into Nordstrom to pick up some things for LA Fashion Week, and there they were in the ladies’ shoe department (not Salon Shoes, mind you – but when I make it big time, maybe). The tallest boots there; the most snakeskin-per-capita available; the most “90s Hair Band” shoes in sight; in short, the most … glorious.
I bought them. They were on sale at the time for $90. “Ninety dollars to live my childhood dream of looking like a trampy rock band groupie? Take my money and take it NOW.”
A thought, a doubt, floated through my mind of where on Earth I’d wear these. I told myself that, snakeskin and all, these boots are *actually* neutral in color, so they’d go with everything. I scoffed internally, thinking I was perhaps fooling myself into spending money on something I’d never wear.
But that’s just it – I wear these things all the time: with jeans for errands, with a dress for drinks, with faux leather leggings for a day with my sister, or for no good reason at all.
The Sisterhood of the Thigh-High Snakeskin Boots
Everywhere I go, I get complements on them from strangers, mostly women. When I look at these boots, I feel every kind word from all those women on the BART train, in SOMA, in Saks, at the Panda Express, at a rooftop cafe. They’ve absorbed this strong female aura, you know the one I’m talking about: 50% Xena, Warrior Princess, 50% Mindy Kaling, 100% W O M A N.
A few of my friends actually bought them as well (great minds and such) – including my love Olivia, seen here being FIERCE! We love these boots so much that we called in her photographer friend Shaun, who kindly spent an evening with us at Olivia’s apartment building in SF and took photos of us hamming (!) it (!) UP (!) in the most ridiculous, perfect boots ever. There is nothing like an evening of earnest, goodhearted fun being artsy with friends.
Life gives us so many hidden opportunities for connection, often hidden in the silliest things like thigh-high snakeskin-print boots. Who wouldn’ve thought?
love,
Stig
