Frivolous boots

Nimue Brown

Sep 25

It's rare that I buy new things. Partly that's about making greener choices and trying to live lightly. Partly it's the habit that has come from many years of having little disposable income. When I do buy things they tend to be practical and I make them last. The dress I'm wearing in this photo is probably 15 years old.

In the last ten years I have only owned sensible boots. The sort of boots I can use as transport. I've had work shoes, trainers and sandals as well, all of them sensible and the sort of thing I can walk a few miles in. However, work these days includes performance and I felt on that basis that maybe I could have some frivolous boots. Here they are.

I'm not a fan of fast fashion at all, and I generally resist the idea that buying things is how to be happy. With the obvious exception of books. I try to focus on what I need and on what's practical. Much of my sillier clothing is stuff I've upcycled rather than anything I've purchased.

And yet…

The desire for decoration, for play and frivolity has been a thing for people for about as long as we've been people. Prehistoric people were really into decoration. One of the reasons I didn't have frivolous boots already is that I'm really not good at this stuff. I don't reliably feel entitled to play or do things just for the joy of it. I don't reliably feel worth decorating and I've had a fair few periods of mostly wanting to hide. But, I'm getting back into the face painting again, and I have preposterous boots, and there is a growing urge in me to do more things that are silly and expressive.

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