Shoes were much more important to me as a kid than they are now.
Once past the old man sandals of my infancy things got interesting.
Back on the Sixties shoes and toys combined to create the brilliant Wayfarers. My own pair had a compass in the sole of the shoes. Maybe it was just one. The idea was that you could never get lost as in those days we were all budding adventure scouts!
I think there were other wayfarers too which did stuff.
Another pair of shoes that were fun were my Stylo Matchmakers. These were plasticky football boots endorsed by the greatest soccer star of his day, the legendary George Best. Alas, his boots didn't really improve my own game and I remained on the duffers team during games at school!
As I approached my teens the vanity of fashion stole my feet as style and colour kicked function into touch.
First their were monkey boots, which I sprayed silver. Then there were platform shoes and boots, the chosen footwear of glam rockers everywhere. Eventually the smooth pelt of suede caught my eye and I never wore anything else except desert boots. I still have a pair but these days as I approach dotage I prefer slip-on laceless shoes so I don't have to bend down so much!
On reflection I realise now that one iconic shoe range passed me by completely, the trainer. I never really got into them other than an early pair of golas. Being distinctly non-sporty they just never appealed to me and I still don't have any.
Which shoes did you have on as a kid readers?
You mean the Pathfinders shoes, which I had too at some stage. I also had Wayfarers Moonshot shoes with a magnet in the heel, for moving a space capsule against a lunar backdrop printed inside the box. Then there were the Clarks Commandos shoes, but I don't know if i ever had them or not.
ReplyDeleteYep, my memories a sieve as well kid. I imagine I had all those cool shows but just can't recall. The Commandos really do ring a bell. I think there was a pin badge that went with them too. I've seen them on Ebay. Funny how shoes were all part of the Sixties and Seventies childhood experience which we all joined in!
DeleteI think you're both partially right (if we're talking about the same shoes :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 10-11 or so I had a pair of Wayfinders with animal tracks on the soles and indeed a compass in the heel. https://www.flickr.com/photos/22326055@N06/3611153831
Once I got to secondary school (conveniently located across the street :) there was only one kind of proper footwear - Clarks Desert Boots aka brothel creepers. Of which I continued to have a pair for decades until I couldn't find them in local shops anymore.
I now wear the nearest thing Clarks make (or made, they're several years old now) being a desert boot with leather soles (a vast improvement over the crepe soles of the original, which are lethal on wet surfaces).
Best -- Paul
Now I do remember those Paul, the animal tracks! that really does ring a bell. They would have left prints in sand, wet ground and snow no doubt. Superb! Innocent fun! Glad to hear you love desert boots. I still have a blue pair but my dislike of laces has banished them to the shoe cupboard I'm afraid. I always wanted a pair of Blue Suede Shoes when I was a teenager, true youth culture footwear. For some reason I never got any.
DeleteIt seems that both types of shoes (animal tracks and lunar surface) were called Wayfinders, but the animal track ones are also called Pathfinders on many sites on the internet for some reason - maybe just faulty memory.
DeleteClarks Wayfinders with the magnet in the heel and moon capsule to move around the box!
ReplyDeleteNope, I just don't recall this Bill. It sounds like my cup of tea as well! I wish I had more photos of my possessions in the Sixties and Seventies. I need the memories!
DeleteI did a post about them only a week or so, Woodsy. Just type Moonshot shoes into my search box and you should be able to see it. Tsk, tsk, you're obviously not paying enough attention to my blog now, are you?
DeleteDoh! Just had a skeg at Crivens. A very pleasant read it was too making my way to the shoes post! Fab blog Kid, I'll keep checking. Here's the link to Moonshot shoes for other readers http://kidr77.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/wayfinders-moonshot-shoes.html
Delete