You may or may not know this, but I have eleven pairs of shoes. Ten of which are various forms of the same, Converse All Star Chuck Taylors. I have more pairs of shoes than anyone I know, male or female, except Stak (whose advice I may have to seek on the subject of deciding which shoes to take when moving to another country) the eleventh is my black leather work shoes, purchased from Spendless Shoes for an amount less than thirty dollars, several years prior.
The conundrum is, which pair (or pairs) do I take, keeping the Qantas 20kg baggage limit in mind. I can pack on pair in my carry-on, because Cons flatten out quite well, but I want to leave space in there for my more important books (later you’ll find a post where I deal with the same problem, with which books to take instead of which shoes) and, you know, carry-on type things. I am determined to stay within the one check-in, 20kg limit.
Here is the case for each pair of shoes, in roughly the order they were purchased in:
Black Chuck Taylors, names forgotten but because I bought them in year nine the names were probably a reference to Nirvana, or NOFX. I seem to remember one was called Jonny: I only wear these when I’m mowing the lawn, or doing something else messy that involves the requirement for my feet to be enclosed. The original white laces were replaced long ago with a flouro orange one on one foot and a flouro yellow one on the the other. I don’t like wearing these shoes because no-one believes the lace is yellow, everyone thinks it’s green. If I was able to bring unlimited luggage I would use them for morning walks on the beach, or something, but space is limited, so this is a no.
Blue Chuck Taylors, inherited from Uncle Peter, named Oscar and Thomas after Oscar Wilde and TS Eliot. The hole in the heel of one of these and the fact they’ve never really fit properly makes them an automatic no.
Purple Chuck Taylors, named Brian and Julia (the first pair to be named, named after characters in what I still maintain will be my first novel, when I’m ready to write it) Purchased in Bakersfield, California, August 2000: These shoes probably hold the most memories, because they come from a time when they were rare in Australia (before the Converse store in Harbour Town opened) so people would come up to me on the train and tell me they liked my shoes, and on two occasions people who hadn’t met me but had heard about me from friends recognized me because of my shoes. This has happened less and less recently, and though I wore them to every Dockers game between the torment of 2001 and the almost-success of last year, I’ve been starting to wear shoes with less holes in them, which are less faded. As practicality is overtaking sentiment, I think this is another no.
Red Chuck Taylors, purchased for the year 11 ball to go with my kilt, names something like Snowstorm and Firefly, or something similar. I haven’t been wearing these ones as much lately, because they only go with certain clothes of mine (and yes, co-ordination with other clothes is an important aspect in my shoe choices) Any negative memories associated with them if they ever existed are gone, and they’re in good condition, so they’re a possibility. A good classic shade, and everyone knows red is the fastest colour.
Cream Chuck Taylors, named Blanco and Negro because of the black laces I replaced the originals with. They’d be a problem because they’re very hard to do up and undo, so I think that’s a no, unless I can keep them loose enough to be easily kicked off and slid back on, which would be uncomfortable and lead to problematic tongue slippage. So that’s a no.
White Chuck Taylors, purchased for the Perth College year 12 ball, 2003, to go with my white suit: I only have one photo from that night, and it’s horrible. Well, I look alright, but no-one else in that photo wants to be there, and they all make it very obvious. The shoes are alright, but I don’t like the low tops as much as I like the high tops, although the relative ease of taking them on and off would be a clear advantage in Japan. They are a little less white than they used to be though, and I don’t like my chances of being able to find affordable shoes in Japan to replace them if they get dirty, so that’s probably a no.
Green Chuck Taylors, named Fog and Alligator after the Radiohead song Fog (which used to be called Alligators in New York Sewers) Purchased for the Govo year 12 ball, 2003. I don’t like how the tongue of one of these tends to fold up all the time. It’s the only pair that still has the original laces and yet 100% of the time needs the laces to be tied. I like them but the difficulty of co-ordinating them, and of removing them and putting them back on quickly makes them another no.
Rainbow Striped Sparkly low-topped Chuck Taylors, named Vicious and Candy after two Lou Reed songs, purchased in Kuala Lumpur for 36 Ringet, or roughly $18. They’re less impressive than they used to be, but because they’re low top they have a clear advantage in the putting on/taking off field. I guess my personality is less rainbow striped and sparkly than it used to be, which is why I’ve been wearing these shoes less lately. Because of this I think it has to be a no.
Gray Chuck Taylors, named Martyr and Death (there’s a story behind that, I think, but I think from then on I gave up on naming my shoes) purchased for the St Brigid’s year 12 ball, 2004 to go with my pin striped suit, black hat and black thick-rimmed glasses. I’m wearing these shoes now and wear them more often than any others, and I thing they’re the only ones that could possibly pass as kind-of smart looking. The ALT at the school in Uonuma was wearing sneakers, but I think they were provided by the school. It was scary seeing all the students in matching shoes, with different coloured velcro straps for each different year group, and they were all sitting around the gym looking at us poor Australians trying to speak a little Japanese. It was like some Japanese version of Children of the Damned, or whatever that movie’s called (The Bloodening!) Long story short, I think that’s a yes, or the closest to it yet.
Tan Chuck Taylors, purchased for the Govo year 12 ball 2004, and named Spud and Rents after Trainspotting, which I was probably reading (or trying to read) at the time. I think these ones have it all, relatively easy to take off and put on, still kind-of neat, comfortable and easy to fit in my luggage. If I can/need to take more than one pair of Cons this is the second.
Black business shoes, very cheap from Spendless Shoes, no names, which I have worn four days a week for the past year and as such are very comfortable. It was with these shoes I found the wonder of a shoe-horn in Tokyo earlier this year, it makes the taking off and putting on of shoes far easier, though unfortunately doesn’t work if your shoes are flimsy canvas. I don’t know how much longer these shoes will last, and it might pay to buy another pair of shoes and get rid of this one before I go. Hmm, I still haven’t come to a decision, and as wearing one pair and packing one in my check-in and one in my carry-on may already be pushing it, I don’t know. Until I have a set of bathroom scales, a full suitcase and a lot of time, I don’t know if the decision will ever be final.
Well, a long entry with no conclusions.
