One of those people
The first time i saw a pair of Vibram Five Fingers i very nearly threw up in my mouth. The first adjective that came to mind was "hideous". That was followed swiftly by "ridiculous", "stupid", and "silly". But as conversations with the owner of said pair of "hideous ridiculous stupid silly" shoes progressed i became interested in them and why people would willing go out in public in such goofy looking footwear. So i started doing what i do best. Research. And the more the researched the Five Fingers and the whole Barefoot Movement the more fascinated i became. I still thought the shoes looked ridiculous but i found out that your didn't have to get them in shades of orange/blue or green/yellow. You could go for a relatively staid black/black and people would only really be able to tell that you were wearing shoes with TOES if they actually looked at your feet for longer than a few seconds.
After my research and conversations with other people who own their own Vibrams i finally decided that i was willing to give them a shot. At the very least i could go to REI and try on a pair. So i packed up my little family and we went to the REI flagship store in downtown Seattle. Silas and Baby wandered amongst the tents and sleeping bags while i perused the women's shoe section upstairs. I had to wait quite a while (who knew that a Tuesday at 11am was a popular time of day for hiking boots?!) before i finally flagged down a salesperson and asked if i could try on a pair of Vibrams.
"Sorry but we've been out of Vibrams for a couple of weeks."
"Oh, when do you think you'll get more in?"
"That's anyone's guess. You go down to the customer service desk ad put in a backorder if you'd like."
I made my way down to the customer service desk and waited for my turn. Everyone else was returning something and i felt a little awkward standing there with empty hands. A trim, tanned woman with a cascade of silver hair came up to me with a concerned look on her face and asked if i was in the right line. I told her i was backordering something and she seemed much relieved. When i finally made it to the front of the line and put forth my request the man behind the counter punched the keys on his computer with a frown.
"What size did you want?"
"Well i'm not entirely sure, i've never tried them on. Size 36 i think is what i'm going to need."
"Hmmm, we don't usually carry that small in these shoes. We'd have to special order it which would take longer and it would cost $8.95 to have them shipped to the store. "
"So i could order them from the Vibram website and likely have them sooner and cheaper than if i bought from you guys."
"...probably."
"Okay then."
Disappointed i hunted down my husband and baby and we left the store, sans silly shoes. At this point it felt like there was no turning back. My curiosity about these shoes was at a fever-pitch. If i couldn't just give them a test run at REI, dammit, i was just going to have to go the website and buy them. So i did. I chalked it up as a birthday present to myself. Turns out that going straight to the manufacturer got the shoes to me more quickly and cheaply than if i'd let REI order them for me. A mere 5 days after i clicked "place order" the shoes were waiting me at the bookstore.
I eagerly ripped open the plastic wrapping and pried open the box. There, nestled between diaphanous sheets of tissue paper were two, very small, glove-like shoes. They seriously looked tiny, like they'd never fit me. Undaunted i sat down and began the task of trying to fit my toes into individual toe pockets. It took a bit of doing, i'm not gonna lie. I'm a veteran toe-sock wearer but it took quite a bit of finaggling to convince my toes to into the pockets. Once there though everything was great. The shoes felt delightful. I strolled around the backroom, walked over some of the cracked and damaged linoleum tiles, took a walk over the power cords in the back office. Just like barefoot! Only not!
I spent the entire rest of the day in my new Five Fingers. By the end of the day the tips of my second toes were a little sore but i quickly figured out, after i got home, that a nail trim was in order. And the next day i wore them to the Puyallup Fair. Walking over the barns, the concrete, the grass, the hay, it was all good. The next day i wore them to the gym and got my first questions from curious bystanders. I have to admit that i felt both embarassed and proud of my footwear. I had a nice little spiel about the supposed benefits of barefooting and they seemed to buy it. Of course i find that the more i give my little spiel, the more i believe it myself.
Today is day 7 of my owning my Five Fingers. This morning i slipped on a pair of real shoes for the first time in 7 days and i said, "Ick, these feel weird". So, in the space of a week i became "one of those people". I wear extraordinarily goofy looking shoes and i talk about how barefoot is the way we're meant to be. I've started running in my Five Fingers and find that my stride has changed dramatically resulting in sorer calves (for the time being) but the treadmill also doesn't sound like it's going to shake apart when my feet strike it. I need to try running on "real" ground soon.
Here i am. At work. In my silly shoes feeling less and less silly as time goes by. *sigh* I can still wear my red platform stillettos on occassion and not be a hypocrite, right? The problem, i don't know if i even want to anymore.
After my research and conversations with other people who own their own Vibrams i finally decided that i was willing to give them a shot. At the very least i could go to REI and try on a pair. So i packed up my little family and we went to the REI flagship store in downtown Seattle. Silas and Baby wandered amongst the tents and sleeping bags while i perused the women's shoe section upstairs. I had to wait quite a while (who knew that a Tuesday at 11am was a popular time of day for hiking boots?!) before i finally flagged down a salesperson and asked if i could try on a pair of Vibrams.
"Sorry but we've been out of Vibrams for a couple of weeks."
"Oh, when do you think you'll get more in?"
"That's anyone's guess. You go down to the customer service desk ad put in a backorder if you'd like."
I made my way down to the customer service desk and waited for my turn. Everyone else was returning something and i felt a little awkward standing there with empty hands. A trim, tanned woman with a cascade of silver hair came up to me with a concerned look on her face and asked if i was in the right line. I told her i was backordering something and she seemed much relieved. When i finally made it to the front of the line and put forth my request the man behind the counter punched the keys on his computer with a frown.
"What size did you want?"
"Well i'm not entirely sure, i've never tried them on. Size 36 i think is what i'm going to need."
"Hmmm, we don't usually carry that small in these shoes. We'd have to special order it which would take longer and it would cost $8.95 to have them shipped to the store. "
"So i could order them from the Vibram website and likely have them sooner and cheaper than if i bought from you guys."
"...probably."
"Okay then."
Disappointed i hunted down my husband and baby and we left the store, sans silly shoes. At this point it felt like there was no turning back. My curiosity about these shoes was at a fever-pitch. If i couldn't just give them a test run at REI, dammit, i was just going to have to go the website and buy them. So i did. I chalked it up as a birthday present to myself. Turns out that going straight to the manufacturer got the shoes to me more quickly and cheaply than if i'd let REI order them for me. A mere 5 days after i clicked "place order" the shoes were waiting me at the bookstore.
I eagerly ripped open the plastic wrapping and pried open the box. There, nestled between diaphanous sheets of tissue paper were two, very small, glove-like shoes. They seriously looked tiny, like they'd never fit me. Undaunted i sat down and began the task of trying to fit my toes into individual toe pockets. It took a bit of doing, i'm not gonna lie. I'm a veteran toe-sock wearer but it took quite a bit of finaggling to convince my toes to into the pockets. Once there though everything was great. The shoes felt delightful. I strolled around the backroom, walked over some of the cracked and damaged linoleum tiles, took a walk over the power cords in the back office. Just like barefoot! Only not!
I spent the entire rest of the day in my new Five Fingers. By the end of the day the tips of my second toes were a little sore but i quickly figured out, after i got home, that a nail trim was in order. And the next day i wore them to the Puyallup Fair. Walking over the barns, the concrete, the grass, the hay, it was all good. The next day i wore them to the gym and got my first questions from curious bystanders. I have to admit that i felt both embarassed and proud of my footwear. I had a nice little spiel about the supposed benefits of barefooting and they seemed to buy it. Of course i find that the more i give my little spiel, the more i believe it myself.
Today is day 7 of my owning my Five Fingers. This morning i slipped on a pair of real shoes for the first time in 7 days and i said, "Ick, these feel weird". So, in the space of a week i became "one of those people". I wear extraordinarily goofy looking shoes and i talk about how barefoot is the way we're meant to be. I've started running in my Five Fingers and find that my stride has changed dramatically resulting in sorer calves (for the time being) but the treadmill also doesn't sound like it's going to shake apart when my feet strike it. I need to try running on "real" ground soon.
Here i am. At work. In my silly shoes feeling less and less silly as time goes by. *sigh* I can still wear my red platform stillettos on occassion and not be a hypocrite, right? The problem, i don't know if i even want to anymore.