Marking the transition
Britney Spears once put out a record called “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman.” At the time, she was almost twenty, which suggests a question: when does the changeover actually take place?
My own expertise on this matter is essentially nil, but I have a feeling black pumps are involved:
I tend to find black pumps extremely boring and far too responsible (aka grown-up) for my taste. Well, sign me up for a 401k and charge my Blackberry: I guess I’m a grown-up now!
As with most proper coming-of-age stories, this one is based on necessity:
The need for boring black pumps came one lovely afternoon when I was setting up an interview with a potential employer and the recruiter jokingly mentioned not to “do anything crazy like wear silver shoes” to the interview. When I got off the phone, I did a mental inventory of my current shoe collection and realized I was in trouble! Needless to say, the purple platform Chloe’s that go perfectly with my interview suit were definitely out, as were every other shoe in my closet. I knew that at some point in my “professional” life I would potentially have to succumb to the pressure of wearing boring black pumps.
If it’s any consolation, they don’t have to be boring.
(Photo snipped from a Burlington hosiery ad, deep into the 1950s.)
fillyjonk »
10 January 2009 · 5:41 pm
There’s another, less visible (well, unless you are Madonna) item of clothing that might be a marker as well.
I still almost-never wear pumps; I wonder what that says about my status as a putative adult?
For me, I think I decided I was an adult the first time I received a bill addressed to me, and I paid it. (I think it was a college tuition bill.)
CGHill »
10 January 2009 · 5:45 pm
I know several women who say they can’t wear pumps or anything with much of a heel, due to various physical ailments. None of them seem particularly childish. :)
sya »
11 January 2009 · 5:45 pm
I’ve never owned pumps, black or otherwise. On the bright side, growing up is viewed as overrated in some circles.
CGHill »
11 January 2009 · 5:53 pm
It certainly seems to be true that maturity and chronological age have only the slightest connection with one another.