Farewell, Steve Maddens

It was inevitable. I knew this day would come. Today, I retired my favourite pair of shoes.

I remember seeing these shoes at Frederick & Nelson, a department store in Seattle, in June 2002. The sight of the pale black leather Steve Maddens with four tan stripes on the sides really caught my eye. They look like bowling shoes, only cooler. I would have bought them then, but I usually hesitate when I see something I like, especially if it's costly. Besides, the value of goods my girlfriend at the time bought had already exceeded the limit that we were allowed to bring back to Canada. Fortunately, I saw the same pair of shoes in downtown Vancouver later that week, and bought them right away.

My Steve Maddens have given me three years of loyal service, and have even treaded the streets of London, Paris, Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, and now, Hong Kong. They go very well with jeans, and are great for walking. I've gotten many compliments on them too. Check out the pic of me in these shoes at the Prime Meridien at Greenwich, taken December 2002.

I'm quite reluctant to part with my old pair of shoes, but unfortunately, they're pretty much unwearable now. Actually, they lasted longer than I expected, but the end came suddenly and quickly. I brought these shoes to Seoul and left them on the floor of my hotel room, not realising that the floorboards were not just heated, but SUPERheated. A month of melting made the sole of my shoes a bit thinner in certain places. I still wore these shoes during the winter and spring in Beijing, not realising that the thinned-out parts of the soles started to crack until one rainy evening. I remember having dinner with my visiting friend, Johnny, and walking on Dongzhimenwai Dajie, trying to hail a cab. Being a rainy day, it was impossible to find an empty cab, so I was forced to walk to the subway station. At first, my right foot felt a little bit wet, but later, I realised that my right shoe was totally soaked! Upon closer inspection at home, I noticed a three-inch crack in the sole. I let my shoes dry on my "patio", but the leather was never the same again.


On Saturday, I bought a pair of black Clarks casual walking shoes from a store I pass every Saturday afternoon after having tea with my aunt and cousin. I've been eyeing these shoes for the last 2 months, and although I didn't think much of them at first, I realise that they're as close as they come to my favourite pair of shoes. Well, that's not entirely true. There used to be some Camper shoes I really liked, but they cost around $2000 HKD ($300 CAD), a really really nice pair of Mephisto shoes that cost about the same, and some great Bally shoes that cost $3000 HKD (almost $500 CAD!). If you ask me, I think it's quite silly to spend so much on shoes that I can only wear for 3-5 years at the most. On the other hand, I don't want to spend money on non-branded shoes or cheap knockoffs from China because even though they may be much cheaper than Clarks and Rockports, I fear their shoddy designs may screw up my feet.


Today, I wore these shoes for the first time. I walked from my dorm at HKU to Midlevels, then back. I must have worn them for about ten hours, about two of which I spent walking, and I think they're okay. I think I'll grow to love these shoes, but only if I can forget about my old pair.