Rocking a Pair of Green Suede Boots

One of my biggest fashion disasters in high school was a pair of green suede boots. It was towards the end of my love affair with all things Esprit, and I had seen this super popular girl at my old school wearing them at a basketball game once. I was 16 and going to the mall in South Bend (IN) was Nirvana to me. Mom and I were browsing in the shoe department at L.S. Ayers when I saw them. Green. Suede. Esprit. It's amazing how desperately you can want something that 10 seconds ago you didn't even know existed. I was convinced that I couldn't live without these boots and waited in giddy impatience while the sales associate went to find my size. He came back with two boxes, apologizing for not having an 8 1/2 and bringing an 8 and a 9. Despite being a true 8 1/2, I saw this as only a minor setback. The 9 was way too big, my toes lost in a warehouse of empty space at the end of the boot. Pulling on the 8, I was inwardly dismayed. They pinched. Walking in them was uncomfortable, but I turned to my mom and declared they felt great. I loved them and would wear them everyday. One Friday, a few weeks later, I visited my old school and got to spend the day with friends. I was wearing a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt tucked into a pair of Guess jeans. I strutted my stuff through the old hallways, past the cute boys and the popular girls in my green suede boots, with one sound repeating itself in my head, "Ow, ow, ow (damn it!) ow, ow, ow...."