This is all assuming that the walking shoes don't have buckles or ties. Also, there's the little shopping bag (gotta be something cute, maybe from saks or ann taylor) that holds the other pair. you've gotta discreetly take the shoes out of the bag, balance while you remove your walking shoes (mine happen to be sandals with a strap) put on the new shoes, and put the walking shoes in the bag. preferably all this is done about a block or two from the destination (not always shul).

I look at women's shoes and conclude that we don't deserve to survive as a species, personally.

Mata:

Many women wore slip-on walking shoes. And yes, the little shopping bags were very cute: Tiffany's, Barneys, Umberto, Gucci, Nordstrom, and my personal favorite: Kosher Club.

Michael:

I look at women's shoes and come to the exact opposite conclusion.

Cute post.

Now that I think about it, maybe it's time for some new fall heels. Ahhh, shoes...

Michael and Robert:

From a purely evolutionary perspective, Robert is right on this issue. Individuals will go to great lengths, frequently at personal risk and biologic expense, to display themselves in a positive advantage to the opposite sex. The huge horns on stags, the huge colorful tails on peacocks, the chirps of crickets – all of these are useless (or actually harmful) for getting food or evading predators, and use up resources that could be spent elsewhere. But they all unmistakably broadcast the powerful Darwinian message “I’m kind of a big deal, honey. Get to know me.”

Robert: Keep up the good work keeping the world safe from un-inspected ladies footwear. Oh, and the great writing.

When I am elected president I am going to see to it that a law is passed that bans women from owning more than three pairs of shoes.

Alice:

It's definitely time for new Fall heels, even when it's not Fall.

Albert:

Good to have scientific back-up. Thanks.

Jack:

With that platform you will be assassinated before you're elected.

nicely spotted.

I can't believe you've been married to Karen for close to 30 years and you've never realized she changes shoes upon reaching shul. Granted, you're probably there well before her (considering hashkama minyan is your minyan of choice) and wouldn't see "the transformation" right then and there, but have you never noticed a shoe bag in her hand?
The fact that you, the footwear photographer, have been "clueless" about your wife's footwear switcheroo simply boggles my mind...! :)

Shoes aside, could you tolerate the intoxicating whiffs of aftershave and perfume over Yom Tov?

PD:

Thanks so much.

Pearl:

I saw the bag, but y'know I figured Karen was toting mysterious female stuff.

Yom Tov was surprisingly okay. I even had a migraine-free fast.

With that platform you will be assassinated before you're elected.

That is why I wear running shoes. ;) P.S. The second part of my platform is the elimination of cats as pets.

Good thing I am not looking for a shidduch.

Robert certainly knew I carried my high heels in the tote I carry every week to shul. It's just that being of the male brained sort, he never stopped to think about the actual mechanics of how and when the switch took place. One of my daughters is so modest about this, or so "proper" that she goes into the shul's coat closet to do the deed.

Guns and shoes...what an interesting night it must have been for you. ;)

Orieyenta:

Guns and high heels: that's all the imagery I need in order to write a great script.

Jack honey, I wear three different pairs of shoes every day. Pa-leez.

Karen, I agree with you. Women's clothing and shoes are definitely more about other women than about men. For the guys out there, did you know that one of the most important modes of female communication is comments on each other's clothing and/or shoes? I remember waiting impatiently during one of the recent High Holiday services to get to one of the parts where one is allowed to speak, so that I could point out to the woman behind me - an acquaintance whom I knew felt a bit left out in our synagogue - that we were wearing the same sandals. There probably wasn't any way I could have made her feel more comfortable.

Jack honey, I wear three different pairs of shoes every day. Pa-leez.

Why, do you have six feet. Must be hard to dance with you. ;)

Shoes are heaven's gift to women: no matter if we gain a pound or two or ten, our shoes always fit.

Karen, as modesty is sadly becoming a lost art form, your daughter's sense of it is endearing.

"Guns and high heels: that's all the imagery I need in order to write a great script." LOL! :)

Personally, I'm with Jack on this one. Possibly the only advantage of having had (fortunately very minor) foot surgery last January from which my foot doesn't seem likely ever to heal completely is that I now have a legitimate excuse for wearing athletic shoes *everywhere.* (Hey, as long as I can still go Israeli folk dancing--albeit at half speed--I'm not complaining.)

Here's a FOOTnote to your post, Robert. Karen might be a SHOE-in (yeah, yeah...I know that's not how you spell it, but I took some writer's liberties here) for elegant footwear and catching a security guy's eye, but the two of you are definitely SOLEmates. (another deliberate misspelling.) Hope I'm not TREADing on thin ice and being a HEEL, but I thought you might need some SUPPORT. :P