A shoe in

(The Sunday Times of India, July 4, 2010)
There is a deep, almost visceral connection between women and shoes. Every day, every outfit, almost every step brings a different need in footwear. And the age-old MCP jokes about the number of pairs of shoes, sandals, heels et al that any woman has in her closet are justified; they hold some credence for most of the sex. Style, after all, is the bon mot, and must make a statement. But when it comes to those three months of the year when the taps above (and no, not in the upstairs neighbours’ bathrooms) run ceaselessly on and no one can tell when the sun will take over from rain, style has had perforce to take a backseat and allow comfort and practicality free rein. It used to be a sad story, this one, where practicality meant plastic/PVC and comfort came courtesy many Band Aids, but today everything seems to have caught up with itself and life is a great deal more chic for feet during the monsoon.

The old warhorse of footwear, Bata, has finally managed to veer off the antediluvian Sandak path, with a happy set of Sunshine and Lite slippers, or what used to be called ‘rubber chappals’, in bright colours like red, lime green and fluorescent pink, priced from Rs59 to Rs299. Better still is the Bata and I collection, with pretty designs on very light and flexible synthetic material. From totally foldable ballerinas to T-straps to semi-gladiators to wedges, the range is priced between Rs199 and Rs999 and does the walking-on/through-water trick quite satisfactorily.

There is competition, of course, in the multifarious offerings in shoe stores across the city. Kareena Kapoor’s Gucci chappals may not be easily sourced in Mumbai, but Candies, Jellies, even the occasional Sigerson Morrison fashionista flats and kitten heels can be found if you look hard enough. But fast getting ubiquitous in its original and knock-off versions are the Crocs, those clog-like soft-rubber clogs that look like something conjured up by a clod-hopping Dutch farmer on a bad acid trip and with names like ‘Cloud’ (Rs750), ‘Endeavor’(Rs1,695), ‘Cayman’ (Rs1,495) and, enticingly, ‘Relief’ (Rs1,795). Crocs do have less awkward-looking models, like Mary Janes (Rs 1,495) and slippers (Rs 1,495), and a charming sky-blue ballerina slipper called ‘Prima’ (Rs1,295). The street interpretations of these same designs are available at about one-third the price, depending on the buyers’ bargaining skills.

Of course, there are the standards like floaters and ‘rainy shoes’ in clear plastic, but what is cheering is that the average footwear fanatic can now find decent, locally made, branded stuff to slosh through puddles in, to run for trains in and to squelch across maidans in. A good bet is to stay home and watch other people getting their feet wet – or not, depending on what shoes they wear – but not many can manage that!