我為鞋狂

灰姑娘的水晶鞋、桃樂絲的紅寶石鞋，我們從小就聽著這些童話長大；Sex and the City中的Carrie為鞋不惜一切；Devil in Prada的海報就是一只大紅色的高跟鞋；《流星花園》中的藤堂靜也說：“每個女人都要有一雙好鞋，它會帶你去任何想去的地方。”女人戀鞋本是天經地義的事情——因為我們都想找到那雙只屬于自己的玻璃鞋。

We begin our pilgrimage into a woman’s heart outside the

Discount Shoe Warehouse (DSW) store in Littleton， Colo. For spiritual guidance， we say a reverent “Hail

1)Imelda，” then push open the double glass doors to paradise.

Pausing just inside this cavernous temple， we are dazzled and stunned. It’s a vision of wonder: rows of shoes in the Discount Shoe Warehouse. Shoes on sale. Shoes on clearance. Shoes in every color. Shoes with straps or buckles or 2)Gore-Tex lining. Shoes for hundreds， maybe thousands， of feet.

In this temporary state of grace， the heart of woman is revealed—and it’s 3)suede with a two-inch heel. The love affair between women and shoes runs deep. Often it’s something beyond words， a 4)visceral and pure devotion to sling backs and kitten heels.

“I just love shoes，” said Leslie Renda of Castle Rock， Colo.， as she perused the clearance racks at DSW. “I don’t know if I can explain why. I used to have 80 pairs. Now when I get a new pair I have to hide them. My husband says， ‘Are those new?’ ‘No!’”

It’s simply the joy of shoes， a joy recognized early by most girls， one that grows with age.

Consider the fairy tales little girls are told:

Cinderella with her glass slippers， which help her win the prince’s heart. 5)Dorothy’s ruby slippers， which take her home.

Shoes never cause a woman to question whether she looks fat in them. They have the power to improve an otherwise 6)bleak day. Shoes provide a solid foundation for whatever complex psychology is going on with the rest of the outfit. Shoes， wrote author 7)Nicholson Baker， “are the first adult machines we are given to master.”

And women are masters. In the first 10 months of 2002， U.S. women spent $16 billion on 545 million pairs of shoes， compared to the $13 billion men spent on 284 million pairs， according to the NPD Group， a New York-based research group that tracks retail sales and trends.

“There’s such variety with shoes that a woman can really reflect her personality with them，” said Diane Bucci， manager of the Littleton DSW store. “She can have shoes to match every outfit. Or she’ll buy a pair that go with only one thing in her wardrobe. We call those one-outfit shoes.”

Whereas men tend to limit their shoe purchases to brown， black and 8)sneakers， said DSW assistant manager James Green， women have no problem loading up on wildly impractical shoes， especially if they’re on sale. And especially if they look good， or feel good， or give her a buzz when she glances down and catches a glimpse of them on her feet. Renda described it as a rush， slipping her feet into a new pair of shoes， absorbing their new-shoe smell， walking around in them for the first time.

Lisa Athon of Parker， Colo.， another DSW customer， can relate. She appreciates the variety available in women’s shoes， and how shoes can update an outfit. Even if a woman can’t afford to 9)purge her wardrobe every season， a new pair of shoes can make her feel stylish and her outfits feel fresh.

Much has been made of the shoe-sex connection， of the 10)fetishes and 11)Freudian analyses of the male-designed 12)subjugation wrought by high heels. Still more has been made of the physiological damage shoes can do， especially high heels. Colorado Springs 13)chiropractor Kerra Foreman said heels cause the spine to shift forward and 14)aggravate existing problems from the lower back to the jaw.

15)Podiatrist Jim Gremillion said women outnumber men four to one in his practice. They buy shoes that are too small， not realizing the average person’s foot swells half a size in width and length during the day. They wear high heels， ignoring the fact that for every inch of heel， another 20 pounds of pressure is inflicted on the ball of the foot. “We’ve made good progress (in educating women about shoes)，” he said， “but vanity stands in our way.”

Which is a real predicament， because what woman hasn’t been willing to suffer just a little bit for a fabulous pair of shoes? Seeing a woman in torturously pointed heels or ridiculously 16)flimsy sandals is to think， in equal measure， “17)Dang， that looks painful” and “Dang， those are great shoes.”

At least， you’d think that if you’re a woman， because you know what’s in your heart.

在科羅拉多州利特爾頓的折扣鞋倉（DSW）門外，我們開始了通向女性內心的朝圣之旅。我們虔誠地說了聲“伊梅爾達萬歲”，給自己的心靈指明方向。然后，我們推開了通往天堂的雙層玻璃門。

一踏進這個深幽幽的圣殿，我們就眼花繚亂，目瞪口呆了。奇跡就出現在我們的眼前：DSW里的鞋子成行成列的。這里有正在大減價的鞋、作清倉處理的鞋、各種顏色的鞋；有系帶的、系扣的、戈爾特斯襯里的鞋子。那是給數百雙，也許數千雙腳準備的鞋。

在蒙受天恩的短暫時刻，女性的內心世界表露無遺——那是一雙兩英寸高的絨面高跟鞋。女性與鞋之間的愛戀史源遠流長。對于后帶低跟鞋，女性那發自內心的、純粹的執著是難以言表的。

“我就是喜歡鞋，” 科羅拉多州羅克堡的萊斯利·倫達一邊仔細翻揀著DSW里的清倉貨，一邊說道。“我不知道自己能否把這事兒說明白。我以前有八十雙鞋。現在，如果我買了一雙新鞋，我就得把它藏起來。我丈夫問：‘這是新的嗎？’‘不是！’”

這絕對是由鞋帶來的愉悅，大部分女孩很小就意識到這種愉悅，而且它隨著年齡的增長而增加。想想那些小女孩們熟知的童話吧：灰姑娘腳上的水晶鞋幫助她贏得了王子的愛情。……