Leaving Manolo Behind

Today I was pondering something that I think about from time to time, something that nobody I know seems to have registered. I was contemplating what I believe to be the most socially significant fashion movement in the last 40 years of women's history, one that seems to have gone uniquely unnoticed by our media and by academia. To what do I refer? Yes, that's right. I am referring to the rise of - wait for it - GALOSHES.

I'm actually not sure what came first. If I recall correctly, around 2005 or 2006, high-heeled knee boots were in style - what we in the 'hood used to call "hooker boots." And then something changed, somehow - somebody got a flash of inspiration, a Vogue editor got a bunion, whatever. And some of the designers went from putting hooker boots on the catwalk to putting riding boots on the catwalk. I don't remember where galoshes fit in this picture, but I do know that by 2009, everybody in New York City was wearing flat-heeled shoes.

This is a revolution, not just for women's health, but, especially in the case of galoshes, also for women's souls. I used to wear high heels religiously. They made me feel like a real woman. I used to accept the fallen-off toenails and blisters as par for the course, the cost of modern femininity. The pain was something so seamlessly accepted that I hardly felt it, prancing around like a model down the streets of New York, my heels clicking authoritatively against the sidewalk. I recently tried on a pair of heels again. I couldn't walk more than a few steps without my knees buckling in pain. How did I ever accept such oppression?, I asked myself.

For the first time in 40+ years of women's history, and maybe longer, there has been a revolution. Women's comfort comes first. For all the bravado of 1970's feminism, burning bras and jettisoning makeup was mostly a political statement. This is not. This is a simple act of self-love. This is more about women than men. As we all know, it wasn't men putting the pressure on women this time; it was us. It's not men, for the most part, pinching hip flesh and complaining that we "need to lose 10 pounds" for the millionth time, or obsessing about whether we got highlights this month or not or got the right brand of expensive cosmetics. Men don't buy magazines that talk about Speidi and the Real Housewives. Men don't care if we wear flats.

We cared. And letting ourselves "exhale" is a huge landmark. The galoshes thing steps it up a notch. Not only can women be comfortable, they can actually dress utilitarianly, which implies that they can concentrate on things other than fashion. And, presumably, beauty. That's a trend I'll lift a martini glass to.