Having spent a lifetime unable to buy normal pants because I am so tall, I was determined to make my height pay off by not having to pay to have my wedding gown hemmed. My wish has come true. Unfortunately (and isn't this the case with wishes that come true), my wish has some unexpected consequences.
Yes, I don't have to have my gown hemmed, but I have to wear a 1" heel--no more, no less, in order for my gown to hit in the right place.
I know from experience (2 1/2 hours spent exclusively at shoe stores at the outlets 2 days ago) that the right shoe is hard to find. I wasn't shopping for wedding-day shoes, but they were in the back of my mind, and I found no contenders.
I know from dance lessons that I need shoes with backs. In fact, the best shoes are ballroom dance shoes because they are made for comfort. And the best place to find dance shoes is online. (Normally, online shoe shopping is just about the worst idea in the world because you need to try on most shoes to know if they're comfortable. But with ballroom dance shoes, they're all comfortable, so there is less of a risk.)
I found more shoe options in the online world, but I didn't find any that I wanted. I found a great site that custom-makes every pair of shoes, so you can choose the heel height and fabric and everything. Unfortunately, the prices were high, and the shoes shipped from China, meaning there is a long waiting period and spendy shipping prices.
The shoe site with free shipping had nice options--unfortunately, all of the low-heeled shoes were in black or tan. According to these sites, brides want 2 1/2" - 3" heels. Sniff.
I ended up ordering the same ballroom shoes I have now, except they're tan colored (the ones I have are black). I didn't want tan-colored shoes, but perhaps something can be done. And by something, I mean spraypaint, glitter, and maybe some rhinestones. Will it look awful? Perhaps. Will it look better than a wedding gown hemmed with duct tape? Probably.
At this point, we just have to go with the better of two evils.
