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Fashion statement, or fetish?
May. 15th, 2005 11:51 pmI can almost guarantee that when James gets around to reading this, he’ll tell me I'm attempting to justify a compulsion. Ticor teases me. "Mighty hunter; fresh kill," is the usual comment when he sees I’ve acquired a new pair of boots. He often asks how often I slip into my closet unseen, to jack off on one of my pairs of boots.
Truth is, it isn't a sexual thing. I'm hyper-aware of my feet and lower legs. For some reason I’m always exquisitely aware of what's in contact with them. A neurological disorder? Some odd psychologic quirk, perhaps? Whatever its cause, it is the case. Boots are pleasing to me. I just like the feel of them against my skin. Like Temple Grandin's cattle hugging device, to calm animals facing slaughter, the feel of a boot is soothing to me, in a way I cannot articulately explain. It simply is.
I come by my shopping predilection honestly. When my siblings and I were young and our folks would travel on vacations, unlike my friend’s parents who came back with pictures of sites they’d seen, my parents came back with pictures of places they'd gone shopping. Sure, it often was of some picturesque bazaar in some distant, foreign land, where bargains were struck with the help of someone assisting in the local dialect, but still it was of someplace they went shopping. You know, now that I think about it, I did the same thing in Europe, during my first trip there. Any way, even now as an adult, my eyes light up, when my mother gives me that conspiratorial look and says, "Ya' wanna go shopping?"
EBay is the perfect venue to indulge my penchant for boots. Good quality and a good price; yeah, I'm there. The last four or five months, has seen my footwear inventory swell, predominantly with boots of good quality, worth taking to the shoemaker to have re-soled or re-heeled as needed. I’ve purchased Tony Lamas, Justins, Olathes, Chippewas, Dan Posts, Chisholms, Laredos, Dingos and Fryes, along with some custom boots and exotic leathers. The most recent acquisition, are a pair of ostrich skin (leg as opposed to full quill) made by Chisholm. The shoemaker recommended them. Said they're extraordinarily well constructed. I'd been watching for both ostrich and Chisholm's, not expecting to find them in one in the same boot. So much the better. When I saw them my first thought was "yeah. Those are mine." And at 60 backs, it was quite do-able. At the moment they adorn my lower legs. Fashion statement, or fetish? Perhaps both.
Friday last saw the acquisition of a seven pair lot from one seller. He’s someone who came into 40 or so pair of boots (all in my size) at an estate sale earlier this year. I picked up six pair from him in March that I was really happy with, and when he listed more of them, he dropped me a line to let me know. His listings on Ebay for opening bids for several of the boots I was interested in were too high and there were subsequently no bids on them. We were able to negotiate a deal for them and for 5 other pair for $250. Four pair have never been worn and the other three perhaps were worn a time or two. Well they are getting worn now!
From what I’ve seen on Ebay, there are a number of boot collectors/enthusiasts/fetishists out there. I see the same names bidding against me on auctions, At times, when I see certain names bidding, I stop. I know from previous experience, for a handful of these guys, price is no barrier. There have been times I’ve watched a pair of boots I had no intention of buying, just to see how much they sell for. I’ve been amazed. There was a German Bear who listed a pair of knee-high Wesco Motorcycle boots, he’d acquired on a trip to San Francisco last year. Those puppies sold for over $750. I was dumbstruck at what they fetched. For that price, hell you could make a decent down payment on a bike!
Well, so much for now, I should go get horizontal an maybe get some sleep.
Truth is, it isn't a sexual thing. I'm hyper-aware of my feet and lower legs. For some reason I’m always exquisitely aware of what's in contact with them. A neurological disorder? Some odd psychologic quirk, perhaps? Whatever its cause, it is the case. Boots are pleasing to me. I just like the feel of them against my skin. Like Temple Grandin's cattle hugging device, to calm animals facing slaughter, the feel of a boot is soothing to me, in a way I cannot articulately explain. It simply is.
I come by my shopping predilection honestly. When my siblings and I were young and our folks would travel on vacations, unlike my friend’s parents who came back with pictures of sites they’d seen, my parents came back with pictures of places they'd gone shopping. Sure, it often was of some picturesque bazaar in some distant, foreign land, where bargains were struck with the help of someone assisting in the local dialect, but still it was of someplace they went shopping. You know, now that I think about it, I did the same thing in Europe, during my first trip there. Any way, even now as an adult, my eyes light up, when my mother gives me that conspiratorial look and says, "Ya' wanna go shopping?"
EBay is the perfect venue to indulge my penchant for boots. Good quality and a good price; yeah, I'm there. The last four or five months, has seen my footwear inventory swell, predominantly with boots of good quality, worth taking to the shoemaker to have re-soled or re-heeled as needed. I’ve purchased Tony Lamas, Justins, Olathes, Chippewas, Dan Posts, Chisholms, Laredos, Dingos and Fryes, along with some custom boots and exotic leathers. The most recent acquisition, are a pair of ostrich skin (leg as opposed to full quill) made by Chisholm. The shoemaker recommended them. Said they're extraordinarily well constructed. I'd been watching for both ostrich and Chisholm's, not expecting to find them in one in the same boot. So much the better. When I saw them my first thought was "yeah. Those are mine." And at 60 backs, it was quite do-able. At the moment they adorn my lower legs. Fashion statement, or fetish? Perhaps both.
Friday last saw the acquisition of a seven pair lot from one seller. He’s someone who came into 40 or so pair of boots (all in my size) at an estate sale earlier this year. I picked up six pair from him in March that I was really happy with, and when he listed more of them, he dropped me a line to let me know. His listings on Ebay for opening bids for several of the boots I was interested in were too high and there were subsequently no bids on them. We were able to negotiate a deal for them and for 5 other pair for $250. Four pair have never been worn and the other three perhaps were worn a time or two. Well they are getting worn now!
From what I’ve seen on Ebay, there are a number of boot collectors/enthusiasts/fetishists out there. I see the same names bidding against me on auctions, At times, when I see certain names bidding, I stop. I know from previous experience, for a handful of these guys, price is no barrier. There have been times I’ve watched a pair of boots I had no intention of buying, just to see how much they sell for. I’ve been amazed. There was a German Bear who listed a pair of knee-high Wesco Motorcycle boots, he’d acquired on a trip to San Francisco last year. Those puppies sold for over $750. I was dumbstruck at what they fetched. For that price, hell you could make a decent down payment on a bike!
Well, so much for now, I should go get horizontal an maybe get some sleep.
