Welcome back to Austen Promises!
Here’s a link to last week’s post, in case you missed it. 🙂
Clicking on some of the links will take you to Amazon. I am an Amazon affiliate and while clicking the links won’t cost you anything, it might give me a small payment. These links are clearly marked.
Not many people know this about me, but I adore sexy shoes, especially high heels. I was inspired to make this week’s post about shoes by the following scene from Decisions and Consequences.
~~~***~~~
Click me!
By the time all of their family had gathered, the musicians were beginning to play in preparation for the first set. Mr. Collins led Elizabeth to the line of dancers, smiling in his obsequious way. When the music started, any hopes she had harbored for an enjoyable set were destroyed. Mr. Collins, tall and heavy as he was, could not dance. It was not that he made a few missteps. It was that he did not appear to know his right from his left, turned the wrong way every single time, and stomped his heavy foot on hers whenever he got close enough. She was humiliated. Making it worse were his hints that he intended to stay close to her all night.
At the end of the set, he put clarity to his words by doing just that, sitting down next to her at the side of the room until he was suddenly recalled to his duty to his other cousins and asked Mary for the next set. Such was Elizabeth’s embarrassment at his antics that she was relieved when Mr. Darcy came to claim his set, as she knew at least that her toes would not suffer for his efforts.
Elizabeth had not expected much from Mr. Darcy beyond expert dancing. She knew him to be taciturn, and so was prepared for no more than a stilted, brief conversation. She was surprised, therefore, when the gentleman engaged her in a stimulating conversation about the war with France, which he knew she followed from her time at Netherfield, succeeded by a discussion about the poems of William Cowper.
Near the end of the second dance of the set, Elizabeth ventured to comment, “I am surprised, Mr. Darcy, that you should take so much trouble to converse with me. I am aware of your general dislike of the company you are surrounded by, and I certainly know you do not find me worth your time and effort. I must wonder to what end you exert yourself this night.”
Having just been given the perfect opening, Darcy did not waste the opportunity, “I do indeed have a motive. I would like to request a word with you, if you please.” He searched the room as the music ended. Spotting two empty chairs in a far corner of the room, he said, “There, in the back of the room, is a place we can sit and talk. We will be within sight of everyone in the room yet have a small degree of privacy.” So saying, he did not give her the chance to decline, but took gentle hold of her elbow and steered her in the direction he wished her to go. Elizabeth was astonished at his audacity in directing her but was too well-bred to make a scene. She tried to unobtrusively remove her arm from his grasp but was unsuccessful. All she could do was follow along.
Arriving at the chairs he had selected, he assisted her to sit and then placed himself in the adjacent chair, turning it a bit so that he faced her when seated. He was silent for a few minutes, staring at his hands clasped in front of him and gathering his thoughts. Elizabeth was just about to say something to him and take her leave when he began.
“You may have noticed, Miss Elizabeth, that I have paid you a great deal of attention over the course of our acquaintance.” At her nod, he continued, “What has drawn you to my attention is your honesty. You are never less than polite with anyone; indeed, your manners are perfection itself. Yet, there is a difference in the way you treat your favorites from those who are not. I am aware, of course, that I am not counted among those favored few.” He had looked back down at his hands while he was speaking, but now looked up to see her looking at him warily. “You see, I am looking for a wife. I have a list of qualities I am seeking, and you meet all of them. I believe we are a good match and can have a good marriage. I will be faithful to you, and expect you to be faithful to me, of course. What I am asking, Miss Elizabeth, is if you will marry me.”
By the end of his speech, Elizabeth was in shock. She had never expected such a thing from this man. Indeed, she had not looked for a proposal from anyone, for she had not met a man she could both admire and respect as of yet. Still, she recognized the honor of it all. She resolved in her heart to let him down as gently as possible.
“I thank you, sir, for the honor of your proposal. I am afraid, however, that I must decline it.”
~~~***~~~
Reading about Lizzy and her experiences at the Netherfield ball, I began to think about her shoes. I’ve researched women’s shoes of the era before, so I have a good idea of what they might look like. I then considered what it might have been like for Lizzy in modern, sexy, stiletto heels and felt a need to stare drooling at a few pair.
Click me!
I began my search on Google this week. There are lots of places that sell purple high heels, but as I want through some of the pages my search sent me to, I found that some were pink or nothing I would recognize as purple. This made my research go a bit slower, but I’m nothing if not persistent. LOL
I first clicked on the link for Macy’s. Then, I chose this pair of shoes. Their color is “wine”, which really looks more red than purple, but the design of this pair is the one I loved the best on that page. I like that they’re closed-toed. These are shoes I could wear to a professional something or other (not a job LOL. A conference, maybe.) The heel is a nice 3 ½ inches, not too high and not too low. On the sexy scale, this pair ranks kind of low, but I do like them.
Click to view at shoes.com.
Next, I looked at DSW. Here I found a similar pair to the Macy’s ones, though they have some significant differences. This pair has a thicker heel, for one thing. It’s the same height, but it’s wider, which makes for a more stable walk. My heel hits in a strange spot sometimes, and as much as I adore stilettos, the skinny heel sometimes slips out from under me.
I don’t know what’s going on with the flowers on the shoes. If I ordered these thinking they were solid purple and they showed up with the flowers on them, I’d be upset. As much as I like them, and I see they are available in a size I can wear, I’d probably not buy them for that reason. I don’t know what I’m getting when they show two colors of shoes on one page.
Next I looked at shoes.com, and here is where I got really excited. This is the sexiest pair of shoes I’ve seen in a while. Colorful and sparkly, these ones have a 5 ¾ inch heel. They also have a rubber sole, which is better for walking than a smooth leather one. They’d be great for a date night, especially if I were going dancing. Sadly, they’re not available in my size. 🙁
Click to view on Amazon. (affiliate link)
I can’t leave without looking at what Amazon has to offer. (affiliate link) I wouldn’t call all of these purple, and some of them are flat out ugly, even if they are in my favorite color. However, this pair made my heart race a bit. (affiliate link) They have a peep toe, which is super sexy, in my opinion. Yes, it’s designed for brides, but who says I can’t wear them anyway? LOL I love the shade of purple on these shoes, as well. The heel is 4 inches high. According to the questions on the product page, they should be ordered in a smaller size, and it looks like they have sizes that would fit me. <3
If I had to choose my favorite pair out of these four, I’d be hard pressed to decide between the sparkly ones and the bridal ones. I might even buy both, simply because I can’t decide between them. 😉
If you were to choose a pair for me to wear, which would it be?
~~~***~~~
Buy direct at my Gumroad Store