I’ve been stalking a pair of Rachel Comey slingback sandals in the color “poppy” for several weeks now. They fit the bill in so many ways. Modern design. Low heel. The only potential drawback was the color.
Although the color is brighter than what I normally wear, I thought the shoes looked interesting on the model and thought I’d take a risk for once and buy the damn thing. If I didn’t like it, I could return it and move on with my life.
To my disappointment, these shoes were Halloween Pumpkin orange on steroids bright — way more orange than I expected! They would garner way too much attention at work. I’d feel uncomfortable wearing them, then not wear them, and it would all be a total waste of money. Back they go.
Additionally the braided leather makes a squeaky noise with each step. That could get annoying fast. Rachel Comey always runs a half size small in my experience and tend to be narrow. These were no different.
I’m back on the market for low heeled sandals that I can wear to work… The search continues. I like a lot of the shoes at the No 6 store, but they are all about an inch too high for my liking.
In the meantime, I should just go ahead and buy the Clyde pants by now. I’m getting almost $300 back by returning these shoes. The cost of the Clydes ($245) doesn’t feel as painful now with that in mind.
Later this week an old colleague-friend is coming into town to stay at my place and visit me at work. She’s applying for a job to be a partner on my team. I’d be so happy if she joins me. It’s very difficult to find people willing to do consultation work in psychiatry. I’m sort of anxiously holding my breath that it all works out, because I’m getting tired from doing the work of 2-3 people. *Fingers crossed*
The other day I had lunch with a new work friend who is also a psychiatrist. We only had 30 minutes to chat so our conversation was a bit rushed but she mentioned that she used to live in New York back when she went to fashion school to be a designer at one of the premier schools in the area. After she graduated, she worked for a major label, but couldn’t earn a living wage. It was around the time of the financial crisis. She then made the decision to change career paths and went to medical school to become a psychiatrist.
As she was telling me this, I got super excited to meet someone in my field who is around the same age and who cares about design. But then she shared that between raising her 3 year old daughter and working full time, without family/babysitters nearby, she has absolutely no life and has gone out only 1 time this entire year.
We had to talk about some obligatory work related issues and were in a rush to get back to work so I didn’t even have a chance to share any of my interests or ask her more about fashion school and her experience working for the label. If we were in high school or college, we’d have all the time in the world to lounge around and bond over these things, but that time is long gone. It’s definitely harder to build new friendships as you get older…
In other news, last night I cooked up some burgers using the “Beyond Meat” vegetarian patties. Have you tried them? They were really good actually! It tastes a lot like meat, but is noticeably different. It’s very good in its own way. Just make sure to thaw the patties before frying and add salt. I’d definitely buy them again.
Dr. it girl 
I know you’re not on Instagram, but ES just opened the Market to email requests. Perhaps it’s worth seeing if you can snag a pair of Clyde seconds at a discount? (Details are in Stories: https://www.instagram.com/elizsuzann/).
I concur that making friends as an adult is so much harder than making friends while in school. As many of our close friends are moving away, I’m craving new contact but don’t know where to start!
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Thanks for the rec Krystal. I do want to be able to return the pants if possible because I haven’t actually tried the cotton canvas yet and worry that it might not look right. For this reason I’m going to have to buy new. It’s definitely harder to find a natural environment for friendships to form, aside from not having the time.
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It is harder but maybe you can be her outlet for design related conversations during work lunches! I just had a baby and haven’t even come back yet to my job (I’m a doctor of poetry hahaha) but I’m anticipating having similar issues. I think having good work friends that you can spend breaks with on the job can be just as nice as outside of work catch ups.
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Cool job! And congrats on the baby. I think the secret will be actually taking time out to eat a proper lunch.. things can get so hectic that’s not always possible.
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Oh my, those shoes sure are bright. I find orange, coral, and yellow to be really difficult colors to work with – it’s hard to tell from online store photos whether the shade will work on my skintone or not. Ah well, it’s good that sending the shoes back means there will be room in the budget for the Clydes instead.
Totally agreed that making grown-up friends feels extremely difficult. With the pace of life in most types of legal practice, it’s generally hard to really make work-friends. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve definitely gotten wistful about how easy it was to spend time with and make friends in college, and even in law school!
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I can’t do orange or coral either. I can do muted yellows, but full on yellow is hard for me too.
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I agree with the others – don’t write off the chance to have a work friendship with this person. A (somewhat) regular lunch date or lunch walk is a great way to develop a friendship with someone, even if it never translates into hanging out outside the office. (And maybe one day, when her kid is a little older and there’s less pressure at home, maybe you will start hanging out outside of work).
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that’s true.. I think friendships develop differently than they used to. I’m sure we’ll have lunches again, but I do get a longing for the school era friendships.
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I love the bright orange, but I could never wear it. It’s a happy color and I think I could only deal with that if it were on a throw pillow or in a paining, but definitely not worn on my person in any way.
Building friendships as you get older is seriously hard. Most people by their 30s have their “group” of friends already. It is difficult to make connections with people who don’t mind hanging out and talking if you run into each other/ on occasion, but clearly have no intention of allowing any friendship beyond that.
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I agree that many of the No. 6 clogs are too tall. However, did you know they will custom make them for you on a lower heel? I went into the store in Nolita to see all the styles, leathers, and wooden soles and chose a combination that was made-to-order in about a month. The only caveat is they’re non-returnable since they’re custom.
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Oh wow didn’t know that. Upside is they would resell easily online if you couldn’t return
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