Many years ago when I was rounding up a massive collection of worn-to-death KMart bedroom slippers to be bagged up for their final journey to the landfill, my late husband dubbed them "the cut-rate Imelda collection."
If you wore them out then I suspect you are not an Imelda like person. I suspect that Imelda never wore out anything, she just kept purchasing new items to add to her collection.
I think it was only the quantity of the slippers (they filled a huge trash bag) that inspired him to say that. Because you're right, I wore them until they had holes, and paid next to nothing for them in the first place. I was also willing to let them go, which the real Imelda would never have done.
Imelda is 90+ now and she was in office a long time after her husband died. Such a strange story. Today after so many years she is remembered for her fashion and flash but she & the president stole a lot of money. I watched the documentary about her before I wrote this little piece. She made Marie Antoinette look charitable,
Since my childhood, I've had such a fascination with Imelda Marcos, and her shoes... Fast forward to the present day, and I have a giant collection of Joseph La Rose shoes (at least 60 pairs) that I rescued about 10 years ago, with the plan to write a history, get some photos, and pass them along to a shoe museum and perhaps to the Jacksonville Historical Society. He's a true Florida icon that probably only a handful of people have ever heard of. Thanks for sharing- I should do something about it. That actually probably would have been a great post for our Cultural Institutions class! https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/specials/20000820mag-last4.html
Clothing is wonderful culture and we marginalize. Also the fashion centers dominate. You make me think of the shoes in My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante.
There is a shoe and clothing store in Portland Oregon called Imelda's shoes:
https://shop.imeldas.com/
Is crazy to me that she will live on as the shoe empress!
Many years ago when I was rounding up a massive collection of worn-to-death KMart bedroom slippers to be bagged up for their final journey to the landfill, my late husband dubbed them "the cut-rate Imelda collection."
I bet Imelda's shoes are the one fact a lot of people know about the Marcos regime. That is a pretty funny comment about the slippers.
If you wore them out then I suspect you are not an Imelda like person. I suspect that Imelda never wore out anything, she just kept purchasing new items to add to her collection.
I think it was only the quantity of the slippers (they filled a huge trash bag) that inspired him to say that. Because you're right, I wore them until they had holes, and paid next to nothing for them in the first place. I was also willing to let them go, which the real Imelda would never have done.
My mom calls me Imelda Marcos. Which is totally wrong since my vice is boots and bags, not shoes.
Imelda is 90+ now and she was in office a long time after her husband died. Such a strange story. Today after so many years she is remembered for her fashion and flash but she & the president stole a lot of money. I watched the documentary about her before I wrote this little piece. She made Marie Antoinette look charitable,
Since my childhood, I've had such a fascination with Imelda Marcos, and her shoes... Fast forward to the present day, and I have a giant collection of Joseph La Rose shoes (at least 60 pairs) that I rescued about 10 years ago, with the plan to write a history, get some photos, and pass them along to a shoe museum and perhaps to the Jacksonville Historical Society. He's a true Florida icon that probably only a handful of people have ever heard of. Thanks for sharing- I should do something about it. That actually probably would have been a great post for our Cultural Institutions class! https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/specials/20000820mag-last4.html
Clothing is wonderful culture and we marginalize. Also the fashion centers dominate. You make me think of the shoes in My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante.
Her shoes ended up in a shoe museum. Mark Knopeler's "Imelda Baby" should be the sound track for the above video.
Hey Marci, I added a video (and the page has lyrics). Great idea.
He could write a song... for sure!
I couldn't find a really good picture of the shoes but I'll see if I can add the video (not sure I can)--and will look for it,TX!