Being from Kansas, I grew up with the Dorothy jokes. And as with so many things in life, I fought the association. It was embarrassing. I didn’t want to be a farmgirl from Kansas. I dreamt of being a cosmopolitan girl from New York City. Luckily, I have learned over the years that I have nothing to be ashamed of; quite the contrary. Kansas, and my childhood, equipped me with a rich heritage, including the red shoes.
For many years, I have worn a myriad red shoes with pride. The fact is that few people outside the U.S. know The Wizard of Oz well enough to make any kind of connection between me and Dorothy Gale.
And so, having lived in Copenhagen for almost two decades now, the jokes have subsided.
As fate would have it, a few weeks ago, the first question out of an American who is living here in Denmark was …
“If you’re from Kansas, where are your red shoes?”
It reminded me of the story behind my most important red shoes. And I immediately knew that I was finally ready to share it.
SJP by SJP Launches in NYC, and This Kansas Girl Noticed
In February of 2014, Sarah Jessica Parker launched her shoe collection. For those of us who watched Sex and the City religiously, this was an iconic launch. Like it or not, she was giving her fans more Carrie Bradshaw, even if disguised as SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker. I knew from the start that eventually there would be a pair that fit me perfectly.
It was April of 2014, only a few months after the launch. I was in Kansas City visiting my parents, and was able to convince the entire family to join me on an outing to the local mall. Nordstrom’s was the only department store carrying her line, so we made a b-line to the shoe department.
And as I had suspected, it did not take long for me to fall in love with a pair. It just “clicked” the moment I saw them—the ruby slipper of the modern age.
Unlike Dorothy’s shoes, the heels are extremely high. And while the red is the exact color of red that I covet, they are not really ruby red.
But there was no talking me out of them. And to this day, I remember vividly the look on my dad’s face when he said, “Can you really wear something that high?” – a combination of awe and fear.
A close friend who worked at Warner Bros. years ago was once gifted a genuine pair of Judy Garland’s ruby slippers. They were never worn by the star, but were kept on set just in case one of the other 20+ pairs somehow got damaged.
These sparkly shoes are proudly displayed in my friend’s guestroom alongside other amazing movie memorabilia. I am fortunate enough to sleep in that room every time I get to New York, and having these shoes nearby always makes my New York City room feel a little closer to Kansas.
The Never-Worn Red Shoes
My dad died a month later. We all knew he was sick, but it happened so fast. Cancer happens fast for some, and when it does, you are never ready. It was crushing.
I wore the red shoes at his funeral, but that was it. After that, those shoes sat in the box for the next year. I could not even bring myself to take them out and try them on again. It felt like if I kept them in the box I could keep that trivial, and now meaningful, day in Nordstrom’s alive somehow. Along with my father.
But a year later, an important occasion came up that would encourage me to revive the shoes. And I wanted nothing more than to associate them with something happy.
From a Funeral to a Wedding
My husband and I eloped to Las Vegas, and for over a year did not tell anybody except our parents. Yet, a classic wedding celebration was always in the back of our minds. We almost gave up on the idea after my father’s death, but at the same time, we felt we had to find a way to celebrate the future, even if it was not going to include him.
And eventually a year after my dad died, and a year after I had bought the red shoes, the stars aligned, and the timing was right. We had originally planned to have a wedding celebration ten years after our marriage in Vegas, but our nine-year wedding anniversary happened to fall on a Saturday that year, so we agreed to ahead and not wait for another five years for our anniversary to arrive on a Saturday again.
These were the last pair of shoes I bought before my dad died. They are red, just like that farmgirl Dorothy’s shoes. I was not only bringing a part of Kansas to my wedding, a special memory of my father was also present that day. And it was a bright reminder for me.
what do you think?