Sunday, July 17, 2005

COOL IS AS COOL DOES

When did I stop being cool?


The point in being cool is that it is effortless. If you try to be cool, then you're not. It is something you either have or you don't. Being cool is evident in various ways. It is an attitude. Sometimes it is all attitude. You don't care what other people think, you think for yourself. You don't follow trends, you follow what you want. Fashion is only what you wear and you wear it with style. It transcends generations. You never revert to using the current slang. A simple raised eyebrow, a gesture, silence is all you need to get your point across. It is a cigarette held a certain way. You are at ease in a crowd. Yet, you are usually a loner.

The most famous of the cool come to my mind. James Dean. Marlon Brando in his prime. Peter Fonda in Easy Rider. Keith Richards. Joe Perry. Angelina Jolie. Sharon Stone. Katherine Hepburn. Lauren Bacall.

If I ever once felt cool, if ever in my life I thought that just maybe I meet the criteria, it has totally been destroyed by the pair of masculine Rockports I am forced to wear daily! My feet hate those shoes and look up at me asking..."Why?" I hate those shoes and the moment my time is done, in the parking lot before I roar towards home, I pull those ugly monstrosities off and slip on my pink flip flops.

If I were truly cool I would be able to wear them and not care a fig about it.

But alas, I am not.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOL.  I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror the other night and realized I was far from cool.  In some ways it sucks getting older.  I'm still holding on to the hope that even though I don't feel cool, someone out there might think I am, lol.  Pamela

Anonymous said...

Bur are they comfortable?  

Anonymous said...

...cool is pink flip flops.....c'mon now...Elizabeth

Anonymous said...

Gee, I hope you have pretty pink toes under those ugly shoes.  Anne

Anonymous said...

When I was required to wear that TYPE of shoe I went to Easy Spirit and got some shoes that looked much more feminine. Can that really require you to wear such shoes? Damn. You know in high school I always wanted to be different. I was the first girl in our high school to wear moccasins. About two weeks later nearly every girl who was hip had them! Then at a time I wore ankle length flower child dresses. The first week people stared and a few weeks later everyone else was doing the same. The final staw came when I decided to wear a cloak instead of a coat. Ankle length and gray with a hood. I went into the city to get it and wouldn't you know a few weeks later a handful of other girls had them. My Mom said that imitation was the sincerest form of flattery but it just irked me that I was the only one with an original idea! I was never a loner though. I was the one who was friends with all the other groups in school. You know I got my tattoo at forty as none of my friends had them and a few years later everyone else had one of those. And by the way, I think you are still cool! :) Hugs, Nelle

Anonymous said...

Without sounding silly, I do think you have a very interesting, cool journal.  Sounds like you have some options according to response comments on footware. lol  Thanks for visiting my journal.   -mark-
http://journals.aol.com/mtrib2/MarksDailyJournal/
http://journals.aol.com/mtrib2/landscapeartwork/  

Anonymous said...

As long as your lingerie is cool, no sweat. But we don't like angry feet so they get what they want.
xoxo

Anonymous said...

OK< Considering the everpresent battle of the sexes and style I may agree that Rockports are not the 'way to go" for a lady today. That being said, I will say that as a professional "street walker" (street patrol officer) for about ten years. Rockports were lightweight yet good looking dress shoes. I could still run in them yet I didn't come home at night feeling like I had walked around for 8 hours with 40 pound cement bags on my feet. For work... OK, For dress... Not so OK. Hah, Good entry, My Regards,  Bill.

Anonymous said...

Awww...they are kinda butch aren't they? Why not add some flair and lace them with some snazzy shoelaces maybe hot pink or red to match the rest of your attire. But either way, you're still cool in my book. :-) ---Robbie

Anonymous said...

Don't forget Steve McQueen, the essence of cool (in fact, there was actually a PBS special with that exact title). I have never been cool. I'm too much of a nerd, plus I care what people think.  Fortunately, I hear that "nerdy" is the new "cool", just like "orange" is the new "pink", 40 is the new 30, and size 10 is the new size 6.

Anonymous said...

What? Mary not cool? That is a big fat lie! You are coolest hippie chick ever and it does not matter if you wear ugly Rockports, you still ooze coolness!

Anonymous said...

I keep telling Rachael if your cool you can be cool and wear anything!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Maybe, but at least they're nicely photographed shoes! Myself, I always wear men's shoes, because my oversized, pain-prone feet won't accept anything else. - K

Anonymous said...

I'm really having fun reading about your wardrobe withdrawal...!  I dunno, Mary.  Those look like the kind of shoes I have had to wear to work every day for the last thirty years.  But I have a closet full of "cool" shoes to slip into as soon as I get home.  Sometimes you gotta just be nice to the feet (and that means wearing ugly shoes) if you want them to be nice to you.  Sigh!  Lisa  :-]

Anonymous said...

New England men obsess about Rockport-wearin' Babes. Allow me to help you with...those........laaaaces.

Anonymous said...

You're right ~ it IS all about attitude, and those ugly shoes are posed with some serious attitude. If anybody can work those bad girls, it's you, baby.  

See?  Still pretty cool.  ;D

Anonymous said...

You HAVE to wear those? Don't they at least come in black? LOL ;-)

Anonymous said...

         You exude cool like an artic blast!  Sometimes the job demands certain necessary aggravations, like the shoes, yet they in no way detract from your obviously powerful aura known as cool, Mary!

Best Wishes,
Debi

Anonymous said...

Oh dear, those shoes!  Being cool in those ... well, I suppose if anyone can do it, it would be you.  As for work shoes - I wear the flip flops. :-P  Yeah, I'm being a brat - I love that part of the job.

Monica
http://journals.aol.com/photographybymon/Mamarazzi/
http://journals.aol.com/sonensmilinmon/SmilinMonsAdventures/

Anonymous said...

The shoes are the story all by themselves.  What a great photo!  Cool?  I have always thought you were probably the coolest person that I have ever read.  Pennie

Anonymous said...

To me you are very cool!
  *** Coy ***


Anonymous said...

Well, this entry was very "cool", so take heart!
Lori