My vision of black patent shoes is forever colored by the fact that I grew up near a military base. All the officers had shoes that reflected the fiercely beaming Great Plains sun like polished onyx below their crisply creased khakis. The young recruits had to make sure their uniforms were as equally neat as a pin for inspections, though on their entry level wages, I suspect this was no easy task. At our local church I once overheard a young enlisted man explaining how he got around the need to buff his dress shoes into such a shimmering shine by coating them with some sort of patent leather finish that came from a can. It must have been the shoe world's equivalent of high gloss paint. According to this soldier, he never had to buff and buff and buff them to a mirror like reflection anymore. Whenever they got nicked up, he'd just touch them up with a dab of his nail polish for shoes. I guess that's why to this day, black patent leather shoes are always connected in my mind with artifice.
But of course, when it comes to clogs, I'm always more than willing to put my preconceptions aside. And this black patent leather pair from Miu Miu is surely worth reveling in. The white fleece lining makes such a contrast with the gleam of the shiny black upper, softening its seductive overtones, while the lug soles and chunky heel add a toughness to the overall look.
Much appreciation to eBay seller siri2_2 for listing these clogs and sharing the accompanying photos. Once upon a time this very style floated through eBay in my exact size. You can guess how much I'm still kicking myself for not acting on the impulse to make them my own.
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