Editorial

Books typically begin with a preamble, magazines with a word from the editor and blogs... well, blogs begin with a first post. An imperfect first post that keeps the new blogger awake late into the night, wondering how to write that perfect, magic first post that will immediately hook the reader and set the tone for the blog to be. A first post which, naturally, fails to do any of these things, but is, in itself, the beginning of a new road.

Fairytales, on the other hand, begin with "Once upon a time...". Or, sometimes, just sometimes, they begin with a shoe... just one pair of shoes that redraws the course of a life. Sounds excessive? And yet, we all grew up with the story of Cinderella, forever dreaming of a prince charming and his alluring crystal slipper. I for one believe that shoes can have a magic, transformative power. I remember a movie from many years ago, some obscure little TV production with Rob Lowe and Jennifer Grey in which the latter,  thanks to an enchanted pair of shoes would magically be transformed into her fabulous seductress alter ego, of which the former would fall desperately in love within a split second. The metaphor may have been stretched far, but the underlying truth remains - with the right pair of shoes, you are transformed and suddenly ready to take on the world.

My magic shoe was a pair of black silk stilettos with an ebony 5 inch heel - it was love at first sight. Despite the hefty price tag and the towering height for a girl who'd almost never worn heels before, I just knew I  had to take them home. And take them home I did, over a couple of thousands of kilometres even. The first time I wore them, with a classic little black dress, I felt renewed and a new period in my life started, more luminous, more exciting, more composed. That was five years ago. Since then, I've had many love affairs with shoes, the latest just a few months ago when I found the perfect pair of dusty pink sandals with pailletes to go with my wedding dress - the right pair of shoes for the most special moment of all. But the silk stilettos are still there, in a box in my closet, faithfully following me from one house to another, seldom worn, but ready to remind me of times past and the power of magic.