I've got my eye on you

Working in the footwear industry, a big part of my job is viewing styles to stock throughout the year. This is the fun part. The slightly more stressful part is making a decision and selecting shoes that will hopefully sell. Even those that have worked in the industry for decades tell me that there is no science or guarantees. There is always an element of risk. Shoes that you love and think will fly out the doors can sometimes turn out to be flops (and not flip-flops. Ha. Ha.). Then there’s the sensible (read: nanna) shoes that you (personally) wouldn’t look twice at that end up selling out. Who’s to know?

Another fun part of the job is getting to wear the product. (Hey, you’re your own best promoter!) Of course, owning a shoe shop, my shoes are now immediately checked out by friends and people I run into. I always feel a bit like I have something to prove and must at all times be kitted out in lovely footwear or I’ll be imagining them thinking: “wow, can’t believe she runs a shoe shop. You wouldn’t think it looking at her feet!” But I digress.

The harshest critics are the youngest. Getting checked out by 5 year olds who are quite blatant about it. No discrete looks, no not for them. It’s an open once-over, up and down, followed by a comment about something that you’re wearing. And for some strange reason, their approval almost means more to me than that of their mothers! They don’t know how to lie, there are no filters. They simply tell it like it is. The older girls are slightly more discrete. I was picking up my morning coffee from across the road when I happened upon a group of 9-10 year olds with their mothers, and they're not even necessarily girls with big feet. Needless to say it was the young girls doing the checking out, gazes lingering on my footwear. Whilst I wouldn’t say that it unnerved me – they were only 10! – it certainly made me stand taller and prouder which I guess is not a bad thing.

Is this behaviour environmental (ie. they pick it up from friends, family etc.) or genetic (ie. a ‘girl thing’)? Would love to know.