OverDressed for Life

Image courtesy of Kristen Caven.

Like most women, Kristen Caven (cartoonist, writer, and the fabulous artist who created my logo) loves shoes. And when she was part of the dance troupe known as the Decobelles, she and the other Belles often got together to chat about their mutual obsession. It was these chats that made Kristen want to write a musical about shoes. She envisioned a chorus line of lovely ladies all sporting a different style, everything from Converse to Louboutin.

At the same time, Kristen had been pondering the fairytale, Cinderella. She says the story didn’t make sense to her. “Why did Cinderella have to have such dainty feet?” she asks. “She was a maid!” Kristen found herself wondering what it meant to find a shoe that fits. And then it clicked – she would write a musical Cinderella, a modern Cinderella called The Souls of Her Feet.

Kristen and her writing partner, Michael O’Dell have been working on The Souls of Her Feet for ten years and as part of the process, Kristen decided to also put it in novel form, which is now available on Amazon.

Our 21st century Cinderella is teenager Ashley St. Helens, an orphaned teenager who lives with her dysfunctional step-family, likes to clean and … she has the biggest feet in town – size 13. With feet like that, no way is she going to the prom. What shoes would she wear? Ask Harry, Ashley’s Fairy Godfather, who shows up just in the nick time to sprinkle some magic and song:

HARRY

You know, girl, a rose may be a rose may be a rose, but:

Anyone who says a shoe’s a shoe is just a shoe eschews the wisdom of the new, the few, the women who know through and through that whatever you do you’re on a path, be it to town or Timbuktu, so blue, ecru, or any hue, your shoes give you direction that is true.

ASHLEY

— I guess they do.

HARRY

Footwear is important but you’re never fully dressed without a smile, so it’s essential that your tootsies honestly reflect your style. If the shoe fits, and it’s comfy, disregard the fashion file, or walk a mile in someone else’s moccasins, once in a while

ASHLEY

— Ah yes. Be versatile.

Harry reaches for shoes on racks, from above, and in bins to illustrate his points.

HARRY

When you accessorize the hemisphere beneath your thighs, remember: there’s a purpose for every variety of shoe if you are wise; wear fuzzy slippers to keep warm, and steel-toed Docs to vandalize; Flip-flops for the beach and for sports, Air Jordans help you to fantasize.

and, my dear, they come in your size…

The Souls of Her Feet, by Kristen Caven is a clever, fun read loaded with vintage shoe detail and a bit of shoe philosophy, to boot!