Our first stop for crazy outfits to bring back to the desert was at Pratunam. After bargaining for some costumes that would put women on the streets of Rio at Carnival to shame, I saw a line of boots in the next shopping stall. Not only were there the white boots that I had returned to my friend two years before, but the same boots in red vinyl, in gold, in silver, as well as every other color imaginable—in Asia, just one copy was never enough.
I bought the red, and then I had to have the gold, and then I noticed that the silver would look good against the desert sun, so I bought them, too. It didn’t hurt that they sold for only 400 Baht—or ten dollars—each. I walked away with a wide array of costumes and fully-armed with the boots to match.
Now I’m back in America and building on my solid boot-fetish foundation. I see women in colored boots in my office and I practically foam at the mouth coveting the leather on their legs. “Where did you get those?” I’ll ask, as I mark down the name of the store on a Post-It. When I wear my brown boots that I bought in SoHo in New York, I tell others how they can buy them, too, because a fetish should never be solely your own.
When I drive by stores that have already closed while I ride the city bus, I make a mental note to stop by either when I get paid or after I’ve seen them in the window for some time because they should be on sale by then. I won’t spend over $200 dollars, because you can find good boots for half the price, and a purchase feels that much better when you’ve held out for perfect pair. So while some girls may like stilettos to go with their garter belts, I’ll take a pair of boots to go with my skirt, shorts, or jeans, any day.
