I found a photograph of my mom, my two middle children, and me at the peak of Diamond Head on Oahu. That hike is roughly one and a half miles round trip. There are any water bottles or snacks in sight. My eldest was taking the picture with my Kodak Instamatic camera. It was 1982.
My mom wore a flowing muumuu, carried her Louis Vuitton bag, and held a cigarette with her usual flair. I was wearing purple and white striped Dolphin running shorts and a matching purple Merona sweatshirt. We were both wearing leather strapped sandals.
In that moment, at the top of Diamond Head, we were the very definition of Hawaiian fashion—1980s style. My Mom fully embraced the muu muu, saying that it was the most comfortable dress she had ever worn. We had quickly made a stop at Liberty House (Honolulu’s premier department store) on the way from the airport to get my Mom “geared up”.
While living in Coronado, California, my aunt, my mom, and my grandmother came for a month-long visit. I was pregnant with my third child, and they had come to help.
Mom had impeccable taste in clothing, except when it came to her casual wear, particularly her shoes. She brought along a pair of white, beaded Minnetonka moccasins and some unfortunate-looking slide sandals, both purchased at K-Mart for less than ten dollars a pair.
My aunt and grandmother arrived at the San Diego airport impeccably dressed in Chanel suits and Ferragamo flats. At dinner that evening, the main topic of conversation became my mom’s questionable footwear.
Despite their teasing, my mom defended her shoes fiercely, insisting they were the most comfortable things she had ever worn. By the end of the meal, after trying them on, both my aunt and grandmother had decided they needed the exact same two pairs.
Our shopping expedition to K-Mart was a bust, so we headed to Saks Fifth Avenue in La Jolla, a family favorite. My grandmother had seen a Mouton coat at the Saks in New York City that she thought would be perfect for the chilly San Diego evenings.
As we wandered through the store, we passed the shoe department and there they were. Both the Minnetonka moccasins and the infamous slide sandals, proudly displayed… at a much higher price than what my mom had paid at K-Mart.
For the rest of the month, I walked around Southern California with three elegantly dressed older women, each wearing the same shoes. One of them, my mom, was especially smug. Her “comfy shoes” had turned out to be fashion-forward after all.
Kate Emery General is a retired chef/restaurant owner who was born and raised in Casper, Wyoming. Kate loves her grandchildren, knitting, and watercolor painting. Kate and her husband, Matt are longtime residents of Cambridge’s West End where they enjoy swimming and bicycling.
