PENNY LOAFERS

A style-ista I am not.  My wardrobe is really fairly small.  And, within its smallness I only wear a repeating few.  Everyone has "favorites" in their wardrobe.  No matter the volume you may possess, we gravitate to those items we feel are us in clothing form, feel good on our skin, our feet or highlight the part of our body that we like best.  I have a handful of those items -  my penny loafers, two Gap three-quarter zip stretchy sport shirts, a pair of Aeropostale to the knee tan shorts, two black thin zip up hooded sweatshirts, and two pair of jeans from the Gap.  My husband, daughter and all who know me well, have commented on my penny loafers.  I know, I know.... they really aren't in style any more.  Well, at least not in the contingent United States:)  I have wore penny loafers for years and years.  Best worn by me sockless and mostly only during the months of October through April.  The story behind this particular pair of penny loafers is an answer to prayer.  During my single stretch, I needed to replace the pair of penny loafers I had because they were completely wore out.  A brand new pair of good, high quality penny loafers runs $70 or so.  I didn't have $70 to frivolously spend on ONE pair of shoes.  One Saturday morning I asked God to let me find a new pair of penny loafers at Goodwill that day - to provide that need.  I walked into the Goodwill store, down the used (ok, some of you are getting violently ill right now at the thought of a used shoe!) shoe aisles.  There they were.  The only pair of penny loafers they had - size 7 1/2.  They were narrows which I need in slip on shoes.  The bottoms were virtually unscuffed showing they had not been worn much.  I smiled, thanked God and wiped a small tear from my eye as I picked them up.  Hannah, my dressing trendy little 100 pound daughter, says penny loafers are not in - that I should branch out and buy something modern.  I can't.  I just can't walk away from a shoe that defines who I am.  Doug, my husband who always wants to do things for me, smiles inside and out when I slip on those Goodwill penny loafers.  He wants to buy me new ones and probably wishes I would wear something else.  I can't.  They are me.  Every time I wear them I feel like Lynn, care-free, and am reminded that God has always taken care of my needs.  Clothes define us all to some degree - playing out our personalities with fabric and leather.  But, they are really just clothes and shoes.  I need them to subsist in the world system we live in since it is not a nudist world.  The older I get the more I understand older people - clothes are secondary to other things in life.  I do though love a great pair of jeans, no socks and a pair of penny loafers!  If they ever come back in style, I will be ahead of the curve!!