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“When I feel bad, I like to treat myself. Clothes never look any good … food just makes me fatter … shoes always fit.” — Actress Toni Collette as Rose Feller in the movie “In Her Shoes”
There really is something magical about shoes. The Imelda Marcos jokes aside, we women love shoes.
We love wandering through shoe stores and shoe departments. We love trying them on and buying them. We love pairing them with clothes. We love opening the closet door and seeing them all lined up in various styles, shapes and colors.
We love the way wearing heels makes our legs look longer and leaner (at least we think they do). We love the way the solid, molded base of Keens or Tevas exactly form to our feet without creating blisters and bunions. And yes, we love how shoes always fit no matter how much weight we gain or lose.
With all that in mind, it's understandable how devastated many of the Valley's residents and visitors feel upon learning that Blue Sky Shoes in Winter Park is going out of business. It's like a dear friend is leaving us.
Commuting from the Front Range has become too much for the owners to manage. They've put up “Sale” signs and lowered prices. The store will close “when the last shoe is sold,” they said.
Blue Sky Shoes was, perhaps, the best mountain-lifestyle shoe store on earth. Where else could you buy new river sandals and heavy snow boots at the same time, along with comfortable dressy styles and the Dansko clogs that have become the unofficial official shoe of Colorado? Second-home residents bought shoes up here to take back to Denver — that's how good the selection and service were.
The store also sold socks, hiking guidebooks, bags and other accessories, but the footwear remained the focus. Of course other stores in the county sell shoes, but it's mostly in addition to clothing and outdoor recreation gear, and few have the range of styles that Blue Sky Shoes did.
When I was in the store last week, taking advantage of going-out-of-business sale prices, a steady stream of customers howled in protest when they learned of the closing. “Now what am I going to do?” one woman agonized while another just sighed heavily and asked to see the stunning black tooled-leather Danskos in a size 9.
As word spread, store fans posted eulogy-like comments on Facebook and elsewhere, explaining how sad they were and lamenting the loss of “my favorite store in the valley.” Others took a pragmatic approach, wondering aloud whether they should grab their sizes now or risk losing them while waiting for prices to fall even lower.
Conversations over cocktails began and ended with statements like, “I got the cutest pair of green suede sandals there this summer” and “I bought these five years ago and they're still the most comfortable shoes I have.”
The shop closing represents not just a psychic loss to shoppers, but also a real financial loss to the area. All those shoes generated plenty of sales tax for the town and county.
Footwear now joins houseware and underwear as things we have to go online, to Denver or — gasp — to Summit County to buy. If we're making runs to Denver to buy shoes, other items get purchased on the trip — usually things that could be found in the valley — because it's easier to do all the shopping at once.
The effect of one small shop's closing ripples throughout the Valley. In the meantime, be advised that any size 8 Keen, Dansko or Salomon shoes left on the shelves are mine. Unless you get there first.
— Keep in Touch: What or who has gotten your attention around the area? Let me know. I'll try to answer questions or spread the news. Send it all to JDayQuilts@msn.com.
There really is something magical about shoes. The Imelda Marcos jokes aside, we women love shoes.
We love wandering through shoe stores and shoe departments. We love trying them on and buying them. We love pairing them with clothes. We love opening the closet door and seeing them all lined up in various styles, shapes and colors.
We love the way wearing heels makes our legs look longer and leaner (at least we think they do). We love the way the solid, molded base of Keens or Tevas exactly form to our feet without creating blisters and bunions. And yes, we love how shoes always fit no matter how much weight we gain or lose.
With all that in mind, it's understandable how devastated many of the Valley's residents and visitors feel upon learning that Blue Sky Shoes in Winter Park is going out of business. It's like a dear friend is leaving us.
Commuting from the Front Range has become too much for the owners to manage. They've put up “Sale” signs and lowered prices. The store will close “when the last shoe is sold,” they said.
Blue Sky Shoes was, perhaps, the best mountain-lifestyle shoe store on earth. Where else could you buy new river sandals and heavy snow boots at the same time, along with comfortable dressy styles and the Dansko clogs that have become the unofficial official shoe of Colorado? Second-home residents bought shoes up here to take back to Denver — that's how good the selection and service were.
The store also sold socks, hiking guidebooks, bags and other accessories, but the footwear remained the focus. Of course other stores in the county sell shoes, but it's mostly in addition to clothing and outdoor recreation gear, and few have the range of styles that Blue Sky Shoes did.
When I was in the store last week, taking advantage of going-out-of-business sale prices, a steady stream of customers howled in protest when they learned of the closing. “Now what am I going to do?” one woman agonized while another just sighed heavily and asked to see the stunning black tooled-leather Danskos in a size 9.
As word spread, store fans posted eulogy-like comments on Facebook and elsewhere, explaining how sad they were and lamenting the loss of “my favorite store in the valley.” Others took a pragmatic approach, wondering aloud whether they should grab their sizes now or risk losing them while waiting for prices to fall even lower.
Conversations over cocktails began and ended with statements like, “I got the cutest pair of green suede sandals there this summer” and “I bought these five years ago and they're still the most comfortable shoes I have.”
The shop closing represents not just a psychic loss to shoppers, but also a real financial loss to the area. All those shoes generated plenty of sales tax for the town and county.
Footwear now joins houseware and underwear as things we have to go online, to Denver or — gasp — to Summit County to buy. If we're making runs to Denver to buy shoes, other items get purchased on the trip — usually things that could be found in the valley — because it's easier to do all the shopping at once.
The effect of one small shop's closing ripples throughout the Valley. In the meantime, be advised that any size 8 Keen, Dansko or Salomon shoes left on the shelves are mine. Unless you get there first.
— Keep in Touch: What or who has gotten your attention around the area? Let me know. I'll try to answer questions or spread the news. Send it all to JDayQuilts@msn.com.
