Crafty Kicks

   I remember when I first became aware of ballet flats as a trend. It was in the spring of 2008, and my brother was soon to be married. My wedding day outfit was almost complete, but I lacked shoes. My sister owned a pair of multicolored, sparkle covered flats that served as inspiration: I wanted painless cute shoes for dancing. 

After trying a few on for the first time, I found ballet flats were a little odd-looking on my own foot. My impression: Minnie Mouse shoes. Eventually, I found a pair that were covered with cheap silver sparkles with a grey undertone, and a blue grosgrain bow on the top. For the wedding, I ripped off the bows. Afterwards, I glued them back on.

   The year after, I experimented with embellishments. I tried pieces of velcro on top, with the corresponding velcro covered with blue shoelace bows, dark green ribbons, pink ribbons, and the original pale blue grosgrain bows. All interchangeable, customizable additions. The impractical side I found out, was that the velcro'd toppers would too easily fall off with regular movement. I soon left them blank and have kept them that way for past year.

   These $10 flats have served me well in three years. Silver turned out to be a new neutral, and metallics came into vogue. I have repaired some of the finish with silver nail lacquer, but that's it. They don't keep out water, but they are great for sunny days. Today, I refurbished them for the summer. Who knows how long they'll last me. I do love them, but I know I can't keep them forever. This will probably be the last major experiment.
   I added blue electrical tape around the top edge, which was really beat up, and a strip outside the heel. Then I added a silver start on each one, and touched up the silver finish with metallic nail polish. Voila! My newly recycled kicks.