Shoe addict - December 2007

Virtually Challenged

It seems every time I log-on to my email these days someone is inviting me to join their virtual life.

Apparently authentic life just won't do anymore. You must have a presence in the virtual phenomenon as well or you are simply going to miss out on what's going on with your friends.

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Modern day stalkers are now presenting themselves in my Inbox, not just sending me SMS's like the good-ol-days. Invitations from friends via Facebook, Myspace and Second Life appear almost daily, so that each time I log-on a new summons to a virtual world beckons me to unite.

Having received countless incitements, I finally relent when one of my close buds who spends half of her life overseas, invites me to join her on Facebook.

After a few weeks of being bitten by Vampires, given tattoos, flowers and having weird video messages posted on my Fun Wall, I am totally into it. Friends and relatives overseas, interstate or even in my own suburb can now exchange happy snaps and superlatives from afar and if they are so inclined, can poke me whenever they like!

Lying in bed one night unable to sleep and wondering who might be Defining Me right now, it got me thinking about what other aspects of our life could become virtual in order to save time, money or just provide another excuse to spend unacceptable amounts of time in front of the laptop?

I explore Myspace and find it a little boring, with too many people wanting to jump on my graphics. I wander through Second Life, where everyone is beautiful and you can acquire whatever the heck you please, and found it a little too consuming.

If I could save time catching up with a friend in person by doing it on Facebook at midnight, what's to stop me virtually shopping for an entire new shoe wardrobe online without making the purchase? I could keep them in a virtual wardrobe on my hard-drive to admire when I see fit, without costing me a cent!

In the event that this worked, it might in fact solve every shoe addict's quandary of having to justify the purchase of their 8th pair of black platforms. I could be onto something!

Putting the notion to the test, I roam magazine and fashion house websites looking for my first virtual cartful of goodies. Paris and New York Fashion Week provide some great runway looks that don't require me being put on any wait list. Next stop, Christian Louboutin and I can't go past the khaki satin pump in the new Autumn Winter 2007 collection and come to think of it, throw in the patent animal print wedges as well!

Entering Versace with eager anticipation, I fall in love with a pair of slick black and white patent platform pumps. Into the virtual wardrobe they go, followed closely by Chloe, Balenciaga, Chanel and Celine. Oh, the exhilaration of it all!

After trawling the Net for at least two hours on my first experimental expedition, the lethargy of shopping has caught up with me and I am ready for a break. I land at my local coffee haunt and chat with the boys' (as I refer to the proprietors) about the fashion events I'm attending over the next week and my mind drifts to what I intend to wear.

I discuss the new black mini number procured from a talented up-and-coming designer during Fashion Week and trail off into thoughts that see the Versace black and white patent platforms complimenting it flawlessly. Banishing the thought I am describing the fabulous Celine platforms I actually own and plan on teaming with it. After thirty minutes of witty banter I am off home to do something about my looming column deadline, black and white patent platforms dancing in my head, taunting me with their sassy heels.

Instead of the job at hand I find myself vehemently pulling up numbers for the country's Versace Boutiques. Three phone calls later and I have secured said black and white patent platforms. The next distraction involves shoe wardrobe placement and whether I have a clear shoe box for the latest acquirement. Two hours later and coming down from my fashion high I become conscious of the fact that my virtual experiment has just cost me nine hundred dollars.

Unfortunately, I have just defeated the entire purpose of virtual' shoe collecting! Quite clearly I am virtually challenged in this department.

So, this experiment has taught me one thing. Nothing virtual is, in reality, going to replace the real-life act. Sure, I purchased at least six high-end pairs of shoes in 2 hours and most of them aren't available in this country right now, but eventually I am going to want to wear them. You see, when it comes to shoes it is not just about the purchasing, it is about the wearing and how they make you feel. Nothing transforms a walk to a strut like a pair of heels!

As I attempt to evict my other virtual purchases from my memory I SMS the friend my vampire bit at midnight on Facebook and arrange to meet her in person for lunch tomorrow.

Resigned to the fact I am done with this virtual experiment and finally onto making my deadline, I am pacified with the knowledge that my annual Hawaiian shopping pilgrimage is only four weeks away. I can do bona fide shopping there. As an added bonus, they may have those Christian Louboutin khaki satin pumps!

Enjoy!

Tracey Gillinder Writer w www.traceygillinder.com.au