Elvis had his “Blue Suede Shoes” and well I, I had my rit dyed peach sneakers- true story.
It was the fall of 1988 and I was headed into 8th grade. I was all about fashion. But thirty one years ago on line shopping didn’t exist (Can you believe it? There was no internet). That’s right- no Amazon, no unique boutiques- not even a Wal-Mart. Back in “those days” my options were incredibly limited. CC town had JC Penney, K Mart, Sprouse Reitz, Bob’s Outlet and B&D Discount.
The time came to shop for school clothes and “THE COLOR” of the season was peach. I mean it was everywhere. I was determined not to be left out. On our annual “Back to School Shopping Trip” to the University Mall in Provo, I was ready for the “Hunt.” I was prepared. I had tucked away all of my babysitting, paper route, and lawn mowing money for this occasion (if we wanted new school clothes, we had to earn the money- thankfully, mom and dad did chip in for socks and underwear).
Not only did I want the perfect peach wardrobe, but I decided I wanted peach tennis shoes to match- mission impossible? I didn’t think so. Gratefully, I had a willing shopping crew (mom, Wendy and Heather), and we shopped –everywhere. I mean everywhere. But I returned home shoeless.
And then out of nowhere, an idea hit me. I could dye a pair of white sneakers peach (please again let me remind you there were no you tube tutorials for this- I was in essence a fashion pioneer).
The process went like this: Needed materials: white tennis shoes (thanks to K Mart), orange rit dye, and a pot of boiling water. Directions: bring water to a rolling boil add shoes and dye (guesstimate on needed amount), and pray it turns out all right.
We followed this process religiously, but the pot could only hold one shoe at a time- yikes. The result was one shoe more orange than peach. The result was my 8th grade self- crying hysterically, one frustrated mother, one father who wanted to paddle me, and one big sister who saved the day (Wendy has always been there to save me). In the end, the result- an empty bottle of nail polish remover (big sis Wendy scrubbed the more orange shoe until it matched the perfectly peach one), and the perfect peach shoes.
Peach set the tone for my 8th grade school year- it was practically perfect. Suzanne, Megan, Carrie, and I had more fun than imaginable. We savored our Friday night rituals of purple cows and football games. We laughed, we cried, and we grew up. You know what? I miss those days, those friends, and those shoes. Why I didn’t keep them? I have no idea. Maybe, I could sell them on E Bay? I am sure I could make a buck or two.
Back to School pics 2019
