Daniela,

First of all, thank you for the coffee; you certainly didn’t need to, but it was a very warm gesture. Your shoes, however, were a little cold (perhaps because of the large holes on the ball and heel). You see, I have needed a desk since I moved, so I decided to take your shoes on a walk through IKEA. The cold pavement that met my feet upon stepping out of the car was startling, a little numbing, but also exciting. After I completed the walk through the parking garage to the store, I was glad that had not chosen to do the whole walk outside (as per your advise).

Have you ever lived somewhere with colder winters? If so, I’m curious what your feet wore there. After having walked a mile in your shoes, I can honestly say that do understand the appeal. At least, I found the experience to be one rich with sensation. Certainly IKEA is an overwhelming place for me at times. Packed with people, stuffed with display after display of textures and color, the place has always (on the two occasions that I have been there) left me dizzy. But throughout this visit, I had this other sensation to keep me busy. Around every corner my feet proclaimed: ‘new texture here!’ ‘this is sticky.’ ‘warm spot.’ I admit that I took special care to seek out all of the rugs: from the big thick nubbly ones, to the grass mats, to the sheepskins.

In fact the whole experience had a slightly transgressive feel to it. After seeing signs reading ‘no shoes, no shirt, no service’ my whole life, I definitely looked for one at the entrance to IKEA. There wasn’t one, but that didn’t stop me from half-looking to make sure that no one noticed my quasi-barefootedness. There were certainly points at which I ceased to notice your shoes, but then I would tread on a new surface or texture. Walking back to my car through the impressively busy parking structure, I experienced the (unreasonable) fear that a car would roll over my feet. While nothing nearly that traumatic happened, my feet did feel very exposed. I enjoyed my walk immensely, even though I didn’t get a desk, my view of (or feeling for) IKEA has certainly changed.

Thank you for the opportunity to walk a mile in your shoes.

Sincerely,
Sara, shoe borrower