I love New York, Part 76574.232323....

THIS IS NOT ABOUT THE PRODUCT PLACEMENT BUT THERE IS LOTS...

So I was in the de facto tranny shoe boutique that is the Chelsea Payless Shoes. I was trying to get summer shoes (I freaking HATE summer shoes, they're all gacky light colors and improbably shaded/patterned/heeled and will get dirty and ugly quick. Except for my pink Dansko gladiator sandals. And my Tevas. Anyway I digress.) Specifically I needed to match a sundress (yes, boys, a sundress - you know who you are) that I'd bought for a sugar-sweet (hooray!) Atlanta wedding in June. I'm still marveling at the fact that it fits.

My color sense is for shit so I asked the nearest person (perched on a footstool in the size 11/12 section, right near my 9.5/10s) whether the dress was best matched to white shoes or beigey ones. The nice six-foot two lady said that "Shoes that are matched to my skin tone can be worn all year round!" Hooray! She surveyed the racks for me and every so often would present me with an appropriate pair, or rate my choices. "Gorgeous and you CAN wear them any time." She also appraised my purchase of summery cheap flats with a critical eye - "Too tight." Thanks, my new tranny friend!

Since my matching skills were so heightened at that point I went to Laila Rowe next door, the quintesenntial ugly-accessories store. I really wanted a long long strand of pearls ala girl props (my old ones broke - don't ask) but they only had farty-lady bead necklaces, and the improbably bright shades that my great grandmother used to wear (Grandma would've loved Laila Rowe.) And their stuff ain't cheap people. That being said I did find a nice shawly-scarf (to cover my farty-lady arms should I choose) that matched the dress and shoes EXACTLY.

I love the fact that all these stores are within 20 feet of eachother. And the fact that one hundred years ago, here on "Ladies Mile" (6th avenue 14th-23rd and thereabouts), chicks in bustles were doing the same darn thing.

It was a day fraught with buy-one-get-one-half-off and spend-too-much-as-a-result offers (both Payless and LR caught me in that web) but I did get free sunglasses at Laila Rowe. They're framed with rhinestones. They will only appear on a stage. (I will try to take a photo at some point but laundry is calling.)