My Sole Mate

This weekend, my husband and I are celebrating our five year wedding anniversary. I think I knew early on that I picked the right mate when one of the first dates we shared was a shopping trip in downtown Manhattan.

We popped in and out of little boutiques — with me immediately wearing one of my purchases — and then settled in to a yummy dinner at a trendy bistro. (Incidentally, we plan to celebrate this weekend in NYC doing just that!)

Throughout our relationship, the hubs really had a handle on what makes this mama tick when it came to giving the perfect gift.  Sure, there were doozies from time-to-time (hey, he is a guy).  Like the Oilily silk purple purse in the shape of a dachshund he once gave me for a birthday gift when I was 24, not 12.  But he certainly redeemed himself with 1-little, 2-little, 3-little Louis Vuittons and some other *amazing* dresses, shoes and accessories over the years.

As someone who spent most of her career working in fashion PR, I’ve been especially impressed with his trend awareness when it came to emerging brands. One that comes to mind is LuLuLemon, and the year he presented me with a pair of their yoga pants for Christmas.

“Oh, thanks, hon. Yoga pants. I guess you want me to work out more?”

“Not just ANY yoga pants. They’re LuLuLemon. And they’ll hem them for free for you at the store, too.”

This was ultimately an awesome gift — both practical and thoughtful, because:
a. I love a great-fitting pair of black pants of *any* kind and
b. I’m built like a pug and always need my pants shortened.

Fast forward a little over a year later and LuLuLemon had become quite mainstream — with stores popping up left and right — and me subsequently owning two additional pairs of their fancy pants.

But it’s the hubs’ inclination to buy me footwear that I’ve, frankly, always found kinda sexy. Here’s why:

Buying shoes for a gal can be pretty risky. Will they fit? Are they a style she likes? Is there a lenient return policy? Will she hurl these at me if she doesn’t like them?

One might argue that it takes a certain amount of confidence and knowledge of his wife’s taste and preferences to select footwear as a gift. And I happen to find confidence quite sexy. So if a guy is THAT tuned-in to what his woman wears, wants and loves and is confident enough to go and make the purchase….well then, hot diggity dog!

For the record, my two favorite pairs of shoes that the hubs have given me to date are my Tory Burch black patent leather stacked heels, and most recently for Valentine’s Day, my Geox leopard moccasins. 

There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s my sole mate…