One enduring side-affect of my brief stint as a shoe salesman back in college is a predilection for checking out people’s shoes. Where some guys look at bosoms, others to the side, I take a sneak peek at the feet. Cheap, dirty and unshined do not make a good impression.

Thus, with my shoe fetish established, it is understandable that while sitting in a mind-numbingly banal parent’s meeting today I checked out everyone’s footwear.  The first mom had on these nondescript taupe wedge, mule things that looked strikingly similar to nursing shoes. Disappointed, I snuck a glance at the next pair, which were similar, nondescript, dark brown, wedge, mule things. What? I checked out the rest of the footwear and sure enough, all the moms were wearing the same style of shoes – which were all equally nondescript, wedge, mule things that really did evoke the image of nurse Helga. However, the similarity didn’t stop there. When I really focused, I also picked up a decisive trend in the attire – apparently velor track suits have made a huge comeback among “ahel Abdoun.”

Apparently the need of the upper classes to conform to the point of resembling a tribe of smurfs is not tempered by actual style. Nondescript, wedge, mule things that make you look like a nurse at the end of a long shift (especially with the ubiquitous white ankle socks) do not make one look sophisticated or upscale – regardless of what they cost – which I assume is quite a lot. I was left with three questions – who is the West Amman fashonista who set this particular trend? Does she have a sense of humour? And, is the Grand Bazar in Istanbul now stocking knocked-off nondescript, wedge, mule, nursing shoe things?