I recently read one of those tabloid articles "exposing" an unnamed actress for wearing her expensive shoes only when it was time to go on cam, and slipping back into tsinelas (best translated into English as "flip-flops") in between takes. The tenor of the article was deprecatory, as if it were belittling the poor celebrity for her inauthenticity in footwear.
Teka muna.
Whoever wrote that piece has obviously never experienced the discomfort of wearing - much less walking - in four-inch heels for an extended period of time. Designer shoes or not, comfort is almost always sacrificed for aesthetics: looking good weighs in more than feeling it. At least that's how I see it.
But nothing quite comes as close to the relief of slipping into comfortable footwear (which ideally approximates the pleasure of going barefoot) after several hours in killer shoes - it's akin to digging into a big meal when you're starving or making it to the john at the height of bladder overflow. It's the pinnacle of deliverance, sa totoo lang. And the most comfortable of comfort footwear is none other than the lowly tsinelas (a.k.a., beach thongs, slippers, ismagol sa Ilocano).
So pwede ba, knock it off with the bad tsinelas rap. I've half a mind to condemn you to a pair of Blahniks for the rest of your days - go walk the length of the Mall of Asia in those babies, if you dare.
If choosing tsinelas over Jimmy Choos were a crime, guilty ako dyan. I love how my murderous, mutinous, height-enhancing dress shoes complete my outfit when I'm standing still, but I'm not going to even venture crossing the street in them. So shoe me.
3 comments:
Hi Honey,
You’re absolutely right. I don’t see anything wrong when a blind-item actress switches uncomfortable designer shoes to a pair of comfortable “tsinelas“ in between takes. And evidently that tabloid writer hasn’t seen Hollywood celebrities strolling around Manhattan with their flip-flaps in the summer. That writer needs to get out the country more often. Ha ha ha!
But honestly, I’m Ilocano but didn’t know that “ismagol” is the Ilocano for tsinelas. Thanks for sharing that.
Di ba?? I cannot imagine walking the streets of Manila or NYC in uncomfortable shoes. I made the unfortunate mistake of taking on Tokyo in three-inch heels and found myself praying for a tsinelas shop (to no avail).
I don't know why we call it "ismagol"; it's probably the corrupted form of the English verb "smuggle" but why it's called that defies logic.
I'll be in NYC again in August, God-willing!! If you're in town, let's spend more time walking the streets of Manhattan in sensible shoes.
I'll be in town in August. Sige and I let you walk from uptown to downtown so you will experience the real New Yorker (sana hindi masyadong humid para mas enjoy mag lakad). Hope to see you again soon.
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