When is there no shame in a walk of shame? When you’ve prepared for it with the right handbag.
Nine West is launching a new campaign this fall featuring a satchel holding flip-flops in what the company dubs an “anticipatory walk of shame.” You don’t want to wear those uncomfortable heels the next morning, you know.
Whatever we want to say about the coarseness of corporate America, business does have a certain knack for reflecting our cultural moments. And our culture right now is full of women who are confused. They want to be prepared for any eventuality. (Is there a “protection pocket” in the handbag too?) They want to take pride in their one-night stands. Yet they are also still a little embarrassed about the idea that they’re sneaking out of a man’s door the next morning.
Another ad offers women the chance to purchase shoes for “starter husband hunting.” Once again Nine West manages to capture the modern woman’s confusion. The strappy leopard-print stiletto heels are supposed to attract men who want commitment, but not too much commitment? The text says, “Go get ‘em, tiger. Whether you’re looking for Mr. Right or Mr. Right Now . . . we got a shoe for that.” (But are the same accoutrements likely to attract Mr. Right and Mr. Right Now?)
And speaking of babies, there are also accessories for the “First Day of Kindergarten.” As the ad explains, “The bus arrives and so do the waterworks. Then it hits you: Mommy now has the weeks off. Wipe those happy-sad tears . . . we got a shoe for that.” The company recommends a 4.5 inch “Tiptoe Black Peep Toe Booties” for this emotional drop-off.
Which probably has nothing to do with the kids and more to do with the impression you will want to leave with the other mothers. A description of the shoe explains: “A gazillion perforations steal the show as they flaunt tons [of] edgy attitude.” Just a little message to the PTA mafia: Don’t mess with me.
Feminists, not surprisingly, are upset about the campaign, with some wanting to know why Mommy has “weeks off” now. Doesn’t she have a job? And they are not satisfied with the competing ad for shoes to wear while you’re stuck in an office meeting. Feminists also think the idea of “husband-hunting” (even for starter husbands) is outdated too. But the campaign is only reflecting the mixed messages that women are hearing from the rest of the culture.
Presumably, Nine West was just hoping for the kind of viral popularity that Under Armour recently achieved with its commercial of Misty Copeland dancing spectacularly even while a voiceover reads all the reasons she has been told she couldn’t become the dancer she wanted to. You know, sisterhood is powerful and all that. If Nike can capitalize on women’s solidarity, why not Nine West?
But women’s empowerment has come to mean everything and nothing these days. It means you can hunt for husbands and have one-night stands and go to the office and go shoe-shopping after you drop off your children at school.
The cliché goes that women wear many hats but Nine West seems to be banking on the idea that now we wear many shoes.
Most of the messages we send with our accessories are meant for other women, not men at all. That’s where the ad for the leather pumps with the headline “Drunch” (short for drunken brunch) comes in. What shoes are you going to wear to show your girlfriends you can be carefree? Even as you worry about finding a man, leaving his house with your dignity intact, dropping off kids at school, and being stuck in an office meeting. There’s so much that goes into picking the shoes for the girls’ night out. How can you show them that you “have it all”?
Let’s be honest: If they were your real friends, they’d let you drink in flats.