The boston globe Andover"Is this the shoe club? "Asks michelle wilder as she strolls into the room in a pair of gravity defying wedges, complete with matching red blouse.When she sees http://www.yali.com.au/christian-louboutin-slingbacks.html the women in heels, pumps, and the occasional flat, she immediately begins to tell her story. "I work in construction, and i don't get to wear my fancy shoes too often at work. " Wilder and her wedges have walked into a restaurant lounge filled with ladies who worship at the altar of christian louboutin.The 40 or so women who gathered at glory one night last week all have stories to share and all of those stories involve their shoes. In one corner sits 23 year old alyson mceleney of brookline.Her leg has been in a cast for five months, but the cast was recently removed, and this is the first night she has been able to wear heels.Technically, she really shouldn't be in heels yet, but because it's shoe club night, she's ignoring doctors' orders for the sake of fashion and camaraderie. Shelley hachman, wearing faux snake anne klein pumps, is telling the story about how the shoe club helped her through a difficult patch in her life last winter.Both she and her husband thought they had lost their jobs.Hachman, a billerica mother and shoe fanatic, was devastated and feeling hopeless.Then she heard about the shoe club. "It was like a sign from god,"She says of the day she learned about the club meetings, which generally involve shoe contests and many, many martinis. "It was so nice to know that i'm not alone in my love of shoes.At that point i just knew things were going to be ok. " And things were ok.Shortly after learning about the shoe club, she found out her husband was not losing his job, and she's now using the shoe club as a forum for social and career networking. The woman who bounces around the room acting as both social director and sartorial adviser is shoe club founder melissa o'shea.Smiling, blond, and cheerful to a fault, the 36 year old medford resident started shoe club in 2004 as a joke.She had earned a reputation which she admits is deserved of having a lot of shoes.Her mother, who refers to melissa as"Imelda,"Says her daughter's love of shoes probably began at birth and only deepened with age.In the late '90s, o'shea was sent to london for work;That's when her occasional dalliance with fine footwear blew up into the passion she feels today. "I wasn't married, i didn't have kids, i was living overseas in a really hip city,"She says. "It was bound to happen.I spent a lot of time shoe shopping in europe.People really dress up to go http://www.yali.com.au/christian-louboutin-flats.html out in london, and i just loved that. " When she returned to boston, she realized that there were few venues where she could don what she refers to as her"Crazy shoes. "If she wore a pair of heels out on the town that were particularly sparkly, colorful, or festooned with, say, many tiny bows, she found that bostonians would give her and her shoes a disapproving look. At the same time, friends were starting to see o'shea as their footwear confessor.Knowing that a woman with more than 100 pairs of shoes in her closet would be less likely to judge them, friends and co workers would tell o'shea all the details of their shoe buying binges. "I jokingly said to one of my girlfriends that we really need a girls' night out where we can wear the shoes that we never get to wear in boston, and talk about shoe shopping,"She says. "We all want to wear the shoes that the movie stars wear.Why should all these jimmy choos only be for beyonc began at the tapas restaurant dali in somerville with o'shea and seven friends wearing their finest manolo blahniks and miu mius.Since that first meeting three years ago, shoe club has swelled to 250 members.And there are now chapters in chicago, atlanta, and naples, fla.O'shea frequently references"Sex and the city"As a model for these gatherings.The sex talk may not be as graphic at shoe club(At least not at last week's gathering).But there is a carrie bradshaw esque fanaticism among these shoe lovers that allows them to bond almost instantly.The parties are held in the heart of the city and in suburbia.Tomorrow, club members will wear their foot finery at the palm at copley place.Later in the month, the shoe talk takes place over tequila at ole mexican grill in cambridge.Local shoe designers sometimes attend with boxes of their latest offerings.At the end of the night, there's a contest to see who's wearing the most exotic, flashy, or beautiful shoes.The winner walks away with a gift certificate provided by the restaurant.There's no cost to join or attend events.While a gorgeous pair of shoes can easily cost hundreds of dollars, the joy of wearing them is, apparently, priceless. O'shea, who works as director of development for a small nonprofit, has begun to see the business potential of her idea.She trademarked the name and incorporated as a business.She has also started partnering with stores.This tuesday, the shoe club will meet at bloomingdale's in chestnut hill.Members will get a gift bag, discounts, and private run of bloomingdale's shoe department. "My husband is always telling me that i could charge for these parties,"O'shea says. "I really don't want to be charging my friends.This is just a chance to get together with friends and have a girls' night out. " Shoes were the great unifier among the women gathered at the andover party last week.There were shoes ranging from pumps bought off the clearance rack at dsw to fine miu mius.The women are equally diverse, ranging in age from early 20s to late 50s.Everyone gets caught up in the festive(And alcohol fueled)Atmosphere of bonding over heels.Strangers join in conversations that inevitably begin with"I love your shoes,"And then grow to more substantial topics. The women who attend enjoy the ribbing about their footwear peccadilloes and the top secret shoe charge accounts concealed from husbands.Beautiful, well made shoes are appreciated like fine art.And like fine art, the shoes seem to provide their owners with something deeper. "When i http://www.yali.com.au/ wear my manolo blahniks, i feel like the whole city stops and admires my shoes,"Says debbie mellor of arlington. "Shoes are the one thing that always look great.It doesn't matter if you've gained five pounds, or you are having a terrible hair day.A nice pair of shoes can make you feel great. "
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