Is it just me, or are the current TV commercials for Skechers Slip-ins deeply irritating?  Just me, then.

The adverts depict a young man and a young woman each advocating the benefits of Skechers’ new easy-wear shoes, which––as the name suggests––are possible to slip into without bending over; without using your hands; without any hassles.  I frequently do this exact same thing with my normal shoes, just by forcing my feet in and gradually breaking down the backs on them until they give up the resistance to fight back.

Now for some people with mobility issues, I can see the obvious benefits of a pair of shoes that you can slip on, without having to bend over; even some people with obsessive cleanliness issues might like shoes that they are not required to touch, but the two people in the Skechers’ adverts look palpably too smug to require any kind of assistance with putting on their footwear; their rather superior attitude just smacks of laziness.  Unlike them, I might not want to “step into the future”, nor “quit being one of those ‘hands’ people”.

As a kid, an important rite of passage was the ability to tie your own shoe laces.  I was a bit of a late developer in this respect, habitually struggled to remember whether it was right over left, before left over right; or whether the rabbit went around the tree before going down the hole, or went down the hole before going around the tree.  And, so, on the face of it, I should be the first to welcome a pair of shoes, which require no lacing; no great exertion to either motor or mental skills.  However, not so.  I think these early development skills are important; the learning setbacks a necessary milestone; the eventual accomplishments a cause for celebration.

As a society, with more and more tasks being done for us, we risk losing the ability to perform even the simplest functions; risk losing the very skills, tenacity and invention that led us to create Skechers Slip-ins in the first place.

© Simon Turner-Tree

Simon Turner-Tree remains with one foot firmly planted in the past.