When I was a kid, you could get Keds or Converse, that was it.  Now there are hundreds of brands of shoes all vying for a piece of your identity.  I dread shopping for shoes because of the millions of choices screaming for my attention.

I find myself thinking about this at odd moments.  When did this happen? Why are shoes so important?  So I started taking pictures of shoes with my iPhone.  I’m intrigued by the attitude that people display with their feet.

The global shoe industry, after experiencing decades of growth, is starting to soften a bit, with sales of only 123 billion dollars in 2012.  China accounts for the major share of the manufacture of shoes.  New Balance is the only brand of athletic shoes still manufactured in the U.S. (Maine), and is struggling.  Urban myth of riots and or people being killed over tennis shoes are real, and very surreal.