I try to do most of my shopping close to home, preferably within the bounds of Chenango County. I figure money spent locally is money well spent, since it helps support local businesses and local jobs.

But sometimes it’s necessary to venture outside. Like when you are in search of the perfect pair of shoes to wear for a special occasion. Such as, say, the SPCA’s 6th Annual Valentine Fur Ball this weekend.

It was such a desire for fabulous footwear (to wear to that equally fabulous event) which prompted me to brave the wilds of the Carousel Center in Syracuse this past weekend. Not sure if I was up to the challenge on my own (or if I could even find the place, since it had been so long since I’d been there) I brought reinforcements – my mom and her friend Sue.

We had spent an hour or so wandering in and out of shops, when I started having a touch of deja vu. It took me a couple of more stores before I could put my finger on it. But then, as I flipped casually through a rack of what I at first thought to be normal trousers, it hit me.

The garments before me weren’t normal pants. Having lived through the 80s, I was able to identify then for what they really were: stirrup pants. Yes, stirrup pants. The scourge of my generation.