✯ Day 132 of Vintage 365 ✯
The sun whipped across our necks in long lashes, the dry dessert air smelled of sizzling concrete and honeysuckle, and the breeze felt as electric as every fan that was running at the moment in the whole town.
This is how I remember those toasty, endlessly long, wildly beautiful late afternoons and early dusks as my brother and I peddled our bikes (mine red, his blue) around the neighbourhood, gathering about-fall-at-any-moment cherries from the branches of neighbours (who knowing the fruit would go to waste otherwise, had given my family permission to help ourselves to it).
With buckets and plastic shopping bags dangling from our handlebars - much like plump burgundy spheres of fruit threating to tumble from the trees themselves - we'd pull to the side of the dusty alleyways, apricot light dancing around our sun-bleached hair - and grab as many cherries as our little fingers could.
I grew up in a land of orchards and history, old houses interspersed with small small backyard gardens that produced more fruit than a clan of bears could get through in a season. Much of this produce was picked and savoured, turned into pies, jams, eaten fresh, and put up for the winter in glistening rows of boiled-fresh Mason jars.
Though I can never quite decide which fruit holds the dearest memory in my mind, peaches and cherries - both of which I picked in great abundance - are two very close contenders.
It is because of these early memories of gathering cherries in the shade of Edwardian era homes, aging neighbours smiling at us from their porches, the feeling of fruit juice running down my wrists as I plunked another handful into my crimson stained bucket, that I am drawn - almost inherently - to items featuring images of cherries.
Thankfully, this love of one of the world's tastiest fruits meshes well with my adoration of vintage fashion, for now - as in decades gone by - cherries remain an endearingly popular motif for all manner of clothing and accessories.
These splendidly pretty shoes, which feature cherries in a much more understated and easy-to-pull off manner than many pin-up girl and vintage inspired fruit adorned pieces, are the footwear equivalent of my early cherry picking memories: playful, hardworking, and absolutely lovely.
Featuring a lofty (but still manageable) 4 inch heel, a sweet little cherry pattern set against a blushing cream background, ankle straps and flirty peep toes, these vintage inspired shoes are as timeless as they are beautifully elegant.
Presently on sale for $37.99 (down from $103.99) from online seller Retro Cuties, these deliciously pretty shoes (which are available in ladies sizes 5 to 12) are the sort of classic pair that will see you through season after sun-kissed season, calling to mind your own beloved summertime cherry themed recollections.
