“I'll Buy the Shoes. But Would You Consider Wearing Them to Bed With Me?”

SILVER & SAPPHIRE MAGAZINE Love Younger. Live Larger. THE DIRECT APPROACH — JUST ASK! Some women wait for romance. Others make it happen. In this recurring Silver & Sapphire feature, successful, wealthy women over 50 share how one remarkably direct question to a beautiful younger woman led to an unexpected night, an extraordinary offer, and sometimes a completely new life together. This Issue: Isabella, 54 & Rachel, 27 An $18,000 pair of designer heels. A young saleswoman who had spent the previous night sleeping in her car. And a beautiful, extraordinarily wealthy widow who decided that buying the shoes was nowhere near as interesting as asking the woman selling them to come home with her. HER STORY — ISABELLA, 54 Isabella Laurent was fifty-four, French-American, fabulously wealthy, and the owner of one of the most extraordinary collections of designer shoes in California. Her late husband had made his fortune developing luxury commercial properties, but Isabella had been a successful businesswoman long before their marriage, having established a chain of exclusive beauty spas that she eventually sold to an international cosmetics company. Her personal fortune was estimated at $175 million. She maintained magnificent homes in Beverly Hills, Paris, and Monte Carlo, traveled frequently, and admitted that her favorite indulgences were jewelry, beautiful lingerie, and impossibly expensive high heels. "I own approximately four hundred pairs," Isabella told us. "Which is perfectly reasonable when you consider that some women collect paintings." She paused. "Although I collect those too." Her husband had died six years earlier, and while Isabella had genuinely loved him, she had subsequently discovered that her romantic interests extended very enthusiastically to women. Her last girlfriend, a sophisticated forty-two-year-old fashion executive, had moved to London after accepting an important position. The relationship ended amicably, but Isabella had been alone for almost two years. "I didn't want another husband, and I wasn't particularly interested in women who spent more time discussing investments than romance. I wanted a beautiful girlfriend who enjoyed being spoiled, who could make me laugh, and who would occasionally tell me to stop buying shoes." S&S: Would you actually listen? Isabella: "Certainly not. But I'd appreciate the concern." At fifty-four, Isabella remained a breathtaking woman, with long, glossy dark hair, an elegant figure, and an extensive wardrobe of short designer dresses that showed off the spectacular legs she was understandably proud of. She had never considered herself shy. Until she met Rachel. HER STORY — RACHEL, 27 Rachel Morgan had been twenty-three when she married the man she believed would become the father of her children. At the time, she was studying fashion merchandising, working part-time at a designer boutique, and planning a career in luxury retail. Her husband, Brandon, was a charming young entrepreneur who persuaded her to leave college and help him establish an online clothing business. For nearly three years, Rachel managed orders, handled customers, organized inventory, and worked without a formal salary. Then she discovered that Brandon had been diverting business income into accounts she couldn't access. He had also been having an affair with her closest friend. When Rachel confronted him, he informed her that the business belonged entirely to him, that their rented apartment was in his name, and that she had no right to anything beyond her personal possessions. Their divorce was ugly, expensive, and financially devastating. Rachel moved into a small apartment and returned to retail work, but she struggled to pay her bills. Then her younger brother was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. Rachel spent months helping him recover, borrowing money to cover transportation, rehabilitation expenses, and basic household necessities. Her employer initially accommodated her reduced availability but eventually replaced her. By the time her brother recovered sufficiently to return to work, Rachel had exhausted her savings and fallen hopelessly behind on rent. She was evicted. Friends offered temporary accommodation, but Rachel was increasingly embarrassed by her circumstances. Eventually, she began sleeping in her twelve-year-old car. "I kept telling myself it was temporary," Rachel recalled. "Just a few nights until my next paycheck. But every time I saved a little money, something else happened." She found employment at an exclusive Beverly Hills shoe boutique, where her knowledge of luxury fashion and genuinely warm personality made her popular with customers. Nobody at work knew she was homeless. She showered at a gym, kept her clothes neatly folded in the trunk of her car, and arrived every morning looking immaculate. Her black work skirt was inexpensive but carefully maintained, her white blouse was always clean, and her black pumps had been repaired so many times that she feared the heels might eventually break. "I spent my days selling shoes that cost more than I earned in a month," she admitted. "Then I'd get into my car after work and try to find somewhere safe to sleep." The night before meeting Isabella, Rachel had parked behind a twenty-four-hour supermarket. She had slept for less than three hours. And she had cried herself to sleep. THE ENCOUNTER — THE $18,000 QUESTION S&S: Rachel, what made those particular shoes so extraordinary? Rachel: "They were absolutely outrageous! Silver satin, magnificent crystals, genuine diamonds, and heels so high that no sensible woman would ever attempt to wear them outside." Isabella: "They weren't intended for outside, darling." Rachel: "I discovered that when the manufacturer's representative explained their intended purpose. They were essentially bedroom shoes. Very expensive bedroom shoes!" S&S: Bedroom shoes? Isabella: "Precisely. They were designed for what the manufacturer rather charmingly called 'horizontal occasions.' You could walk from the bedroom door to the bed, preferably on a beautiful carpet, but you certainly weren't supposed to go shopping in them." Rachel: "I remember thinking that anyone who spent eighteen thousand dollars on shoes she couldn't actually walk in must be completely insane." Isabella: "And yet you couldn't take your eyes off them." Rachel: "They were gorgeous!" S&S: Did you try them on? Rachel: "Yes. Isabella specifically requested that I model them. I took off my worn black work pumps and slipped into the silver heels." Isabella: "They looked magnificent on her." Rachel: "I could barely stand! I took three very careful steps across the carpet and immediately reached for the display counter." Isabella: "I helped steady her." Rachel: "And then Isabella asked the most outrageous question I'd ever heard." S&S: Which was? Isabella: "I asked whether she'd consider wearing them to bed with me that evening." Rachel: "I nearly lost my balance all over again!" S&S: Just like that? Rachel: "Just like that! She was standing in front of me, looking absolutely magnificent, calmly suggesting that I accompany her home wearing eighteen-thousand-dollar bedroom heels." Isabella: "I did suggest dinner first." Rachel: "Which apparently made the whole proposition respectable!" S&S: And your response? Rachel: "I asked whether she was seriously offering to buy the shoes for me." Isabella: "I said yes, but made it clear that accepting a gift wouldn't oblige her to accept a date." Rachel: "Then I told her I'd much rather go to dinner with her and discover whether I liked the woman inside that beautiful ivory dress." Isabella: "And I thought that was a splendid answer." Rachel: "But I did ask her to keep the shoes!" THE NIGHT — THE ORIGINAL PROPOSAL S&S: Rachel, after dinner, you accompanied Isabella to her Beverly Hills mansion? Rachel: "Yes. We'd had a wonderful evening, and I'd told her about losing my apartment and sleeping in my car. Isabella offered me a guest suite, but by then I'd also realized how attracted I was to her." Isabella: "We spent quite some time talking on the terrace." Rachel: "Then I remembered the shoes." S&S: What happened? Rachel: "I looked at Isabella and asked, 'By the way, is your original proposal still available?'" Isabella: "I knew exactly which proposal she meant." Rachel: "She smiled at me and said, 'Of course, darling. But there is one condition.'" S&S: A condition? Rachel: "I thought she was joking. I asked what it was." Isabella: "I told her that if she wanted to try the shoes again, I had something rather special in mind." Rachel: "Then she disappeared into the dressing room and returned with two enormous boxes!" S&S: Two boxes? Rachel: "One contained the famous silver heels. The other contained the most spectacular little silver dress I'd ever seen, covered in thousands of sparkling crystals!" Isabella: "I thought the shoes deserved an equally extraordinary outfit." Rachel: "She called it my bedroom dress! Apparently, she'd arranged for both to be delivered while we were having dinner." Isabella: "Darling, if you're going to make a grand entrance, you should be dressed for the occasion." S&S: And what exactly was the condition? Rachel: "Isabella carried the boxes into her enormous bedroom, placed the shoes beside the door, and told me that if I still wanted to accept her original invitation, she'd love to see me walk from the bedroom door to the bed wearing that sparkling little dress and those ridiculous silver heels." Isabella: "I thought it would be a rather memorable entrance." Rachel: "I asked whether she remembered that I could barely walk in those shoes at the boutique!" Isabella: "I assured her that I'd be right beside her." Rachel: "Then I asked whether she was planning to catch me if I fell." Isabella: "I told her that was one of the advantages of having a very large bed." Rachel: "I laughed so hard I had to sit down!" S&S: So you accepted the challenge? Rachel: "Absolutely! I changed into that ridiculous little sparkling silver dress, slipped into the heels, and stood up very carefully." Isabella: "She looked absolutely magnificent. The dress shimmered with every movement, and those extraordinary shoes made her legs look endless." Rachel: "I looked at myself in the mirror and couldn't believe it. That morning I'd been getting dressed in a gym changing room because I didn't have a home, and now I was standing in a millionaire's bedroom wearing a dress that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe and eighteen-thousand-dollar shoes that were practically impossible to walk in!" S&S: That must have been quite a moment. Rachel: "It was! Then Isabella smiled and asked whether I was ready." Isabella: "She looked at the bed, looked down at her shoes, and took a very deep breath." Rachel: "I managed about four steps before grabbing Isabella's arm. She helped me the rest of the way." S&S: And when you reached the bed? Rachel: "I sat down, looked at those ridiculous, beautiful shoes, and asked whether I was finally allowed to take them off." Isabella: "I told her she could take them off whenever she pleased." Rachel: "But then I decided to leave them on for a little while longer. After all, it seemed a shame to waste such an extravagant entrance!" Isabella: "And I certainly wasn't going to complain." S&S: Was the evening everything you expected? Rachel: "Not remotely! I'd never been romantically involved with a woman before, let alone someone twenty-seven years older than me. But Isabella was so affectionate, so patient, and so wonderfully romantic that I forgot all about being nervous." Isabella: "We spent a beautiful evening together." Rachel: "And for the first time in months, I went to sleep feeling safe, wanted, and genuinely happy." S&S: And the shoes? Rachel: "Well, that's where the story becomes really embarrassing!" Isabella: "I think we should save that particular revelation for the following morning, darling." Rachel: "Oh, you're going to enjoy this one!" THE MORNING AFTER — AN $18,000 SURPRISE S&S: Rachel, apparently you woke up to a rather unexpected discovery? Rachel: "Oh, you have no idea!" Isabella: "I was already awake, enjoying my coffee." Rachel: "I stretched, opened my eyes, looked at Isabella, and smiled. The beautiful silver dress was lying across a chair beside the bed, but when I moved my feet beneath the covers, I felt something very strange." S&S: What was it? Rachel: "The shoes!" Isabella: "She had apparently fallen asleep wearing them." Rachel: "I threw back the covers and discovered that I was still wearing eighteen-thousand-dollar silver heels!" S&S: Both of them? Rachel: "Both! Perfectly fastened! I couldn't believe it!" Isabella: "She looked absolutely scandalized." Rachel: "I stared at Isabella and said, 'Darling, have I seriously slept an entire night wearing these ridiculous things?'" Isabella: "And I told her she'd certainly made excellent use of my purchase." Rachel: "I was horrified! What if I'd damaged them?" Isabella: "I told her they were shoes, not priceless museum exhibits." Rachel: "Eighteen thousand dollars!" Isabella: "Darling, you really must stop mentioning the price." S&S: Did you take them off? Rachel: "Eventually! But first Isabella insisted that I let her take a photograph of me sitting in bed wearing the shoes, with my hair completely disheveled." Isabella: "It's one of my favorite photographs." Rachel: "She threatened to frame it!" Isabella: "I did frame it." Rachel: "And it is now hanging in our private dressing room!" S&S: And then came your extraordinary morning-after proposal? Isabella: "Yes. After breakfast, I asked Rachel whether she'd like to continue seeing me." Rachel: "I told her I'd love to." Isabella: "Then I asked whether she'd consider becoming my girlfriend." Rachel: "After one night! I nearly dropped my coffee!" Isabella: "I explained that I wasn't demanding an immediate commitment. I simply wanted us to get to know each other properly, and I hoped that perhaps we could eventually share a life together." Rachel: "Then I asked whether that life would involve wearing eighteen-thousand-dollar shoes to bed every night." Isabella: "I told her absolutely not." Rachel: "Thank goodness!" Isabella: "Only on special occasions." Rachel: "And that's when I knew I was in serious trouble!" WHERE ARE THEY NOW? — THE SHOES THAT STARTED EVERYTHING Seventeen months later, Isabella and Rachel are still happily together. The famous silver heels occupy a place of honor in their enormous shared dressing room, protected in a glass-fronted display cabinet when not in use. According to Rachel, they are still the most impractical shoes she has ever owned. According to Isabella, they remain one of her most successful purchases. S&S: Do you still wear them? Rachel: "Occasionally. But strictly indoors!" Isabella: "As intended." Rachel: "Isabella has actually bought me several other pairs of bedroom heels since then." S&S: As extravagant as the originals? Rachel: "Almost. Apparently my girlfriend has developed an expensive new hobby." Isabella: "I prefer to think of it as supporting the luxury footwear industry." Rachel: "And I have one very strict rule now." S&S: Which is? Rachel: "Before going to sleep, I check my feet!" Isabella: "Which I find terribly disappointing." Rachel: "Darling, I love you, but once was quite enough!" THE DIRECT APPROACH — JUST ASK! Another love story from Silver & Sapphire Magazine — where successful women discover that sometimes the shortest distance between loneliness and happiness is one simple question. Love Younger. Live Larger.