THE SHAFTS

This story was told to me by a friend who no longer works in the industry.

WARNING: Contains disturbing imagery.

A friend of mine was working in a high end boutique that sold men’s and women’s clothes.  The women’s line was very popular, but as the men’s line grew, the designer was nominated for a prestigious award.

To celebrate this milestone, the store would throw a big, lavish party.  A caterer was brought in and the main floor was completely re-done.  Eight white male mannequins would be dressed up and displayed on the floor during the party.

Because the store did not yet have its own dedicated men’s shoes, eight pairs of brand new boots were delivered.  These were no ordinary boots.  These were black Wesco Boss engineer boots with lug soles.  

As the interns opened the boxes, the powerful smell of new leather filled the room.  My friend wondered if he might be able to get a pair of these hot boots when the whole affair was over.  One of the boots dropped onto the floor and made the kind of loud, masculine thud only a boot can make.  He had to turn away because he was getting an erection.  

One of the girls assigned to dress the mannequins yelled out “Oh, no.  We have a problem!”  It turned out that the metal bases for these mannequins had poles that stuck upward and were inserted into matching holes in the right ankle of each mannequin.  This meant that the boots could not be used while still allowing them to stand upright.  The boot shafts were in the way.  (The female mannequins had poles that were inserted into the butt cheeks of the mannequins, easily allowing for any type of shoe or boot - how sexist is that?)

With only a few hours before the start of the party and no time to seek out alternate footwear, the decision was made: cut the shafts of the boots down to the ankle to allow the metal support rod to be inserted.

My friend watched in horror as the mutilation began in earnest.  Armed with scissors and box cutters, the evil girls reduced eight beautiful pairs of new Wesco boots to unwearable garbage right before his eyes.

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