Shirley Batchelor in her 3-inch pink pearlized heels and two-piece pink floral blouson top and matching skirt. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

        “The higher the better” is how Shirley Batchelor of Mount Washington likes her heels.

        The 82-year-old volunteer at Anderson Senior Center in Mount Washington got her first pair of heels when she was in the eighth grade. They became part of her “uniform”' during her career at H&S Pogue Co., a long-time Cincinnati department store. She spent 42 years in the fur department and occasionally modeled the furs.

        “My boss was very particular about clothes, especially the shoes. He wanted high heels on the models,” she says. “Now, everywhere I go, especially at the center, people look down at my feet to see what shoes I'm wearing. I have over 300 pairs. It's a disease really. I don't need them all.”

        Signature style: My high heels, 3 to 4 inches at least. Even in my everyday shoes, I wear a wedgie with a heel that high. People say to me, “How do you wear anything that high?” but it doesn't seem that high to me. I'm only 5 foot, 3 1/4 inches tall.

        You're never without: I have to have a piece of jewelry or earrings.

        You can be found shopping: Mostly at Lazarus and T.J. Maxx in Cherry Grove.

        You can never have enough: I'm always looking for shoes. Even my sister looks for me whenever she goes out.

        Earliest fashion memory: That's going back a long while. I was in the eighth grade. I picked out white shoes with wooden high heels, about 2 1/2 inches high, and my stepfather said, “Let her try them.” So I got a dress, too, a sheath dress with a jacket that went not quite to your knees. It was pale blue trimmed in white, and that was my Easter outfit. My mom said “You can have these (shoes), but you can't wear them to school. They are only for dress and Sundays.”

        You shop for: Color mostly, and the workmanship in the material.

        Your favorite colors: I like bright colors: blues, fuchsia and greens. My hair is turning a platinum color, and I try to get something that contrasts nicely with that.

        Oldest pair of shoes you own: A pair of black sandals I got at Pogue's in the '70s. The other day I took them in to get new heels put on.

        Best bargain: A two-piece blue-and-white dress at Pogue's. It was $85 marked down to $25 and with my employee discount, it was $20. And it's still in good shape; it's a full skirt with a blouson top. If you keep something long enough, it will come back in style.

        The look you like: A lot of full or pleated skirts and a blouson top with band around the bottom. I wear a lot of pantsuits, mostly solids in every color of the rainbow.

        Nominations to Joy Kraft, Cincinnati Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati 45202; fax: 768-8330; jkraft@enquirer.com. Include their name, age, daytime phone and why they should be featured.

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