Amish View: Myth Buster #1

We’re one month away from the launch of my series set in Shipshewana, Indiana. So I thought it would be fun to do some Amish MYTH BUSTING. I certainly had a few preconceived notions about the Amish community before my first visit to this small town, but like most of us … stereotypes don’t always fit! Disclaimer: My experience may be different from yours or from other books you have read. Now on to our Myth Busting. : )

Myth Buster #1: Clunky Black Shoes!

I had already written part of Falling to Pieces before I visited Shipshe in June of 2010. I put clunky black shoes on every woman in my book. Surprise! They don’t wear them. At least the Amish women I met didn’t wear them in the summer.

You can see from this picture (taken at a discreet distance) that one of the ladies is wearing tennis shoes, the other two have on what look like loafers. When I was back in Shipshe this summer, many of the young ladies had on flip flops. Several of the girls working in shops were barefoot, though I noticed they had sandals tucked behind the counter.

Maybe older Amish women do wear clunky black shoes. Perhaps women in more conservative districts wear them, or maybe they’re saved for the cold winters. All I know is I had to do some re-writing and add SANDALS to the manuscript. MYTH BUSTED!

V~

P.S. – You can now sign up for my newsletter which will offer exclusive content, news, and BONUS material (i.e., PRIZES for newsletter peeps). Go to FACEBOOK and click on the newsletter tab or go to the Contact tab on my webpage.