I know that I am behind the curve here.

Let's look at this pic What can we observe before running off to check out red shoes? There are commonalities. All are wearing jackets. All seem to be holding wine glasses. We presume that is wine. All are standing with one shoe forward to make their shoes apparent. I would even say that they have pulled up the pant legs to make their shoes prominent. They are all members of the group and have accepted the other members. Two guys are even making sure that their red shoes are in the picture. They are all men and shaven. There are people in the picture without red shoes, but they are not "IN" the group picture.

What sense can be made of the observations? Groups have initiation requirements. The icon of group membership is the red shoes.

Who made the red shoes? You don't find these at say Nordstroms. They are not lace up shoes, and may be boots. Somebody may have communicated with the maker to authorize the making of a particular size.