We collect them as if they were trophies for our feet. Trophies we can purchase, that is.
When my mom and I would pack up my room at the end of each year of college, she would inevitably ponder my shoe collection. My 23 pairs earned me the title of the "Imelda Marcos" in the family. In case you're not familiar with Ms. Marcos, she was married to the leader of the Philippines in the 1980s and amassed a collection of 2,700 designer shoes while the people of her nation starved. Behold, a small portion of her collection:
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| from theendofcollection.wordpress.com |
Honestly, the broken bone was probably a gift. I have a standing desk at work now so I spend most of the day in dansko clogs. I rarely put any kind of dress shoe on anymore. My shoe addiction is cured. Do I need the dozens of shoes I own?
Do I even know how many shoes I own? No. Do I even know what compelled me to collect dozens of shoes? No...
I'm going to leave the question of why women are addicted to shoes for another post, in part because I'd really like to hear your thoughts. If you've ever collected shoes or coveted the Sex and the City shoe closet (TM), why did you do it?
For anyone who is a former shoe addict, pair-ing down the collection (sorry) is a bit traumatic. So start with one. One step at a time you can walk around the world. Or empty your closet.
The Reckoning
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| lunch hour consignment shop trip! |
Items 64: One pair of 3.5" heels.
Cost: $99. Purchased in grad school after I landed my first professional job. I've worn them exactly four times since. Was I insane? That was 10% of my monthly income back then!
Fate: The local consignment shop.
Amount of money I wasted on junk I never should've bought: $387. *sobs*
I have a secret love of shoes, mainly heels/wedges. I just counted and have 9 pairs of shoes (3 pairs of sandals, flats, running shoes, Vans, wedges, stilettos, and stripper shoes). Seriously, I do want more. It's horrible, I know. Sometimes I'll just go to Ross and try on shoes, love them, hug them, and have to leave them at the store because I don't want to be *that* mom who's always in heels lol. So all of this to say that I share your pain!
ReplyDeletelol I love that you can hug the shoes and love them. (and then put them down!)
DeleteOh, I want to be *that* mom who's always in heels, especially now that I can't do that anymore.
I have never been able to wear heels due to problems with my arches, and more recently with the bones in the ball of one foot. Sometimes I wish I could wear them, but comfort means more to me than appearance. So my shoes can be counted on one hand: work shoes, sneakers, winter boots, summer sandals - that's it. Have to buy well-made footwear these days, so no extras :)
ReplyDeleteThis doesn't really answer your query, sorry!
Having to own really good footwear is an honest downside of not owning many shoes. I really only wear my sneakers and my clogs anymore, but I wear the clogs down so much that they have to be re-soled every three months and replaced once a year which totals $240/year. But you're right, good quality is a must. It's better than replacing them every two months.
DeleteI have gi-nourmous feet, so no shoe fetish here. Pretty much all shoes look hideous in size 11, when you can find them that large that is.
ReplyDeletesounds like a blessing in disguise though!
DeleteI know the shoe thing. I didn't even know I had so very many pairs until I decided to line them all up on my back deck. It was emabarassing considering how anti-fashion I try to pretend I am! LOL. About 60 pairs including the practical winter boots and safety gear. But NOT including slippers!
ReplyDelete@ min hus - my sister has size 11 and she has well over 200 pairs of shoes, a lot of them are glamourous and pretty!
60's not really all that bad if you end up wearing everything. At this point I really only wear my clogs and my sneakers. In the days when I owned 25 pairs, I did rotate them and wore everything. No such luck after my broken bone.
Delete200 pairs though? Wow, even if one pair gets worn to work each work day, some shoes would only get worn once a year. If they're such great shoes, it's a shame not to get to wear them more often.
I don't really like wearing heels, as I can't be bothered with the foot pain- I like to be able to walk to/ from events and nights out. But I have two pairs of heels that I have kept for dressy events... Except that in the last year or two I have been to dressy events, such as weddings, and worn flats.... So why do I still have the heels?!
ReplyDeleteHadn't realised this until I read this post, I feel some de-cluttering coming on!
Also not sure that I need two pairs of wellie boots and a pair of trainers that give me blisters...