Shoes, Glorious Shoes
I went on a Crusade yesterday, to find a nice pair of comfy black sandals. I wanted some that would hold up to some serious walking, since I’ll be in San Francisco on Tuesday. Most of my sandals have been worn to the point where you can separate the soles. Not so good. 
Last night I was meeting a good friend for dessert, and we chose to meet at the Tyson’s Corner Galleria where they have some nice restaurants. I arrived early and decided to window shop and hopefully find some good shoe sales.
If you’ve never been to the Galleria, let’s just say that it is the Mecca of shopping. We’re talking Prada and Ferragamo shoes. The kind where each shoe needs a personal security system. I don’t know if you’re like me, but inevitably I spy a pair of super-cute shoes and go to check them out.
$450. 
How is it possible? Now, maybe they are the most rockin’ shoes in the universe, but $450? Dang, those shoes had better come with built-in massagers. And those soles had better be made of platinum. So I dropped those shoes pretty fast and decided that, er…maybe this wasn’t the right store for me.
Note to self: One day, when I hit a bestseller list, I might buy a pair of shoes like that. But then again, I’m a practical girl. More likely I’d use that $450 for a plane ticket somewhere cool…like Ireland. 
I wandered up to the third floor of the Galleria and found another store with a 60% off sale. Now we’re talking. Once again, I found pairs of plane-ticket shoes, but the sale rack wasn’t too bad. But even when a pair of $195 shoes is marked down to $99, you have to ask yourself–am I really going to wear these? Am I going to get that much use out of them? And is the white stitching on black leather really that distracting?
In the end, I put them back. Just couldn’t bring myself to spend the money, even though they truly were comfortable. So today, I’m going to another mall and will hopefully find something more reasonable in price and still cushy for my big old feet (size 10). Ack. Something that doesn’t look like I strapped surf boards onto my feet.
So here’s a question. Let’s say that you had the money where you could drop $500 on a pair of shoes without even missing the money. Would you do it?
Michelle posted in Writing @ 10:56 am | Viewed 1207 times
Lynellen Says:
If I wouldnt miss the money, yes I absolutely would buy $500 shoes. But only one pair.
Jill Myles Says:
Yes and no.
No, because I’d feel like an idiot for wearing $500 shoes. There are so many other things one can buy with $500, right?
But at the same time, you do get what you pay for. Maybe the $500 shoes are put together a lot better than the $50 ones, or the $20 ones.
My husband tends to make fun of me because I am notoriously cheap. If there is a cute pair of shoes for $60 and an ugly-ass pair on the clearance rack for $10, I buy the ugly pair because my mother was cheap and I seem to have adopted that bad habit of hers. The last time I did this? The $10 pair ripped in a week and I had to go back and buy the $60 pair anyhow.
He keeps using the old “You get what you pay for” adage on me, and someday it’s going to sink in.
Jill, who bought three (!) pairs of shoes for RWA…and will probably only wear the sandals.
Lexi Connor Says:
Not a chance. I’d buy practical shoes and use the money on vacation!
Rene Says:
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Even if I would miss the $500, I still would. In fact, I’ve promised myself if I sell, I can buy myself a pair of Jimmy Choo’s or a pair of Stuart Weitzman’s. As it is, I did buy two pairs of shoes yesterday. Okay, 3, but I’m taking one back. I bought two pairs of heeled flip flops for $6 each. I try to wear open toed shoes as much as I can. I’m not going to do much walking I don’t think. For the literacy signing I will probably wear my new pink gingham low Converes.
Jessica Gottlieb Says:
Oh, I’ve bought the shoes and even though I feel like a total dope I enjoy them.
One pair a year and I wear them with dresses from WalMart.
Guess what gets the compliments?
For me it’s Louboutin I’m addicted to, I could run a marathon in the 2.5 inch heels, they’re cozy and ridiculously sexy. But yeah, I feel like a weenie spending that much.
Mary Says:
If I wouldn’t miss the money, I would. I tried on some Pradas at the Neiman Marcus outlet that I adored, but were not at all practical.
Like you, I’d rather buy a plane ticket.
Donna Alward Says:
Yes but if you could have the shoes AND the plane ticket….
I probably wouldn’t say no to the shoes. LOL and accessories. The power is in the accessories! However if I found a pair of knockoffs that were much cheaper…I mean a bargain is a bargain after all!
I just bought shoes for a wedding next weekend. I try to look for comfort but last time I checked, CROCS don’t come in the strappy heel variety. LOL
kacey Says:
you don’t need sandals for San Francisco…you Ugg boots! Doggone it was cold there last week!
Hm, no, I don’t think I’d spend $500 on shoes…but then I’m not a shoe person. I could probably be talked into spending it on a purse though. Or put it towards an expensive camera lens.
Michelle Says:
I ended up buying an $8.00 pair of sandals. How sad is that? But I also bought a $50 dress, so I guess it evened out.
Missie Says:
If the $500 shoes were guaranteed to last at least five or more years, then maybe…because it would be like spending $100 a year on a good pair of shoes…right?
Says the woman who thinks spending $25 on a pair of cute heels at Kohl’s is waayyy to much…
mary beth Says:
Best cute walking sandals I’ve ever found are Naot’s. They’re amazingly comfortable and actually mold to your foot. They can be pretty pricey,($90-$139), but they’re worth every penny. They have some that are more utilitarian also, but I bought a pair with sparklies on top.
Good luck finding shoes you like!
Bron Says:
Err no.
But then again my closet does not have one “name brand” article in it ROFL.
Well made yes but expensive NO.