So, I fell in love with a shoe today. A pair of $259 shoes, in fact. K and I went down to Fluevog this afternoon to get him new shoes. He had a Christmas gift certificate from his parents and a rather serious need for new shoes. And then I met these:
I loooove them. They work for the office, but they're not staid, they can be casual, and they're super-comfortable (yes, I tried them on), even for my weirdo feet (wide toes, incredibly high instep). I have a pair of Fluevogs, cute mary janes that I wear to the office and for walking around (bought the last pair in the store, deep discount), and they've lasted some four years, which is longer than my shoes ever last, because, as previously discussed, I have a tendency to buy $24 shoes from Payless and similar. And I know that with shoes you really do get what you pay for...and have I mentioned that I love them?
Obviously, I can't afford them. Obviously.
They did make me rethink my shoe strategy, though. Maybe the thing to do is save up and spend liberally on a small wardrobe of great shoes. Comfortable, well-made, beautiful shoes. Just a few pairs. Ditch the many one-use Payless purchases and the many wore-constantly-worn-through-immediately Payless purchases, and go for quality over quantity.
Plus, maybe if we really do get stimulus-plan checks...maybe then my shoe love and I can be together.
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Crazy in Love...with a $300 shoe.
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12 comments:
I've gotten several pairs of Nine Wests and Naughty Monkeys for work at about $25 on Amazon.
I know these brands work on my feet, they're a gazillion times better than payless. So I jump when I see them. For example, the Nine West "Sura" pump is now $26 on Amazon.
I think a little bit of both works. some really great footwear will last years --- think I had one pair that lasted me about ten --- but two or three pairs of really cute and cheap shoes just for fun wouldn't hurt. :)
This post basically sums up my money philosophy. I want to have enough set aside that if I fall in love with very expensive shoes, for example, I know that I can buy them without going broke. I try not to spend money if I can help it, but it's situations like this one that make me happy that I didn't buy several pairs of the cheap shoes that fell apart a week later -of course after leaving blisters.
Congrats on recognizing that you can't afford them! When I find an expensive item that I love, I always manage to at least avoid buying it at full price. Now you know the name of the shoe you want. It will certainly go on sale, and hopefully a big sale. Just stalk your shoes. Check back at the store on occasion if you live near it. Google the shoe name every couple of weeks to check prices online. And once it goes on sale, look around online to get a sense of if you can still wait to buy it until there is a second or third markdown. Even if you could afford the shoes, I think there's almost never a reason to pay full retain.
This is the philosophy I'm trying to apply to my clothing--I like having lots of options, but it means I end up spending my meager clothing budget on lots of cheaper pieces which don't last very long. I'm working towards buying fewer pieces and making sure they'll last me for years, and that they'll all mix and match to give me a wardrobe with fewer pieces but more options.
Of course, I say this, and two weeks ago I bought two pairs of high heels from a discount store for $5 each, figuring even if I only wore them a few times, I'd get my money's worth. It's a sickness, I tell you. :)
Three things... A) You can afford them (i.e. you have enough cash to buy them) but you wisely choose not to buy them. Constantly repeating this positive formulation is empowering, unlike the negative formulation "I can't afford them." B) anonymous is totally right - they will go on sale and you will be able to buy them on sale eventually (and you should - they're fabulous). C) Do you save your pocket change? I haven't been reading your blog long enough to know. Putting mine aside saves me about $30-40 a month. I let myself use that as fun shopping money. Do it for a couple of months, and by the time they go on sale, you'll already have a chunk saved, and perhaps they won't take much more out of your normal budget than a pair from payless.
Yeah, I try to always buy high quality shoes. I like them better (who wouldn't) and I think it saves money in the long run. I never pay full price--I do my best to find them on deep discounts or brand new on ebay. If I find a pair I love as much as you love these, I'll stalk the sites and see if I can find them on sale.
I like your long-term planning. My advisor in grad school claimed that the best advice he could give me was to buy expensive shoes.
Now, in his case, he was talking about sneakers because he had just received an artificial hip from playing decades of basketball in cheap shoes.
But I've taken his advice to heart. Life, even a well-planned financially independent life, is meager when lived with sore feet.
That's my clothes shopping strategy and as long as you are fairly certain your tastes won't change dramatically over time, it's a great system. I much prefer to have fewer things I love than more things I am not really passionate about. Oh, and adorable shoes by the way.
Zappos.com carries that line -- keep an eye out and maybe they'll show up.
Life's too short to wear crappy shoes, I think... one good pair can last 5-10 times as long as poorly made footwear, and with care they always look infinitely better. (I have three pairs of Fluevogs, and agree with you that they are some of the most comfy shoes out there!) Our friends at Zappos.com offer a measure of insurance for high quality shoes at excellent savings, if you are willing to be patient and look around.
Jerry
www.leads4insurance.com
delightful shoes
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