Thursday 18 July 2013

Shoes are Made For Walking



You know, I just don’t get it.

Oh, I can understand that as well as being utilitarian, design and fashion have a place as well, but what is with the impulse to buy shoes, shoes and more shoes?

When I was delivering mail in Marlborough Mall, there were what seemed to be hundreds of shoe stores, most of them catering to women. In some stores there was a tiny corner where men’s shoes would take up valuable shelf space that would be better served with women’s shoes. I imagine the rational is that if “she” brings “he” into the store for “nice” shoes, she may as well look for a pair for herself, since she’s in the store anyways. There was a sports store that sold mainly running shoes, but there were hiking and walking shoes as well. I saw a pair of running shoes in the window that had a price tag of $483.50. I told the clerk that there was a typo on the shoes and he just laughed and said “No, that’s the price.”

“BULLSHIT! Who would pay $483 for shoes? I guess maybe professional basketball players…right?”
 
He told me that pro ball players were supplied shoes by the team and the only people he had sold them to were the drug dealers. Same thing...right?

I can remember when there were just three kinds of running shoes. There were high top runners, low profile, which were the same as high top except they were low, and deck shoes. I always assumed that people only wore the deck shoes when sailing. I’m sure that girls had more options, but I never paid much attention to girls. Today when I go to look for runners, there are so many options that I’m like a deer caught in the headlights.
 
A friend on facebook mentioned that she just got a pair of Michael Kors flats which means nothing to me really, but I figure that if your shoes have a name, they are probably pretty expensive. I googled Michael Kors and the shoes can be very expensive, but some of them are reasonable(?).


I understand how millionaires buy very expensive clothing, but for the most part the really expensive stuff doesn’t last much longer that the cheaper variety. Sometimes, the amount of money spent on an item directly translates into higher, long lasting quality, but not for women’s shoes I think.

I had a discussion on the merits of women’s footwear with the receptionist at my dentists once. She was trying to say that designer shoes were in actuality art. Wearable art. I contended that most women were just sheep that would buy anything if some Frenchman in pink tights and a feathered boa told them to. She started to get huffy with me, so I told her that we were never going to see eye to eye on this issue and we should agree that I’m right and she’s nuts.

I will agree that feet should be covered at all times if possible. There are uglier parts of the human body I suppose, but we keep them covered for the most part.

I’ve kind of lost my train of thought here, but the gist is that shoes shouldn’t cost more than a couple of hours work for the average guy and they should last for a couple of years at least. Oh….ladies…if you can`t walk to work in your shoes, they aren`t shoes, because shoes are made for walking!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbyAZQ45uww

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