I currently own 16 pairs of shoes. I know this, because I just counted them. Among the more unique ones--tap shoes from my short-lived tap dancing experiement, snakeskin-trimmed sandals given to me in Nigeria 19 years ago, vegan Earth shoes, slippers given to me by my dear husband, one pair of waterproof wellingtons, and two pairs of shoes with cracked soles. And for the record, nothing even slightly resembling high heels.
I've been spending altogether too much time thinking about getting new shoes. On one hand, it's a perfectly reasonable desire. My main work shoes are wearing out and my feet are fatigued after a long day in the field. My sneakers are well past the 3-6 month lifespan recommended by fitness and podiatric professionals. My black shoes (the step up from sneakers, but appropriate with slacks) can only be worn in the absence of puddles, mud, or rain, since the cracked soles allow water to soak my socks from the bottom up.
From another perspective, 16 shoes is already a travesty. You can only wear one pair at a time, after all! Fashion rules notwithstanding, do I really need to own both black and brown casual shoes? Is comfort while working a nicety or a necessity?
And if I were going to purchase shoes, I'm faced with more quandries. My hard-to-fit feet make finding second hand shoes almost impossible, and even Gabes rarely has footwear in my size. If I buy new, should I go with USA made quality (at $179.99), durable but imported LL Bean ($49.99), local business clogs ($95.00), or cheap Chinese from Payless ($29.99)? Don't even get me started on children's shoes--Salvation Army is great if you can find the right pair, but if not, $16.99 for cheap Chinese is hard to pass up when you know the shoes will only last 6 months.
This desire to be a concientious consumer is a recurring theme in my life. I want to be mindful of how my choices affect the larger world, and I am inspired by those who are able to integrate their values more seamlessly and with less inconsistencies than I. I'm also aware that spending so much time thinking about the implications of living simply may be a form of idolatry, or at the least, a waste of mental energy. So for now, enough. But tomorrow I might go shopping.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
Do buy new shoes. With all your aunts having back problems, it seems like being careful with your back by wearing good for you shoes might be a priority! I had a pair of Mephisto shoes which cost $169 in 2000. I wore them practically daily all summer, and finally gave them away to someone in Kenya when they were so sloppy I couldn't wear them anywhere except to the garden.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I have 18 pairs of shoes...remember, we have several seasons in this area, and you are supposed to change off shoes every other day. And one of mine is heels, but hasn't ever been worn!
I can only say that I have had all these same thoughts and feelings any time we have moved and I had to pack all my shoes, any time I had to go to a dressy event and felt I didn't have "the right" shoes, and any time I finally decide to go shoe shopping for whatever reason. I feel your pain and continue to be challenged in this area.
ReplyDeleteI resonate with your post too! It's a constant quandary for me. I don't even want to tell you how many shoes I have. They are mostly secondhand, but seriously, how many shoes does a girl really need? I guess that's the eternal question.
ReplyDeleteI don't even want to tell you how many pairs I have...and I sold a lot of them already.
ReplyDelete