I don’t understand this fascination we women have with shoes.
For the sake of accuracy, I just counted the pairs in my own collection and discovered over 70 pairs. Why? I have no idea. I only have two feet and can only wear one pair at a time, but I cannot resist. I asked a friend to see if she suffered the same affliction—she delved into her closet and counted over 100 pairs.
On a recent visit to another friend, she showed me a pair of absolutely beautiful evening sandals with a very high heel for which she paid $400. However, she wasn’t sure when, if ever, she would wear them. But, they were beautiful. While we were oohing and aahing, her husband said I was as crazy as she was if I didn’t see anything wrong with paying so much for something one may never wear.
Of course, being a woman, I didn’t see anything crazy about it at all. We all have shoes that, for one reason or another, we hardly ever wear but we can’t bear to part with.
A friend and I recently went shopping and she bought a pair of very chic black pumps. While waiting for the shoes to be wrapped, she mused that she had at least five pairs of very similar shoes in her closet, but she couldn’t resist this latest pair. I laughed and said she'd probably continue to add to her collection.
Last week, walking along the street I passed an inexpensive chain store and saw a gorgeous pair of brogues in the window. I was late for an appointment and was almost certain that the store didn’t carry my size, but I just had to rush in and see. Of course, I was right; they didn’t have my size. If I had found my size, it would have been the fourth pair of lace-ups I have. But who’s counting?
I am the envy of many of my friends because my one-bedroom Manhattan apartment has six large closets. One closet is given over to shoes and they overflow into another.
The average man may have five pairs of shoes and consider that a lot. After all, he reasons, he can only wear one pair at a time.
I guess this is just another way women are so different from men. We are in love with shoes.
Miriam Silverberg is a freelance journalist and owner of Miriam Silverberg Associates, a boutique publicity firm in Manhattan. She may be reached at [email protected]
