Shoe Snob

I admit it.  I’m a shoe snob.  I have a very hard time paying $20 for a pair of shoes, but will usually pay $100 without thinking twice.  Why?  Several reasons.  The first being, I like nice shoes.  The second being that I am drawn to nice shoes… kind of like a magnet to a refrigerator.  Okay, but seriously, I am on my feet A LOT on any given day.  I like to be comfortable while I am on my feet.  Therefore, I am willing to spend money to be comfortable. 

I had a hard time with this at first.  At first, I did not want to spend $100 on a pair of shoes.  I thought it was a waste of money and would have preferred to spend the money at Lowe’s for something more “useful”.  But, I sucked it up and splurged one year as a birthday present to myself.  I have to admit, it was one of the best gifts I have ever given myself. 

Since then, I have been able to reason my shoe preference to myself in a fairly practical manner.  At least, it seems practical to me.  You see, I figure if I buy a pair of $20 no-name brand shoes, I usually end up wearing them 3 – 5 times before I decide I detest them and the way they make my feet feel.  They sit in my closet for about a year and finally make their way to Goodwill.  However, when I wear my Nine West, Kenneth Cole, Clarks, etc. “snob” shoes, my feet feel pretty darn good after a full day of wear.  I get home, kick them off, and don’t hesitate to put them back on again when it’s time to go out.  I wear them often throughout the year and end up keeping them (and continuing to wear them) for several years.  So, the practical mathemetic side of me determines as follows:

One pair of shoes at $20 worn a maximum of 5 times is around $4 per shoe wearing experience.
One pair of shoes at $100 worn often throughout the year for several years, is much LESS than $4 per shoe wearing experience. 

Basically, I can reason that in the long run, I SAVE myself money by spending more upfront.  However, aside from my convenient mathematical logic, I have found another reason as to why I am a shoe snob and why I buy and ENJOY my nice, snobby shoes.  You see, I bought a pair of cheap shoes that were very cute and seemed to be comfortable when I tried them on.  I spent approximately 8 hours in the shoes one day and when I removed them, found that my big toenails were EXTREMELY sensitive.  In fact, my toenails got increasingly sensitive over the next week and only 2 weeks after the shoe-wearing experience did I FINALLY start seeing relief.  During this time, I could only wear open-toed shoes (sandals, flip-flops, etc.) as anything that touched my toes hurt A LOT.  Now, 2 months later, I finally took off the 3 layers of toenail polish that had accumulated on my toenails and my jaw hit the floor!  My toenails , 2 months later, that were still mildly sensitive were pretty crazy to look at.  Don’t believe me?  See for yourself!

Needless to say, I now have another reason as to why I splurge on nice shoes.  And, I will NEVER feel guilty again for being a shoe snob.