I Almost Won the Shoe Lottery

[Mr. X]

I was browsing one of the local thrift stores today.  And when I got to the shoe section I came upon this.  14 paris of mint condition high heels in every style and colour of the rainbow.  They were all Shoedazzle brand, and all the same size.  So they were obviously previously owned by the same person.  and the previous owner definitely had an addiction to shoes!  I think they were displayed like trophies more than they were worn.  Because as I said, they were all mint coindiotion! I was like a kid in a candy store!  I usually wear anywhere from a size 9 to a size 10 when it comes to my heels.  These were all a size 9, so I was hopeful!  And then the letdown.  I tried on a few pairs and they all fit the same.  And unfortunately they were all about a half size too small.  As letdown as I was there was actually a silver lining.  At 5 to 10 dollars a pair that would have been one costly purchase, because I definitely would have bought them all!

[Pumped]

Don't you hate that!? 

I was strolling through a second hand clothing store and found the most beautiful and crazy platform heels. They were in the size 10 section and I had to have them. Took them off the shelf and they were a size 9. I tried one on and yep, definitely a size 9. I wear a 10! Damn!

[Chorlini]

$5 to $10 a pair ain't expensive, that's a steal. It might even teach you how to prioritize if you limit yourself to like 4 to 5 pairs. Choices, choices, choices. And yes, the universe likes to have way too much fun at our expense by dangling stuff like this in front of us and then have it be fools gold. Maybe it's a sign we do live in a simulation? 

[Mr. X]

2 hours ago, Chorlini said:

$5 to $10 a pair ain't expensive, that's a steal. It might even teach you how to prioritize if you limit yourself to like 4 to 5 pairs.

Yes they are cheap per pair. But when shoes are a weakness how do you limit yourself to 4 or 5 pairs. $150 for me is a lot to spend all at once.

[Chorlini]

18 hours ago, Mr. X said:

Yes they are cheap per pair. But when shoes are a weakness how do you limit yourself to 4 or 5 pairs. $150 for me is a lot to spend all at once.

Willpower?

I know, that's easy to say, try limiting yourself. Only X amount of budget so you have to make choices. In time you will learn the difference between nice to have and need to have.

[Cali]

20 minutes ago, Chorlini said:

Willpower?

I know, that's easy to say, try limiting yourself. Only X amount of budget so you have to make choices. In time you will learn the difference between nice to have and need to have.

There's a difference? Why didn't someone tell me?  

I haven't bought heels in sometime because I haven't seen anything lately I need to have. They are all too short.

[spikesmike]

Cali : What do you mean - To short ? I just left the AliExpress site that had sizes to 19 . I would have placed an order for my 122nd pair of high heel boots, But I could not find the heel height of those boots . They have to be at least 5" heels for me these days . Mike

[Cali]

Mike:  The heels are two short...looking for 4-4.75 inch difference and all I have seen is in the 3 inch range.  I have in the neighborhood of 70 heels. I have 5-6 wedges that I need to replace but can't find anything I want. Since I've work from home since the pandemic started, I have been mostly wearing my Steve Madden Mules. Maybe put on some JS stilettoes.  And I'm a size 10 in most shoes, 11 in Nine West.

[mlroseplant]

20 hours ago, Cali said:

There's a difference? Why didn't someone tell me?  

I haven't bought heels in sometime because I haven't seen anything lately I need to have. They are all too short.

Unless you're talking about designer heels, and those are simply way too expensive. Just like I don't think I could bring myself to spend THAT much money on a brand new car, I don't think I can bring myself to spend THAT much money on a pair of shoes, no matter how cool.

[Chorlini]

15 hours ago, Cali said:

Mike:  The heels are two short...looking for 4-4.75 inch difference and all I have seen is in the 3 inch range.  I have in the neighborhood of 70 heels. I have 5-6 wedges that I need to replace but can't find anything I want. Since I've work from home since the pandemic started, I have been mostly wearing my Steve Madden Mules. Maybe put on some JS stilettoes.  And I'm a size 10 in most shoes, 11 in Nine West.

There's plenty to be had in that height difference. Where are you looking? In the stores I agree, it's all boring low stuff.

3 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

Unless you're talking about designer heels, and those are simply way too expensive. Just like I don't think I could bring myself to spend THAT much money on a brand new car, I don't think I can bring myself to spend THAT much money on a pair of shoes, no matter how cool.

To be honest I find it actually scary to drop that much money on a pair of shoes without being able to fit them before. And unless I go to some posh store in the West of the Netherlands designer heels are unavailable in my neck of the woods, which means online ordering. And besides, almost all designer heels are for women or men blessed with tiny feet only. Barely anything above size EU42. Which is probably EU41 in practice as they tend to be made in Italy, and Italian shoe makers refuse to acknowledge that people with large or wide feet exist. 

[p1ng74]

5 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

Unless you're talking about designer heels, and those are simply way too expensive. Just like I don't think I could bring myself to spend THAT much money on a brand new car, I don't think I can bring myself to spend THAT much money on a pair of shoes, no matter how cool.

I go for quality over quantity.  1 pair of really nice feeling shoes is worth more to me than 14 pairs that don't fit, though I will admit that those 14 pairs look very nice displayed on a shelf.  

I usually get cheap cars, but we bought a brand new car once.  It is still my daily driver, and I've driven it 10 years and over 250,000 miles with pretty easy maintenance.  If taken care of, a new car can work out to be cheap too.  And then sometimes you get lucky, like the current car market, where you can sell your 3-year-old car for almost what you paid new.  

[Cali]

2 hours ago, Chorlini said:

There's plenty to be had in that height difference. Where are you looking? In the stores I agree, it's all boring low stuff.

I have a few shoes that cost over $200 a pair.  My open toe sandals, mostly gladiator type wedges are about 6 years old and need to be replaced.  The manmade material is starting to deteriorate.

I have checked the websites of brands that make shoes that fit my feet and the have all been too short (heel wise). My local boutique is still waiting on their August order to come in. And DSW has been a disappointment with their slide into becoming the running shoes (trainers) and crocs store.  I have a large toe box, both tall and wide, with a high arch, so strappy shoes, single strap shoes, and similar styles usually don't fit, and pumps NEVER fit. (This is why men's shoes NEVER fitted my feet properly and lead to many reconstructive surgeries.)  Since I have size 10 women's feet I am lucky to be able to walk into most stores and find heels, BUT lately I haven't found anything I wanted and needed. 

There comes a point where you have so many shoes and not enough days in the year to wear them more that once or twice.

Edited October 13, 2021 by Cali

[Pumped]

12 hours ago, Cali said:

And DSW has been a disappointment with their slide into becoming the running shoes (trainers) and crocs store. 

Sad, isn't it! DSW was my and my wife's go to place for heels. I about gagged when I walked in the other day and saw a whole isle of crocs. Even my wife mentioned she had waked down the "wrong" isle. 

I couple years ago DSW had 2-3 isles of heels, now maybe one. I suppose they are just trying to stay profitable and stocking what sells. 

I doubt it did nay good, but i sent them and e-mal stating our displeasure.