Shoes...What Is It About Shoes?

I've seen the ads on TV, on the internet, even in print. What are they selling? Women's shoes. I think we all know someone who goes gaga over shoes. I remember seeing an ad on TV where you can sign up to receive a new pair of shoes every month for a low monthly fee. 

I thought, that's amazing. In no time at all, a person's house would be just full of shoes. How can anyone want so many shoes? I know they come in all shapes, designs, and colors, but come on--there ought to be a limit.

I don't have a lot of material things that I collect, but apparently, I collect shoes. I found and bought another pair today. I've got a lot of shoes. But am I as crazy about shoes as the people who have them sent every month?

I might be, but I don't think so. Here's why.

Last year the shoes I've been wearing to work for more than a decade decided to fall apart. They were so good, I decided to spend the extra money and spring for a new pair of shoes for work. I usually buy my shoes from a thrift store. Last month I scored on a couple of pairs of Allen Edmonds shoes. I didn't necessarily need them, but I bought them anyway. Both pair cost less than $10. That's hard to pass up.

Today, while browsing at our local thrift store, I found a pair of Vans. I've thought about getting a pair for a while, but I wasn't about to pay full price. Not because they're not good shoes--it's just I don't need them. I can't justify buying new shoes that I don't need.

Another reason why I don't think I'm like a shoe fanatic is because I usually buy name brand shoes. I found a pair of Converse lot tops at the thrift store--I bought them. Today it was a pair of Vans. If I saw a pair that looked like Vans but weren't Vans, I would not have picked them up.

I should probably get rid of a couple of the pairs I don't wear very often. Maybe I will. But there's a good chance I'll probably bring home another pair of someone else's shoes before that happens. That is, if I go gaga after them.

Got New Shoes...

When you've destroyed the shoes you wear almost every workday, they need to be replaced. And so today was the day my wife and I went shoe shopping.

I left for Dr. Martins. I returned with Converse.

That wasn't the plan, but you know how plans go sometimes. The Dr. Martens I wanted were out of stock, so they'll be shipped to me later. I did see, as I searched the clearance section, other shoes that I picked up--a pair of neon yellow Converse low tops All Stars at almost 70% off.

Hard to pass that up, no matter what color they are.

I haven't owned All Stars since high school. I think it was my junior year. Three of us who shared the same shoe size bought three pairs of Chuck Taylor high tops, a red pair, a green pair, and a purple pair (now that I think about it, it might have been orange instead of red, but that's not important...). We each swapped one shoe, so I had orange/purple, another had purple/green, and the third had green/orange. We wore them to school, to Lagoon in the summer, all over. In all my years since, I don't believe I've ever seen anyone ever wearing different color shoes--on purpose--since. I find that somewhat interesting considering what people wear these days.

I miss those old shoes. If I had the means (and two friends with the same shoe size who shared the desire to wear different-colored shoes around...), I just might do it again. I wonder if anyone would notice.