I’ve decided the all-round sensible solution is to make my Reeboks the most expensive shoes I own. I spend most of my time in them, they’re much better for my back, and they pretty much blend in with what other people are wearing and right now I like that. Frankly, anyone who thinks my wearing them is a faux pas or that my brain is less intelligent because of them, then they need to get a life.

Up with running shoes, I say!

Before children, I had a wonderful collection of Ferragamo pumps.  They fit me like a glove and I could purchase them without trying them on. 

In Manhattan, where I worked, they were always at full price.  In Florida, where my mother lived, there wasn’t much of a market for them, and they could be had for almost half price! Every season my mother would pick up a couple of pair and send them to me.  I had them in every color: black, navy, brown, cream, red, spectator, patent leather … perfect comfortable classics that were beautiful … and they lasted! I simply resoled them each year. 

This was a sweet article!

I think luxury will always have a place in our hearts… but I believe that everybody can and should define that luxury for themselves.

Myself: I am a tall chick so I’ve never been one for those skyscraper heels.  If I wear those, my feet hurt too, so I just don’t.  Don’t need to, don’t want to.  I have actually only a few pairs of shoes: black patent short heels for business suits, velvet slippers for the opera, three pairs of (expensive!) black leather boots that I wear almost every day with everything jeans to short skirts, about five pair of sandally type sandals since I love my pedicures.

Where I get my luxury with accessories is with my purses.  I have a collection of bags, from the funky plastic ones from the 40s and 50s to Dooney’s (my favorite "expensive" bag.. just work horses).  I will never allow myself to go to the Burberry site and pay $5K for a bag (that’s just nuts!) but love to look at them in the stores.

I don’t think there’s any harm in it unless you can’t afford your addiction…. but to have a bunch of cool bags has brought me a lot of joy (and started many a conversation at parties!)….

PS: Favorite shoes are my clogs… where I live it rains and I gotta keep my feet dry!

Fashion is creativity, when done correctly. It is not about buying what’s in the window, on the mannequin or in the magazines. The women who catch eyes are the ones who twist it all up, do the unapproved, and know how to spot style even when there is no label attached. As for hoping that children will long for pricey shoes…my eleven year old has a blast, still, trotting around in my mark-downs, looking fabulous. And, the best part, if she scuffs them, I don’t worry. 

Pamela Gwyn Kripke, http://likeasinglemom.wordpress.com 

I so agree with the author about the "threshold" of your first designer shoe purchase.  For most of my life, I’d been obsessed with clothing.  My half-sister had a dozen barbie dolls, and I was always resentful of having only my one barbie, I never really got into playing with it.  I did however learn to draw my pictures of girls and their fantasy dresses.  This eventually led to my interest in fashion illustration and fashion design and subsequently a career in fashion.  As an adult, my first threshold to cross into was designer clothing.  The shoes and bags were irrelevant to me, as long as I had the beautifully made clothes.  

How nice it is to live blissfully unaware of a vice, as after that door opens, it’s impossible to close.  It’s a slippery slope, and although you maintain a modicum of rationality, it’s like a dormant fault-line, just waiting to break.  The first pair of designer shoes I bought were a pair of black Sergio Rossi wedge sandals.  I wore them to every funeral, wedding, Christmas party for years.  Unbelievably, I still have them and they still look the same as they did 15 years ago.  I swear they made better quality goods back then!  It was around 1993 and they retailed for around $350.  The pre-Euro days when price of European goods, especially from Italy, were somewhat reasonably priced.

 I flirted with shoes, but never crossed over that $350 point for many years.  Through my 20’s I stayed true to MiuMiu, as they were more reasonably priced than the Prada, and cute to boot.  The first pair that did go over my normal threshold were a pair of $555 Dries Van Noten oxford stacked heels.  After a couple more pairs of Dries, some Hussein Chaylan mary jane’s, half a dozen Ann Demuelemeester boots ($700-$1200),  I moved onto Bruno Frisoni stilettos ($780)…. followed by Christian Louboutin flats ($675)… Louboutin heels… Gianvitto Rossi platforms… and my mad shoe shopping rampage ended ironically where I had started with a pair of black suede Sergio Rossi wedges, except these days Sergio Rossi cost $700.  

Although I don’t wear most of these shoes on a daily basis these days, I know I have them for the times I do need them.  Some people buy stocks, I bought shoes, and like stocks I believe they’re like an investment.  Quality items unfortunately cost so much these days, but with the economy being in a downward spiral, bargains on designer shoes can be found for 1993 prices.  Designer shoes, unless they’re unusually delicate, last a lifetime.  If you hate to constantly consume, buying what is beautiful and well made in the long run saves time and money.  Clothing unfortunately, does eventually need replacement but shoes last forever.

Every woman’s idea of luxury differs according to our ideals.  My half-sister buys cheap clothes, shoes and jewelry, but has expensive handbags.   I could use a paper bag as a handbag for all I care, but when it comes to shoes, clothes and jewelry…. mine I know will outlast me.