How many and how often?

[JuneHawk]

My husband is very much aware of my shoe shopping habits. I have just bagged a pair of Manolo's by accident (well, kinda!) on ebay, which I never do and he says my shoe budget for may is blown! So, I have to go to the mall to return a pair of jeans and before I even go he's asking me to exercise some restraint and wait at least a few weeks to buy more shoes because I certainly don't need anymore. He obviously doesn't undertand it's not about need but I digress.

This has made me think about how many shoes I really buy and this last month I bought at least 5 pairs. That's alot and even I realize it so, how many pairs of shoes do you normally buy in a month? How often do you shop for shoes and actually buy them? And the most important question of all, do you actually wear your shoes?

I'm curious to see how my addiction compares to others'

June

[jitterbugbaby]

Me, I buy about one pair per month. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but that's my average. I shop for shoes much more often than I actually buy them, especially on the internet. If I physically go into a shoe store, my chance of purchase goes up about 15% and if I try something on, well... I have no willpower once I've seen and tried something I want. So, if I'm trying something on, the likelihood is that it's coming home with me.

[Nemtynakht]

I do actually wear all of my shoes, naturally planning outfits around them to keep them all in rotation. I have some heels that I don't wear, and one pair that I've never worn (but I love them, and the occasion will come!). I don't like to think about how many pairs I buy a month... it's probably a lot. I like to pretend that I live well within my budget and not face the reality of my addiction!

[shoesense]

Oh, the husband question! True story: we were going over the credit card bills for last year in preparation for the taxes and he asked suavely, "Darling? What's all this--Zappos, Zappos, Zappos, Zappos, Zappos...How many pairs of shoes exactly have you bought?" By the end of the question his voice was on the screechy rather than the suave side. I tried to explain that many were returns (ahem! as if THAT mattered), but the sad truth is that last year I bought perhaps 40 or 50 pairs from a lot of places (Zappos, Neiman's, Nordstrom's, eBay, and downtown stores). That puts me at about 4 pairs a month.

Luckily, Zappos discontinued their wonderful sales (see, I was as much addicted to the sales as to the shoes) some time in December last year, and things have been different since then. I cut it down to....2 pairs a month.

The reason I was into all that is that I discovered most of my shoes weren't comfortable or nice, and I was newly diagnosed with heel spurs/plantar fasciitis. So. Good reason for a new wardrobe! Which led to the current addiction...

However, I don't get to wear all of my shoes. In fact, I just gave away about 10 pairs since the beginning of the year--either to friends or to consignment shops. Some I don't wear because they don't turn out to be so comfortable after all, but they're so pretty I can't bear to give them away, so I can't return them, then I dream of a day I can wear them, which never comes. I naturally gravitate toward the most comfortable of them, which leaves some of them out of the question.

And finally, since I've got about 70+ pairs of shoes, let's do a calculation, shall we? If I were to wear them all equitably, that would amount to each pair being worn for an average of 5.2 days in an entire year. But we all know that we have favorites, shoes that we like to wear FAR often than that--maybe even 30 times in a whole year, a habit which is bound to relegate some of the other pairs to the back of the closet for indefinite periods of time. So, when you've got a ton of shoes, it is mathematically possible to wear them ALL, but practically, the heart (and feet!) want what they want. Plus there's the whole weather issue. I can't wear warm weather and cold weather shoes equitably, if the winter stretches out into May (ahem).

As about how often I shop for shoes...virtually every day! When I go downtown, I often stop to look at shoes. I don't buy a pair every day, of course (whew! my husband is so relieved to know that!), and in fact, my goal is to take it down a notch and perhaps reduce this shoe-shopping business to maybe 1 pair a month.

The problem is, when you're building a shoe wardrobe, you're bound to make mistakes and end up with shoes you don't want--and you will get rid of, eventually (or simply not wear)--which will lead to a gap in your shoe wardrobe that needs to be corrected--and the cycle starts anew!

[fabae]

I have a lot of shoes. Even though I've slowed down a lot lately, I'd say I was buying about 1 pair a month. I'm actually looking at shoes right now. And I do wear all of them. Even though they don't all get worn very often, I figure that way they'll last longer. And, frankly, I love some of them so much that I want them to last forever!