The biggest love-hate relationship in fashion

Is it me, or are shoes one of the hardest things to buy?  So you find a beautiful pair of stilettos (not hard) only to try them on and look like you are practicing for the next world tightrope championship. Or you find a pair of black wedges that are just what you were looking for, only to find they don’t have them in your size. Even after you ransacked the entire shelf. And waited for them to check the entire stockroom - twice.

Aged five: what do you mean they don't have my size!? 
Image: onestoryslinger

It seems the only shoes where you can’t really go wrong are flip flops. Which isn’t surprising given the simple design – piece of plastic with a strap doesn't leave much room for 'shoe problems.' No wonder they have become a commercial asset. Many a time I bought a glossy magazine just for the free flip flops and I still have my complimentary spa flip flops from Champneys last year. (If only all shoes were this free!)

Yet most shoes are not that simple. I wish they were, for right now I am in the desperate need of some new shoes. (disintegrating pumps is never a good look.) Any excuse to buy shoes right? Wrong. For me – and I suspect many other people – it turns out to be an outright hassle as you trawl the shops to find a pair that:

1) Look good
2) Come in your size
3) Come in your size and actually feel like they do
4) Be of decent quality
5) Won’t cost the earth
6) Reaches the standard of any former shoes you are replacing
7) Not be green

The shoe checklist
Image:123rf

That’s SEVEN criteria right there. (or 6 if you love green shoes). And that’s not even factoring in all the additional criteria when shopping for a particular occasion.

The problem is we never learn – if I see a beautiful pair of black killer heels that fit and feel fine for the brief ‘trial walk’ then yep I’m gonna buy them. And yes we WILL complain when we go out and have been dancing for what seems like an age (but is actually 15 minutes) and our feet feel like they are burning up, being crunched or undergoing some other form of foot torture. However, shoes remain a girl’s best friend. We have evolved to automatically hold  a soft spot for them, despite the stress they often cause.

If there was ever a love-hate relationship in fashion, this is it.
  

Image:jezebel