Now that not every girl can afford to buy themselves real diamonds, something better has taken over the title of a girl's bestfriend - shoes. Imelda Marcos or not, let's all admit: we all take shoe shopping seriously, like I did over four or so weekends and counting.
Looking at my shoe closet, I think I have a sufficient amount of footwear to cover for my wardrobe. I have flip flops for strolling, futsal and tennis shoes, tons of sneakers, formal wedding-type shoes, brown leather shoes for the office (which I absolutely adore) and a couple of other more. But it seems that I lack the basic, everyday lounge-around-in-the-office shoes.
It's like an eternity before I find something great that fits perfectly. In my weekly quest, I have shortlisted a few pairs that can become part of my closet but each one seems to have its flaw. Either it's too wide, too short, too expensive (ehem, I can't afford everything you know), too tacky, too flimsy, and for whatever else that can deter me from buying, it seems that everything in the market has got some reason for me to turn my head and just say no.
Here's a few of the reasons why I still haven't done that seemingly simple task of buying a pair of black office shoes (and what I think everyone should always bear in mind when shopping):
- Quality over Quantity. I may not have a lot of shoes but I must say, I believe in each and every one of them. My last pair of black leathers lasted me no less than three years of daily use and abuse. It's a great feeling to know that your only shoe won't break down on you in any (bad) moment.
- If the shoe doesn't fit, it's not your shoe. No matter how great the style, the make, the brand or the price of your shoe is, if it doesn't fit perfectly on you, it's as horrendous as wearing boots fished out of Manila Bay. Ill fitting shoes will never look great with anything, not to mention the high probability of you wrecking your beautiful feet.
- Don't buy it if it's not EXACTLY what you want. My B's always complaining about making three rounds of the mall just to look for one pair of shoes. But I feel like it's cheating if you buy something you're not going nuts about. Think about it, if you buy something haphazardly, who are you going to blame once you realize it's not what you like after all?
- Money is not an option - sometimes. Yes it may be pricey at first but in the end, it will be worth it. Buying a P100 shoe which you will use for only 100 days will cost much more than buying a P1,000 shoe which you can use for 5,000 days. And I bet, your P1,000 shoe looks 1,000 times better than its cheaper counterpart. Let's get our numbers right next time.
It may take me a thousand days and a million malls, but I know I will find that perfect pair of shoes. Real soon, I hope.
