Comments on: Women Really Are Shoe-Aholics, Study Shows — And The Problem Is?

By: Caitlin Kelly

Caitlin Kelly — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 14:34:44 +0000

The fact is, shoes have no calories. If you’re having a lousy day, or want a quick cheer-up, a pair of pretty boots or shoes or sandals will do the job very nicely — and last — where most other forms of pleasure are fleeting or fattening.

I had adult-sized 9 feet when I was 12…sort of the reverse problem.

By: Tyler Huff

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 04:39:01 +0000

The only response I have to the question posed in the title is to quote a song:
“The main attraction, distraction
got ya number than number than numb
Empty ya pockets son, they got you thinkin that
What ya need is what they sellin
Make you think that buyin is rebellin’”

Yeah, that about sums it up.

By: geekysarah

geekysarah — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 04:04:47 +0000

I know many women who treat shoe-buying as a form of therapy. Fail a test? Go buy a cute pair of boots and feel like a top model when you strut around campus. Boyfriend cheat? Nothing like a high pair of wedges to feel like a sexy mama again.

I’d probably be more of a shoe-aholic if I could find cute shoes in my size. I wear a size 4 in women’s, which translates to a size 2 in kids. So, I can get My Little Pony light-up sneakers, but no heels, no sandals with an actual ankle strap, or topless shoes…kids these days and their shoes.

By: Caitlin Kelly

Caitlin Kelly — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 01:40:29 +0000

Really? Wow. Thanks for sharing.

I eagerly await the day we focus as much attention on men’s footwear…or its frivolous equivalent.

By: jcalton

jcalton — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 01:12:24 +0000

At the 2:08 mark you can see Oliver Stone awkwardly asking the President of Argentina (Cristina Fernandez Kirchner) about her shoe collection:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76IxxapAHQo

After seeing this interaction, I’d go with “feminist issue.”

By: Caitlin Kelly

Caitlin Kelly — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 21:55:21 +0000

It’s been said that women dress for other women, i.e. to meet or surpass the standards of their peers. I’ve certainly felt the nasty, raking appraising gaze of other women, eyeing me up and down with clear disdain for my choices or figure, or both. I laugh.

Depending on the man, and his preferences, a woman in Spandex and 6-inch heels might be no more appealing than one in jeans or a T-shirt. The best men care about our brains and personality as much as what we choose to wear.

I do think that crazily revealing clothing, at work, is a stupid and distracting choice and I’ve
blogged about this.

By: tonycanuck

tonycanuck — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 20:38:44 +0000

I don’t have to understand shoe addiction to realize that its no worse than blowing my extra cash on that 18yo bottle of single malt whisky or buying a coffee every day. In fact its healthier. Picking on shoes specifically does highlight sexist bias on the subject. Spend your money on fun things, do it responsibly, and every once in a while, evaluate why you’re doing it.

For instance, I find it sad that a wonderful lady once told me that the justification for her so called “frivolous” shoe and clothing purchases is sexism. Staying in fashion, I was told, was a terrible burden shouldered by working women. She is employed as a field engineer in a construction management company and quite frankly I can’t imagine that the contractors and labourers in torn jeans or engineers in golf shirts are really concerned about her pair of Steve Maddens or her H&M top. She’s so rooted in her own ideas of what “taking pride in yourself” looks like that she assumes everyone will think the same. Sadly I think if she wore a golf shirt and plain shoes every day she’d get taken more seriously in her industry.

Does anyone know if this is a common feeling among women?