14% HIDE BEAUTIFUL SHOES

Shoe shame: 14% of women hide some of their purchases

http://www2.wsls.com/lifestyles/2011/may/08/tdflair03-shoe-shame-14-of-women-hide-some-of-thei-ar-1017408/

By RICHARD MULLINS | Media General News Service
Published: May 08, 2011

Line up seven women, and at least one likely has a covert pair of shoes she bought but didn't tell her significant other about because they cost so much.

But oh, shoe shopping makes many women happier. The average American woman owns at least 17 pairs of shoes, though many women have three times that many.

Such are a few of the shoe insights that ShopSmart magazine found in their survey of 1,009 American women, offering something of a window into the female mind.

We'll get to the nitty-gritty of the stats, but for now, a few women have passionate opinions to share on shoes:

"Shoes are like boys and chocolate, you see a pair somewhere that you like, and you can't stop thinking about them," said Sharon Britton of Tampa, Fla., while opening her closet and guessing she may have three times the average of 17. That puts her in the top 13 percent of shoe fans.

Her latest pair, "These wonderful, golden, glittery, 5-inch Steve Madden formal heels with a zipper up the back. … But I can't pick a favorite, I love Michael Kors, Juicy, Vince Camuto, Mark Nason boots." There are flip-flops, too.

"Shoes never make your butt look big, you don't have to worry about squeezing into them if you've put on a couple of pounds and they can instantly make you feel sexier," said Lisa Lee Freeman, editor-in-chief of ShopSmart, published by the parent organization of Consumer Reports. "Maybe that's why, despite the economy, we're still buying shoes."

If you're wondering how many black shoes a woman needs, Karen Whetsell has a few around.

"Oh my God, I love shoes, I probably have 20 pairs of just black shoes," Whetsell said. "Buying a new pair of shoes, ah, it always makes you feel better." Whetsell's daughter Savannah chimed in, saying, "I bought this whole outfit, and the shoes, just when I went out for retail therapy."

Now for some shoe insights:

•More than half of women own more than 10 pairs, and 13 percent have more than 30 pairs. That's not including athletic shoes.

•Women typically buy three pairs a year, and on average spend $49 per pair, but, nearly one-third have spent more than $100 on a pair.

•Almost unheard of even five years ago, online shoe shopping is now a "national obsession," with a third of women regular online shoe buyers. Zappos.com says some of their top customers "spend well over $10,000 annually."

•About one in five women go shoe shopping to cheer themselves up.

•Although 86 percent of women say they tell their significant other about shoe purchases, 14 percent admit to "hiding at least one purchase."

As for the types of shoes women buy, most prefer low-rises, but occasionally go for height. Almost 40 percent say flats are their favorite; 8 percent wear heels more than 2½ inches high on a regular basis; and one quarter of women wear 4-inch heels for a special occasion.

About half of women bought an "ugly" pair for comfort, but more women are willing to withstand pain for fashion: 60 percent versus 49 percent in 2007, and six in 10 women carry a backup pair to change into after a party or event.

That fashion can inflict a physical price, too. About half of women have shoe-related blisters, sprains or even broken bones, and one in three had "an evening ruined by an uncomfortable pair of shoes" and one in four said they have had a fall.

Richard Mullins is a staff writer at The Tampa Tribune in Florida.

MY THOUGHTS

What is it with shoes anyway?