Hello lover: Women and their shoes
Interview by Tess Vigeland
Here's another sound of money: The clickety clack of a pair of Christian Louboutins walking down a hallway. Just one pair of that red-soled gorgeousness will set you back close to a grand. For shoes.
But you know what, plenty of women spend a lot of time and money on shoes. Rachelle Bergstein
took note of that and wrote the new book "Women from the Ankle Down:
The Story of Shoes and How They Define Us." She studied why women prize
shoes so much and are willing to shell out of the big bucks for them.
There are obvious reasons like they're beautiful, but Bergstein found
some other more complex reasons.
"They have come to represent all of these really subtle, but improtant social cues, like status, like economic mobility, like independence, like power, like strength," Bergstein said. "And these thigns are such a potent brew that they contribute to making shoes so popular to this day."
Up until the 20th century, shoes made to last were limited to the very wealthy. But with new technologies and industrialization, shoes were more easily produced, driving costs down and increasing the variety of styles available. No longer are there just one or two styles in fashion during a season; there are now at least 20 different styles trending at any given time.
But why are they so expensive? Take a listen to the interview the Bergstein above to learn the answer and more about the history of shoes and women.
My Thoughts
I've asked myself that questions thousand of times and I still don't have the answer - why do I love beautiful shoes? Why would I scrimp on something else but not beautiful shoes? Why is my closet always bursting with beautiful shoes? Why can't I throw beautiful shoes away? Give them away, maybe. But never to throw away unless they cannot be repaired.
I find it senseless, especially now that I'm working from home. My beautiful shoes very rarely get the chance to be taken out of their resting place. And when I do go out, there are too many to choose from, most of them look new.
Maybe I should look for beautiful shoes that would go well with pajamas. This way I can still wear my beautiful shoes to work.
"They have come to represent all of these really subtle, but improtant social cues, like status, like economic mobility, like independence, like power, like strength," Bergstein said. "And these thigns are such a potent brew that they contribute to making shoes so popular to this day."
Up until the 20th century, shoes made to last were limited to the very wealthy. But with new technologies and industrialization, shoes were more easily produced, driving costs down and increasing the variety of styles available. No longer are there just one or two styles in fashion during a season; there are now at least 20 different styles trending at any given time.
But why are they so expensive? Take a listen to the interview the Bergstein above to learn the answer and more about the history of shoes and women.
My Thoughts
I've asked myself that questions thousand of times and I still don't have the answer - why do I love beautiful shoes? Why would I scrimp on something else but not beautiful shoes? Why is my closet always bursting with beautiful shoes? Why can't I throw beautiful shoes away? Give them away, maybe. But never to throw away unless they cannot be repaired.
I find it senseless, especially now that I'm working from home. My beautiful shoes very rarely get the chance to be taken out of their resting place. And when I do go out, there are too many to choose from, most of them look new.
Maybe I should look for beautiful shoes that would go well with pajamas. This way I can still wear my beautiful shoes to work.
