Are You or a Friend a Shoe-aholic?

Do you have lots of shoes or know someone who does?  How can you spot a shoe-aholic?  It is hard to do without asking “How many pairs of shoes are in that closet?”  Check out the questions below to see if you are a shoe-aholic (ie. addicted to shoe buying).



Fashionable pair of shoes.

 

Do you have more than three pairs of black shoes?  Since black is the universal go-with-everything color, most everyone understands that it is acceptable for both men and women to have up to three pairs of black shoes.  For women, we must have a pair each of flats and low heels for work, and of course a pair of high heels for dressy occasions.  Men may have dress shoes, loafers or sandals, and sneakers or work shoes.  Some women justify more than 3 pairs in black because we need closed toes for fall/winter and open-toed shoes for spring/summer.  We can accept that as reasonable, so let’s agree women can have up to 6 pairs.  Now check your closet, how many pairs of black shoes do you own and how often do you wear each pair?  Are you a shoe-aholic and should you considering reducing the number of black shoes?

So you have a few more pairs of black shoes than what may be considered the norm, are you really a shoe-aholic or just an impulse buyer?  Let’s check another shoe-aholic indicator – Do you buy metallic shoes because you like the glitter or because they might go with more than one outfit you own?  How many metallic options do you possess in your shoe closet?  Are they all dressy shoes or are some more casual in style?  Silver and gold are basics for dressy shoes so we won’t count those in the too many indicators for shoe-aholics.  However, do you also posses the newer versions of metallic shoes in bronze, copper, chrome, gunmetal, pewter, platinum, or zinc.  What about the faked metallic in variations of red, blue, or other somewhat gaudy colors?  If you do, you might be a shoe-aholic or just have a slightly abnormal love for shiny stuff to be on your feet.

Another indicator of shoe-aholic syndrome is color in the shoe wardrobe.  How many colored shoes do you have?  Shoes in standard shades of black, brown, gray, cream, and white don’t count as colors – since they go with most everything they are safety nets for the shoe-aholic.  How many colors of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple) do you have in your closet?  If you have one pair of each, then you are definitely a shoe-aholic, but it is not a severe case.  However, if you have more than one pair in most colors then you may have a bad case of shoe love.  The most severe shoe-aholic will buy shoes in any variation of a color they do not feel already exists in their closet, even if they have to buy a new outfit in order to have something to go with the newer shoes. 

A final indicator for the obsessed shoe-aholic is how many boots you own.  Do you have more than one pair in basic black or brown boots?  Do you buy boots in multiple colors and styles?  A shoe-aholic will argue boots don’t count because they are not shoes.  So what is a boot anyway?  Boots are shoes with ankle or leg covers sewn on!  So they must count in the shoe-aholic evaluation – right?

Now you have decided you or your best friend is a shoe-aholic.  What should you do about it?  Being addicted to buying shoes is not a bad thing as long as you can still pay your bills and feed your family.  So maybe you don’t need to do anything but watch yourself and perhaps set restrictions for purchasing new shoes.  Restrictions you could consider might be: you only buy 1 pair a month (that’s a dozen per year total), you only buy from the clearance rack (this allows you to save more and limits your options so you save space too), or you only buy to replace shoes you get rid of (then you don’t have to find additional storage space).  However if the shoes are taking over the house, perhaps it is time to think about better storage options for the shoes or reducing the volume by donating those you don’t wear very often.