Shoes: Can You Really Put a Price on Perfection?

I love shoes. I mean I LOVE shoes. They have been a constant in my life. Bad mood? Put on a nice pair of shoes and it is an instant pick me up. Gain too much weight to wear my favorite dress? At least I can still wear nice shoes. Skin look like a pepperoni pizza? Shoes!! They never fail me. They are art. For me, walking through the shoe department at Nordstrom is tantamount to a stroll through the Guggenheim.

Since my first pair of high heels I have had a serious problem. In junior high I would have sold my soul to the devil for a pair of Doc Martens to wear to school. In high school I am pretty sure I kept The Wild Pair in business. I strayed a little in college and went flip flop crazy. Blame all those hippies in Austin. Graduating and getting my first job fueled the fire. I am certain that at age 22 I had more value in shoes that what was in my bank account. My name is Kristy and I am a shoeaholic.

In another life I would have been a shoe designer. I have tried on thousands of pairs of shoes and have been looking for the perfect pair for probably 20 years. If the heel is too low you will look like a librarian. Too high, a hooker. The angle of your foot has to be just right in order to walk in them for an extended period of time. The heel height to foot angle ratio is assisted by the placement of a platform but there is a fine line between leg lengthening platform and stripper pole platform. If the shoe makes you arch you back, you are a goner. The shoe must be made of real leather. Synthetics will rub your skin off. We are talking childbirth pain levels. I'm telling you, shoe making is one of the greatest art and science combinations that ever existed.

I have had several pairs that came close to perfect over the years but this weekend I found the HOLY GRAIL of shoes. It fits perfectly, is a timeless style and makes my legs look the best they ever have. It is the best shoe I have ever worn. The problem is that it is also the most expensive shoe I have ever worn.

Hmm...according to the husband I should not be spending so much money on shoes. After all I don't “go to work” anymore and “don't wear high heels very often” Hogwash I say!! When you find the Holy Grail of shoes do you just admire them and leave them on the shelf for someone else to discover?! Heck no!! You buy those puppies even if it means you don't get another pair of shoes for five years (um, yeah right...did I mention I have a shoe addiction!)

And he is wrong. I will wear them every day. Even with my yoga pants.