I cleaned out my closet tonight and counted over 54 pairs of shoes. Who says diamonds are a girl’s best friend? Although I was sad to count numerous dress shoes including one fine pair of strappy silver BCBGs that I am still waiting to wear, I do not regret one bit that I have a small collection. No I have not ventured into buying real serious designer shoes, but a girl can drool from time to time. Actually, I still say that once I leave the city for good I still say I will buy myself a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes [INSERT ‘Canned Soup’ HERE], but by that time I might not even care anymore. But I do love shoes and they are a very important item to people that live here since we are walking all of the time and buying them is more fun for me than it was in Rochester, but wearing them is not! So, over the past six years, I have waivered between shoes or other shopping and it’s been fun. When I first moved here, I had a field day. I could literally go out my door to yoga at 10am on a Saturday and randomly loose track of time after that and be gone for the whole day. I also remember learning for the first time that I could actually shop on my way to work if I wanted since my daily route through Grand Central passed by both Banana Republic and Kenneth Cole which open at 8am!
But shopping can be a distraction from more important things in life and I have realized that it’s not so much the physical act of shopping or a small purchase or a spontaneous splurge that I love, but rathar it is the concept that what we wear is linked to feelings, moods, expression, creativity, and personal risk taking. It’s an art not a science and I believe in today’s digital world we are craving for more tangible means of personal expression. I know I am. Of course it’s all about buying on emotion so I try to monitor that. I have also been thinking a lot about a career or taking classes on consumer products or behavior. But in the meantime, I have signed up for a class in Anthropologie.