It’s horrific, but it’s true. I’m a veritable Imelda Marcos, I had no idea, the disease until relatively recently has lain dormant.
I love shoes. No, I LOVE shoes. I’ve always liked a good shoe, but never have I had the opportunity to buy a decent quality/brand shoe for the prices that I’m able to here in America. As an Australian, who until moving here, had never lived outside the country, I was completely and utterly oblivious to just how much we, as Australian consumers overpay for good quality merchandise. The markups are ridiculous.
Example: Levi 501 Jeans in Australia: roughly $140 AUD, the same jeans in the US; roughly $40 USD, take into account the exchange rate and that’s still a huge difference. Even Steve Madden shoes (soooo comfortable) retail for over $100 back in Australia, and I now own 3 pairs and paid less than $100 for all of them together.
Don’t get me wrong though, it’s pretty easy to overspend here too. Fortunately though, I’m a relatively thrifty shopper, and love the thrill of hunting for a bargain. Hmmm, really it should have come as no surprise that the family tree showed Jewish ancestry, it was inherent. *grin*
I have to be honest though, aside from buying gym clothes in increasingly smaller sizes, I’m avoiding clothes shopping at all costs, until I’ve finished losing weight. I’ve already gone through my wardrobe 4 times in the last 4 weeks, and have increasingly less clothes to choose from. One bonus though, is off the clothes I DO have to choose from, some of them I’ve never worn before anyway, as I used to have a bad habit of buying things before I tried them on. So often they never fit, and being too lazy to return them to the store, I collected them. Bad at the time… Yes, perhaps. Now it’s a boon. I’m literally shopping in my own wardrobe. It’s so exciting to be able to wear clothes I’ve never worn before, and get back into old favourites only to find they’re too big. The donation pile is growing rapidly.
It’s a little upsetting that the new jackets I bought a couple of months ago for $79 down from $250, no longer fit, but since they’re brand new, well, one has been worn once, I think they may just go on eBay, that or I’ll be having a Garage/Yard Sale.
Despite the downsizing, one thing that I can rely on not changing too drastically are my feet. So it’s all about shoe shopping right now, and this is something I’ve found I’ve a real penchant for. According to a couple of my closest female friends, aside from my charm and dashing good looks, they love me because I “speak fluent shoe”. It was these same friends who I channeled yesterday when faced with 3 pairs of shoes and the decision of which one to buy. By the time I’d narrowed it down to 3 pairs of course, I’d easily have tried on at least 40. I tend to walk around the shoes aisles in one particular store, who’s name rhymes with Yordstrom Yack and is where all the bargains are to be found, with one shoe off while I try on all the different styles. Having channeled my friends, the decision was easy. I bought all three. 😀
In hindsight, it seems I always buy shoes in sets of three, if not on the same day, within a few days of each other. I now have the boots I’ve been hankering after for a while, and some other groovy shoes to wear out and about.
Oh, there were also 2 pairs of sports shoes, 3 pairs of street (skate) shoes, 2 pairs of thongs and a pair of reef sandals that aren’t in the photo.
Mark hates the boots, I love them. His not liking something is usually the deal maker anyway. Everything of mine he doesn’t like, everyone else does. Besides he’s only ever shown good taste once… Me! 😉
Not 30 seconds after he’d told me hated the orangey coloured boots (they’re not as bad as they sound – see photo), a complete stranger came up and told me I had great taste, and then admired my other selections. Sorry Mark, but you no not of what you speak… Stick to your computers.
The back 3 pairs I bought in Australia, and are my favourite brand; Aquila, the middle 3 I bought a few months ago, and the front 3 are the ones I bought yesterday.
On that note, my wardrobe is clean and much roomier, my shoes are all stacked neatly, and I’m off to have a rest. I’m absolutely knackered. After shopping, dinner at an AWESOME Greek restaurant; Kafe Neo in Edmonds, and being out bowling until 2 am this morning, and just quietly, wiping the floor with my two American friends who have in the past bragged (altered the truth) to claim they beat the Aussie, they have a couple of times too. But not so last night, it was a slaughter. Go Aussie Go! 😉
Hooroo, 2 hours of sleep does not an alert blogger make, apologies if I’ve rambled, and I’m sure I have..
Have an awesome weekend.
Outside the Box - breadcrumbs from a random mind... 