Girl Toys
You always hear about boys and their toys – the need to have the fastest car, the latest gadget, the biggest motorcycle (No; I won’t go there). So, if boys need their toys to either make them feel superior or more manly, what do girls need and why do they need it? I’ll tell you what we need: shoes.
Don’t give me that “Oh, I’m not a shoe person.” If you’re not, it’s because it was probably either beat out of you at some time in your childhood or because you’ve replaced that obsession with another. But you know I’m right when I say women – in general – love shoes.
Have you ever told another woman how much you love her shoes? Has anyone ever told you? How does that make you feel? How do you feel when you walk into DSW Shoe Warehouse or Marshalls shoe department? For many – most – of us, it is a mesmerizing experience: the sandals! the slingbacks! the FM pumps we won’t buy but we love to fantasize about!
And, yes, we do fantasize. Even though I’d never spend $600+ on a pair of shoes, I can still love them from afar. And what beats finding those kick ass Carlos Santana pumps in Marshalls, in the discount rack? Forget about it!
I have a wall that is like a monument for my shoes. They all face out, looking at me every day that I enter my dressing room, showing me their pretty faces, reminding me of all my choices, telling me it’s time to switch from winter to summer (because, of course, they don’t all fit). Ah, Imelda would be proud.
When I was in advertising sales for a female-centric radio station, I tried to convince the Marketing Director of a large chain of shoe stores that he really, really needed to place ads on our station. After all, more women listened to The Point than any other station in the market! This man harrumphed and lectured me about the men and children’s shoes they also carried, as though that justified his advertising on a – get this – sports talk radio station. Yes; this man actually believed that men argued with other guys about who was a better pinch hitter would shop in his stores. He didn’t care that my research showed that women own about 6 times as many shoes as men do (Consumer Reports says we own an average of 19 pairs – as if). He didn’t care that virtually every guy who entered his stores was shopping with a woman and he didn’t seem to understand exactly who buys children’s shoes. I’ll tell you this: it isn’t men, never mind men who listen to sports talk.
Guess what company went bankrupt? One hint: it wasn’t the one that makes the shoe racks.
Tags: how many shoes do women own, men's shoes, shoe shopping, shoes, women, women over 40, women over 50
Lucille, your shoe display is magnificant indeed!! The other day I went to the mall and I had to walk through NOrdstrom to get into the mall – I could have parked elsewhere, but I love to look at the shoes at Norstrom’s! They have everything from flip flops to jeweled seven inch heals!! Truly works of art. I agree – shoes are fun and they make an outfit. Even if we have worn a particular outfit before but pair it with a new pair of shoes – WALA – it’s like a whole new outfit!