footwear savings

[jIM_Ohio]

My wife teases me all the time about my footwear.

I still own the pair of sneakers I wore my freshman year of college (15+ years ago-I use them when mowing the lawn). I still have my dress shoes from the first suit I bought as a freshman in college. I have 3-4 other pairs of sneakers, and I can make a pair last 2-5 years EASY. Soccer cleats, on the other hand, I go through about a pair every 2 years like clockwork.

I have one pair of sneakers I wear and one pair of shoes I wear to work. That is pretty much it. I have three pair of workboots (steel toe, water, and regular leather workboots) in addition to my "weekly" usage footwear.

My wife adds around 3-5 pairs of shoes to her closet each year. I cannot figure out why she needs all that space for shoes, but I have also learned it's a waste of time to discuss it.

So my question is- how long does footwear last... for men or women. Am I being cheap?

[tinapbeana]

depends... my DH can wear out a pair of sketchers he wears towork in about 6 months. his dress shoes, however, are about 10 years old.

as for women's shoes, well, we face a difficulty most men don't: there's a big difference in 'dressy professional' and 'dressy personal' when it comes to both clothes and shoes, something that typically isn't the case in men's wear. while i can get away with wearing strappy black heels for a dressy night out on the town, they aren't professional attire and aren't appropriate for work. so, add another pair of black heels to wear with work attire (unless you'd like your date wearing the comfy hush puppy heels with her snazzy night-on-the-town dress!).

believe it, it snowballs from there...

[baking23]

Originally Posted by jIM_Ohio

My wife teases me all the time about my footwear. So my question is- how long does footwear last... for men or women. Am I being cheap?

I have a pair of dress shoes I got in high school 15 years or so ago and they still are in great shape. I tend to get my shoes resoled when I need to instead of buying new ones. I got a new pair of dressy shoes around Xmas for work but I've since found out that Rockports can be resolded, so they'll probably be the last pair of dress shoes I buy for a long time. My other Rockports have been worn practically everyday for four years and are just starting to show there wear.

I have very small feet so when I find shoes that fit I keep them until they literately fall apart. Some of the best places I've found dress shoes is are garage sales for free!

Who cares if you're cheap?! I hate clutter so the less I own the better, I'm very obviously not the stereotypical shoe/clothes loving woman though.

[catlinye_maker]

That depends on how much you like strappy heels.. I've got a pair of merrells (halfway between a sneaker and a hiking boot) and a pair of birkenstocks (gotta get those resoled for summer) for daily wear, a pair of low-heeled black dress shoes and a pair of dressy sandals for going out. Until one of those pairs wears out that's it. But in a women's size 10, I'm really not interested in showing off my feet!

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I wear out my sneakers annually, but DH keeps his shoes longer. Just depends, I'm hard on my shoes, but I keep my dressy shoes longer because I wear them so much less than DH.

Depends on the type of shoes.

[aurielle]

I heard that a pair of shoes is good for about 500 miles. I got plantar fasciitis once from wearing a pair of shoes that I wore regularly for too long and then put stress on my foot in just the wrong way one day when I was wearing them. Its painful and takes months to heal. So be aware.

[baking23]

Oh that plantar fasciitis sucks, I got it from stepping funny at work, in newer shoes too. It's much better now but every once in a while I tweak it, ouch!

[PRICEPLUS]

Ouch! Plantar Fasciitis does indeed suck! I have had it and so I change my sneakers about twice a year. I am very rough on my sneakers and I pronate very badly. I wait for sales and buy two or three pairs at the same time. I still have a pair in the box from last year. They'll come out when the present pair of sneakers is worn out!

[PrincessPerky]

I am a girl, and I have two pairs of shoes......there I said it out loud ...... please forgive me, I wear my clunky black dress shoes (purchased before my wedding....over 7 years ago) for all occasions...night on the town, church, walking to the mailbox....Unless I force myself to wear my husbands old holey sneakers (my other pair) for say a long walk, or work in the garage, I wear the clunky dress shoes......I know it is bad for my feet, but .......it is on the self improvement list to do something about...pretty far down the list, but on it none the less.

My husband on the other hand wears a pair out in about 2 years, and I mean holes all over wears out, plus he 'elfs em'....the toes end up pulled up like old jester pointy toes, he doesn't do it on purpose, but it sure is weird when I wear them. - he owns 3 pair, one for work, one for play, and one for cutting the grass...never mind that I cut the grass, he wants to keep that pair 'just in case'.

[baking23]

I know people talk a lot about shoes and needing support for your feet but most of the time I'm outside in the spring/summer/fall I tend to be barefoot. Saves on shoes for sure!

Other than getting a splinter or two my feet don't seem to be too badly off...

[jodi]

Oh, I love going barefoot all summer...always have.

DH gets a pair of sneakers every year, dress shoes every other year (one black, one brown), but he has to wear them every day to teach. He usually gets a pair of sandals for the summer too every year. He is rough on his shoes, though, throwing them on without putting his heel in (just squishing the back of the shoe down) to wear them to get the mail, etc. so I think that wears them out quickly. Oh yeah, and he leaves them where the dog can get them and hide them in the yard (after chewing them, or course), so that cuts down the life span too.
My shoes, on the other hand, last for years. But I also have many more pairs, so each pair gets less wear. I have two pairs of sneakers (one good, one for old, i.e. gardening). They are 1.5 years and 3-4 years, respectively. I have three pairs of black dress shoes (one for everyday wear, one for dressy wear, and one new pair when my everyday pair falls apart). I get a few years out of these, even though I wear them regularly. I have one pair of comfy brown everyday shoes and one pair of dress brown shoes. I have multiple sandals (1 brown, 1 white, 1 black, 1 for water wear, 1 flip-flop) and various special occasion (1 white from my wedding, 1 lt. green, 2 silver, all worn once or twice, in great shape and kept to wear with my special occasion dresses if I ever wear them again). I have two pairs of boots (one winter, one dressy).
Wow, I didn't think I was this bad (sheepish smile). However, in my defense, I probably only buy about 1 pair of shoes a year. My shoes last me a long time, and I have gotten at least 25% of my shoes secondhand (I know, a lot of people "EWWWW" over this, but I'm cool with it).

[boefixepa]

I must say......Recently (within the last year or two) my show collection has grown considerably. But most of the shoes last a long, long, time as I don't wear them often. I generally rotate about 3-4 diffent pairs of shoes and I get wal-mart, payless shoes. I did pick up 3-4 sandles on clcearence for $5 or less last fall....so I'm good for a long while.

In the defence of women, dress shoes do cause us to have to have more shoes. I wish I could get a way with one black pair and maybe one brown pair, but that is just not the case with women's shoes, or clothes for that matter.

[PrincessPerky]

I for some reason recall the verse 'put shoes on his feet, a ring on his finger, and a robe on his shoulders' from the prodigal son..shoes were equated with wealth.....

and in this country we are drowning in that kind of wealth!

[kealina]

you guys made me curious so i went and checked out my shoes...
I've got 4 pairs of slippers (2 black, tan, chocolate brown), which sounds like a lot but slippers are a mainstay here...they get worn for most casual outings...
2 pairs of shoes (red, blue) from vietnam my mom bought to match clothes she got me there...
1 pair of black marching shoes from marching band...
1 pair of black gym shoes for working out.
1 pair of sneakers i wore to school and for marching practice,
1 pair of cute sneakers(more like sketchers) i wear with jeans for casual stuff
1 black heels i wear for dressier outfits and work
2 pairs of conservative black work shoes which i also wear out...
1 pair of black slouch boots
1 pair ivory ankle boots...
1 pair of burgandy dress shoes...
1 pair gold and cork dress shoes...
and last, i had a pair of brown casual/dress shoes that i had for 5 years and wore until died which i've yet to replace... it's a fair amount but much of it i bought brand new from garage sales for $3 a pair or less over the last 10 years...

If i shopped retail, i'd probably stick with work shoes in a couple of colors (black, brown, navy, grey,etc) and dress shoes in a couple of colors (black, brown, silver, gold, red, etc) and call it a day...

my DH has a pretty good amount himself...he has feet that are prone to problems so when we see shoes he likes on sale at good prices i encourage him to buy... that way he always has back-up pairs...

[tinapbeana]

yeah, i my household DH and i are about neck & neck when it comes to shoes. i'm giving away 5 pairs to make up for the 2 pairs i bought last month, which should put him in the lead!

[Scanner]

I'll refer to an old stand-by - Dress For Success - published about the 80's.

It all depends on your profession.

If you are going to have to wear a shirt and tie type of job, a man will need a good pair of

1. Black dress shoes
2. Brown dress shoes

And it's a big faux pas to mix them. (actually teachers are really the only class of professionals that can get away with browns - others need blacks, grays, navy blues, and maybe an olive green - maybe techie nerds can do browns, not sure).

Now, I think personally you can get away with rubber soles and not stand out. It used to be you needed those canvas soles to look good. But in my line work, I need some traction on the floor and can't be slipping around.

Then, I have 1 pair of sneakers for wear. And since I do per diem work at a hopsital, the attire calls for "white sneakers" so I can't let them be too ratty.

And then when they wear out from walking the floors, I sentence them to
"mowing shoes."

I own a pair of New Balance sneakers, bottom end, and I have bought the same exact pair now for 3 pair (about 1 per year - dress shoes last me about 3 years).

I recommend New Balance to my pronators in my practice and Rockports for dress shoes. Try that before investing in orthotics. If you need to go for orthotics, try a chiropractor first - they'll charge about $150-200 for soft flexible ones and cast them while standing upright. A podiatrist usually casts non-erect and they tend to be a hybrid - soft/hard. They run around $400-500 and I think personally are overpriced (but I'll admit insurance will probably foot the bill for a DPM vs. a DC) and often get so uncomfortable, the patient fails to comply to wearing them.

As far as women, I can't figure out their shoe demands - my wife probably owns about 30 pair.

[PetMom]

I cut down the cost of footwear by not wearing shoes indoors at all,
I keep some of those yellow garden clogs for when I step outside
by the back door.

I have two pairs of the same athletic sneaker I got at Target
(non leather - they tend to last longer). I wear the older
pair for walking outdoors.

I have a pair of black stilletoes from Italy (given to me by Sis)
that have stood the test of time and are classic, they are so
uncomfortable I have rarely lasted in them but a scant half
hour hence they still look new.

I have a more classic black pump that I am actually able to wear.

In a pinch once I actually wore to a formal some black Character
Shoes (those things you find in High School Drama Dept.) and
no one even noticed or did not mention it if they did.

I ask for Isotoners for gifts and have some in my closet
just in case I do wear house footwear.

The rest is a typical assortment
of footwear. I do tend to shop for myself only at
PayLess, sometimes Target - this keeps the cost way down.

[shelbylovesmelby]

My dh always tells me for every pair of shoes I buy I need to get rid of 5! *LMAO*

I can say I'm guilty of having like 30 pairs or more of shoes. Most I don't wear anymore since I'm a sahm I don't dress for "work" & the kids could careless what I'm wearing. So I will be going thru my tubs of shoes & trying them on again to see what still fits since having kids & I'll rummage them off this spring.

My dh only buys 1 new pair of shoes for everyday & 1 new pair of steel toes a year. Sometimes a pair or two of flip flops BUT HE USUALLY STEALS MINE Cause they are comfy *LOL*

The main sneakers I wear now are Adidas Ozweego's. I have a pair that are 6-10 yrs old & another that are 3 yrs old. They last fairly long for me cause I live in my flip flops atleast half the year & when I was working I was in heels 6 of 7days a week so they definatly lasted longer due to both of those factors. + a good washing 1-2x a year doesn't hurt either

[genmed]

I thought I was good with not having too many shoes, but started counting them this morning:
slippers
black dress shoes
hiking boots
2 pairs of cycling shoes
pair of sneakers
brown dress boots
water shoes

Eight pairs.. not too bad, but not too great.

[Frugal Father (tm)]

I worked for and managed a Favya and work in shoe management that sold
florsheim, johnson murphy etc... Shoes nowadays vary less in quality than name brand recognition and that recognition hikes prices to unbeleivable
states. Thom MCan is a decent shoe if you can get yourself in a kmart which I avoid. Payless is less miss than hit these days although the quality varies, they are good shoes for the purpose. I have some PL shoes for years, no problem..of course if your like me and have a wide foot you out of luck there alot, but on a bogo with a coupon or AAA mention at checkout its cheap.
LL beans footware is wonderful and really not expensive, but returns cost you.
For other brands the best online store is shoebuy they are cheaper than zappos. I have compared sneakers from name brand lines to payless spalding and champion and really not to much of a difference except price and of course in PL's case avaialbility instore. Crocs if you can handle the look are inexpensive , last and comfortable beyond belief. Thats it so far.