A Change Our Family Is Making: EXPENSIVE SHOES

[K8-EEE]

Turns out that cheapo, sweatshop-produced shoes end up costing more in the long run, besides killing your fit. So I try to budget in 3 pairs of really nice shoes, (made in the EU -- couldn't find made in the USA!) for each of us, getting styles that are simple and go with everything. I'm amazed at how they hold up - when you polish really good Italian shoes, they look brand new even if they're 5 years old, where the Payless shit just falls apart and fills up landfills.

I know it doesnt seem like major "activism" but small changes add up.

[Liberal Veteran]

1. Go to places like Ross or other Discontinued Item stores....

....you can usually get a decent pair of quality shoes for a reasonable price.

[NMDemDist2]

2. you'll also find you have less back and leg soreness when wearing

good shoes.

I buy all my clothes at thrift stores, but I never skimp on shoes.

[K8-EEE]

9. Thrift Stores!

OMG, so do I! You won't believe this but, I went to the Oscars year before last in a $35 dress from the Cancer thrift shop. My shoes were $100 though!

[abelenkpe]

3. good shoes

are always a good investment. A nice mattress is a good idea too.

[K8-EEE]

8. Yeah, Cheap is Sometimes Not Inexpensive....

when you have to replace them in 2 months it's kind of a false economy.

Although when my kids were changing shoe sizes every 3 weeks, I could kinda see it. But the Hannah Andersson dress shoes I got for my oldest held up to the point of looking brand new on her little sister. Hannah Andersson is a Swedish company,their kids clothes aren't cheap but not too bad and man, they wear like iron. I've never thrown them out, just given them away.

In general I think it's better for the environment to buy a few of the nicer things and know how and where they were made, than tons cheap crap.

[Anakin Skywalker]

4. Heh. I Knew this!

:) I have always supported hardworking artisans.

[progressiveBadger]

5. There's a store in the UK

that sells pleather Doc Martins. Pretty expensive after shipping though...

[prodigal_green]

6. Italian made shoes are the best.

There is a California-based company called Cydwoq (pronounced sidewalk) that makes really good shoes, but they're a little odd looking, so they might not be your style.

Find your good shoes at better department stores (I go to Bergdorf's during their sales), you can get $500 shoes for around $100 immediately after the season.

[Richard D]

7. My preference

I love Ecco shoes. Best one's my feet have ever been in, and they last a long time too. Guaranteed for a year. I hope that they are PC.

[Warpy]

10. I figured that out ages ago

I'm a nurse, and I'd walk through PayLess crap in 2 months. Nursing shoes would last me 6 months. Good running shoes provided me more support, stopped the backaches, and lasted me a year or more.

So take it from a professional walker. You get what you pay for. If you want to pay a little bit of money for trendy stuff you're going to be sick of and want to get rid of in a couple of months, go to the cheap stores and buy sweatshop shoes. If you want to break something in and wear it forever, get the better grade of sweatshop shoes from a nice shoe store.