How Many Shoes Are Too Many? Or Is That Even Possible? – What Do You Think?

I met my husband for the first time on March 17th, 2007 when we had our first date. (We met on match.com) We got married about 6 months later on September 15th. The reason I mention this? Because if you look at the dates, you’ll see that I hadn’t known him during a “football season” yet. Anyway, long story short, he loves football and I don’t. But that’s ok because we have an arrangement that works quite well with him getting to watch football whenever and while he does that, I lay around and read, without feeling guilty. It works for us.

My husband is also VERY involved with his fantasy football league, which takes up time with all the “strategic planning” I guess it entails. But that works for us too because he usually wins a nice amount of money. Our first football season together showed him that I really didn’t care if he did his football thing cause I really was quite happy cuddled up with the cats and a book. To show his appreciation that year, he gave me $100 out of his winnings to go buy a pair of shoes. And quite happily, that has become a tradition. It’s a win/win kind of thing.

Anyway, this year I happened upon a fabulous sale at DSW with that $100 fantasy football shoe money and what a sale! (Because of weather and being sick, I didn’t get a chance to shop till last week, which was great with all the great sales going on!)

So, I went a bit over but I got all of these for $110.87, with the black and white Steve Madden pumps being my official “fantasy football shoes.” And look how much I saved!

Five great pairs of shoes with my fantasy football money.But it gets even better. For Christmas my husband bought me 2 pairs of short black boots I wanted and then for my birthday last week, a pair of shoes I had been lusting after and a pair of comfy slippers. So 9 pairs of shoes in less than a month.

My 1-month shoe bonanza…

Now, even though there really wasn’t a ton of money spent, because we’re both really good shoppers, that is a lot of shoes in a short period of time (I guess?) You see, I was telling someone about my great deals and gifts and she said to me, “That’s probably more shoes than most people own.” Seriously? So I repeated this conversation to my husband and he asked me how many pairs of shoes did I think the average woman owned and I was thinking, like maybe 50 or more?

Me being me, I then really wanted to know how many pairs of shoes the average woman owned. Probably to prove I was right in my thinking.

I couldn’t find many polls and the ones I did find varied but not by much.

In a Huffington Post article dated August 19,2013 a study of 2,352 women polled, showed that the average woman owned 20 pairs of shoes. Of those 20, only 5 were worn on a regular basis and they had 1 pair they had never taken out of the closet.

Wow, was I way off!

A survey in the October 8, 2014 edition of Mirror, with 2,000 women polled, showed the average amount of shoes owned by women was 21, with 9 of those being shoes they never wear, and 5 pairs having been worn only once.

So now I’m thinking I might be a good candidate for an intervention program or maybe even a “Hoarders” episode. I do have way more than the average woman, but I’ve seen pictures of a lot of your shoe collections so I know I’m not alone. But I also only buy shoes when they are on sale. (Except for a few “mad” moments in Las Vegas one time.) I also buy shoes from thrift stores and consignment shops because I seriously don’t mind “used” shoes.

All of these were bought at thrift or consignment stores and the entire lot cost less than $100…

Since I admittedly own more shoes than the average person, how many of those do I not wear on a regular basis? And if I don’t wear them, why do I hold on to them?

SURVEY SAYS…TOP 5 REASONS WOMEN DON’T WEAR SHOES THEY OWN:

64% – Too uncomfortable (too tight or heels are too high.)

55% – Hard to match with an outfit.

41% – Scared to damage them/were very expensive.

37% – Were given as a gift and don’t like them.

21% – Didn’t like as much when they got them home.

 

Well, I have some that fit in all 5 of those categories. The first Christmas my husband and I celebrated together, he bought me a pair of Jimmy Choo heels that I’ve only worn once…because I’m afraid I’ll ruin them!

And then I have a lot of shoes that I really do only wear once or twice a year but like so much, I don’t want to part with them.

61% of women said they own “sitting down” shoes that the wear only when going to dinner or another “sitting” occasion.

There really was a time when I wore a different pair of shoes almost everyday. And they were high heels, which I could walk around in, no problem. Heck, back in the day I think I could have climbed mountains in my heels. But the arthritis that runs in my family has finally caught up with me and I simply, no matter how much I want to, can’t wear heels on a daily basis. And when I do wear them, my knees swell up to twice their size and turn bright red but hey, I looked and felt good when I was wearing them! Ha! But I do now consider a lot of my shoes to be “sitting down occasion” shoes only. My how getting older can change things. And if I ever end up in a wheelchair, I’ll be wearing all those fabulous shoes on a daily basis! And look good.

One reason women admitted to keeping shoes even though they don’t wear them is because of the nostalgia those shoes bring. One in ten said they keep a pair that remind them of a good time in their life. Well, I must have had a lot of good times!

A slightly different survey on newdream.org (March 1, 2013) said that the average man owns 12 pairs of shoes while the average woman owns 27 pairs, with the national average being 19 pairs per person. I really didn’t need a poll to tell me women usually own more shoes than men but I did find it interesting to see 12 pairs being the average for men.

86% of women own at least 1 pair of shoes they’ve never worn.

After reading these surveys, and trying to find room for all my new shoes, I was really feeling a bit guilty. I was really feeling very materialistic even though I don’t think I am. I just like shoes. But my husband reminded me that I don’t spend a lot on each pair, that a lot I buy are used and cost about $5 to $10, and that I don’t buy a lot of other things. So…I can get rid of that “guilt!” And I do donate shoes each year. In 2014 I donated 47 pairs to Discover Goodwill. I also consigned some shoes last year for the first time. I took 6 pairs to Ashley’s Attic, got money for them, and then used that money and bought some “new” ones she had.

I do own more than I need but I’m prepared for any occasion! And if I ever decide to take up tap dancing, well I’m ready for that too. I actually got these at Goodwill, brand new for $4.99 a couple of years ago. As you can see from the soles, I have done some tapping…when you do it in the garage, it sounds really cool! Ha!!

I’ve asked several girlfriends how many shoes they own and the answers have really varied. From 23 to 104!

Anyway, I’m really curious…do you think you can own too many shoes? And if you have a fabulous way you display them, we’d love to see some pictures!