Two posts in one day - I had to tell someone, other than H.I. who is feeling a bit ill right now (suspected 48 hour norovirus), which is why I have not left the house.
I've just spent £400 on a pair of these black Crockett and Jones boots, and I am now shaking with the psychological shock of having done so.
The thing is that I already have two identical pairs in brown (Conistons, actually), but I need some black shoes to go with my charcoal grey Armani suit, and - after a lot of soul-searching - I have decided that nothing but Crockett and Jones 'Northcote' boots will do.
I could have spent £250 on a pair of Churches (the shoes, not religious buildings), but they are just not built as well as Crockett's - no shoes are built as well as Crockett's in my opinion. Having stared at dozens of different types of expensive black shoes recently, I could not settle for anything else, and short of bespoke, these are the most expensive.
The pair I have just bought are the last of my size (12) left in the whole of Britain right now, though I could have ordered a pair from the factory - if I could have waited the 8 weeks they would take to make. By that time, the wedding of the century would have been long passed, so I couldn't wait.
Somehow, knowing that - at my age - these will be the last pair of non-working shoes that I will ever buy, doesn't console me. If anything, it makes me depressed to think that they will actually out-last me, and will be fought over by some big-footed men before I am even cold in my grave.
Bloody hell, I am fed up with being poor, but I have only myself to blame. I might end up as the best dressed tramp in the West.
Well-made shoes are worth their money...though 400 Pound is really a lot (divide it through the number of years you think you will wear them - with every year the price goes down and the heart-beat too :-) I love shoes - always on the look-out for "the perfect pair" - and as I have a small size 5 it is easy to find another tempter -- husband & son used to chorusing: "Actually, you NEEDED some shoes!"
ReplyDeleteEnjoy yours - they sound perfect!
I thought so - you sound just like H.I.!
DeleteHow can you be poor if you are able to spend £400 on a pair of shoes?
ReplyDeleteI'm still paying for holidays I had 10 years ago, that's how. Don't tell me you're jealous, Sue.
DeleteYou've had holidays too? (Yes I'm jealous)
DeleteWell about 10 years ago I did. I am beginning to understand that - with the exception of the top contributor - women who blog are unlike any others I have previously met, in that they are very happy to complain about their spouses who show no signs of caring about their attire at all, at the same time as raving like maniacs about frothy clothes which they kid themselves that they cannot afford.
DeleteWell the difference with me is that I truly cannot afford these shoes, but - guess what? - I bought them anyway!
Anybody who pays that much for a pair of shoes just cannot under any circumstances be classed as poor Tom.
ReplyDeleteAnd anyone who spends a week starving themselves on white rice and crap food cannot class themselves as having experienced what it is like to be poor either. Of course I am not starving!
DeleteOh sorry, Weave - I may have been confusing you with some other mountain. You're not purging your bowels for spiritual enlightenment now are you?
DeleteAny, my original defence still stands. Of course you can be poor and spend money on shoes. Would you say that the average junkie on the street who spends £400 a week on drugs is NOT poor?
Hey hang on - you're confusing me with Elizabeth - this is getting serious
DeleteSigh. You've just turned into a confirmed size 12 wanker.
ReplyDeleteWould it have helped if I lied about being rich?
DeleteOr had size 9 feet?
DeleteActually, I return to say sorry for calling you terrible names and casting aspersions on your proclivities. Enjoy your new shoes, tramp. x
DeleteThat is not to say you weren't right about me, it's just that I hate being reminded about it. Anyway, I seem to remember that your feet are not exactly small either, but somehow I don't see you in Prada heels...
DeleteListen you lot, I NEVER say, "I'm starving", when what I mean is that I am a little hungry. Now put your fucking hands on your fucking hearts and tell me that you never do either, otherwise I will show no respect for your worthy schemes, charitable donations or Harvest Festivals ever again.
ReplyDeleteI never do either, but then I never have. Nice shoes.
ReplyDeleteNicely said, Moll, and I'm glad you like my boats.
DeleteIf a picture of the guests is taken at this wedding of the century, make sure that your feet are in it!
ReplyDeleteMy 'reply' button has packed up so...
ReplyDeleteSorry Moll, yes I was. too many Welsh mountains...
Iris - I certainly will, mainly because the wedding is the same day as my birthday!
I absolutely hate having to say this but Churches shoes are very middle of the road and Crockett's are definitely far superior.
ReplyDeleteSpending £400 is nothing compared to say the cost of a woman's handbag which might be used two or three times and then given to a charity shop...
Churches are fine, but when you put them alongside a pair of Crocketts, you notice little details like inferior stitching, etc. The last pair of Churches I looked at actually had a loose thread dangling from the welt - disgraceful!
DeleteRe handbags - tell me about it! H.I. is obsessed with acquiring a Botega Venetta handbag right now, but even she refuses to pay £2000 for a second-hand one.
Traditionally, men have always paid far less than women on clothes. If they didn't, then a pair of Crocketts would be around £2000 too.
The only decent pair of shoes I've ever owned were Churches. I thought they were rather good! Shoes also on my mind; see my page tomorrow (you'll wish you hadn't).
ReplyDeleteWhat amazes me is how you actually plan your posts well in advance of the publication date. Mine are planned in the same way that you might plan an attack of diarrhoea.
Delete