How Many Shoes Do You Own?
Manolo says, the Manolo’s friend, the delightful Virginia Postrel, has asked the Manolo to conduct the little impromptu survey. The question to be answered is: How Many Shoes Do You Own?
Paula Abdul Loves the Shoes!
For the Manolo, this is the exceedingly difficult question to answer. Indeed, the first problem is whether or not the Manolo should include shoes he does not, nor could ever, wear, such as the several dozen shoes which form the core of the Manolo’s personal “Historic Shoe Collection”. These are not so much “shoes” as “objets d’art” (or perhaps “holy relics”), and as such they occupy the special place in the heart of the Manolo.
Then, should the Manolo include in the count shoes which he has received through the mail as part of his career as the shoeblogger of note? He usually gives these away, but there are often several pairs sitting around. Does he own these shoes? Or, they as ships passing in the night?
Ayyyy! This problem, it is too complex! Let us just say that the Manolo owns many shoes, many, many, many pairs of the shoes. More one hundred, less than one thousand (maybe). In the other words, too many to count.
And, now it is your turn: How many shoes do you own?
P.S. Please be so kind as to leave your answers in the commenting section below.
Definitely more than 100 pairs, possibly 200. Many of these are shoes that I no longer wear, however, and they really should be boxed up and donated.
Like the Manolo, you are the true Lover of the Shoes!
P.S. The Manolo suspects that his readers are not typical of the general population in terms of shoe ownership.
The best way to do this survey is in two parts. First, estimate how many pairs you think you own. Then go count them. Post both numbers. Count shoes you could wear but don’t (or don’t often). You can leave out ones that are actually in the bag to be given away or that are displayed under glass as museum objects or keepsakes. Your bronzed baby shoes don’t count.
No more than 30 pairs, and of those I probably wear 10 pairs regularly (including tennis shoes for exercise, Tevas for the pool, etc). I would guess I am an anomaly among regular Manolo readers!
Okay I counted — 32 pairs, including house shoes.
8 pairs – 3 for work, 2 sandals, 1 pair of nice boots, 1 pair of rain boots, 1 pair of tennis shoes, and oh! snow boots. Oops, that makes 9 pairs. It is partially a financial issue for me, I guess, but also that I prefer to get a really good pair of (expensive) shoes that last, instead of many semi-disposable pairs of shoes.
Marvel- I will be interested to see if you or I are in the minority, or actually the majority of Manolo’s blog followers!
Once Upon A Time, I had a job designing custom closets for people (think: California Closets type stuff). Most men SWORE they only had 3 pair. WRONG! Most men actually own 10-15 pair of shoes. “oh, well, I didn’t think the sandals, yard shoes, flip-flops, hunting boots [etc] counted.” Most women own between 25-40 pair of shoes.
Of course these are just averages based on what I found of people living in Houston, TX. There are outliers everywhere. I stopped counting one woman’s shoes at 200!!
Stacey, could you contact me? vp-at-dynamist-dot-com
I have upwards of 150 pairs at last count. I do try to purge periodically by donating outdated, unloved, or unworn shoes. But…I have a hard time parting with them even if I don’t wear them often because I find myself being emotionally attached and link specific shoes to memories of what I was doing when I wore them. In the same vein, I have given away some pairs and still, to this day, regret it. Even if I had kept certain pairs and never wore them again, I’d rather have them as beloved archival items than practical, wearable ones. OTOH, I’m not much attached to “stuff” in general and gladly chuck things into the trash bin, much to DH’s chagrin, as he has latent hoarding tendencies.
90-100, from a high of over 100…a plurality of which were actually women’s shoes (that were large enough to fit my feet).
Out of curiosity, what size does the Wayne wear in the women’s shoes?
U.S. 12 Wide/metric 43 (open back); U.S. 13 Wide/metric 44 (closed back)
Twenty-eight!
13 of which I wear on a regular basis
11 of which are for special occasions (a meeting with a big mucky-muck, or a wedding, funeral, job interview, or fancy party)
A pair of wellies and a pair of flip-flops, that live on the porch
A pair of old running shoes in my office and one in my car, for emergencies
I think I’m somewhere in the realm of 300. The ones on display in the two shoe cabinets get the most love however!
Not Nearly Enough is my short answer. For several years, I suffered from the foot pain, so my podiatrist forbade me to wear any style of shoe that was remotely pretty or fun, and insisted I wear black New Balance sneakers at all times and for all occasions, to sort out said foot pain.
I did as told – and let me tell you, restricting your footwear restricts your wardrobe options, and that restricts the places you and the things you do – but recently rebelled and started wearing pretty shoes, shoes with heels, things without support and with straps (or nothing!) instead of tight lacing, and even barefoot shoes (for working out). And I’m still increasing my assortment of shoes. I have 3-4 pairs I wear regularly, 3-4 pairs I’ll probably never wear (and should pass along), and about 10 pair that I haven’t worn in several years and can’t wait to incorporate into my rotation, as soon as my diminished clothing wardrobe expands to include them!
I have 53 pairs of shoes (including boots.) I would have thought I had over 100, so the count was a surprise to me! That did not include sport shoes.
probably more than 100, but a number of those I cannot wear anymore due to the foot problem so they don’t count – - I think I’m too scared to go count
Over 150. I have 5 pairs of over-knee boots, only one of which (the high heeled one) is not regularly worn. Then I have half a dozen knee boots (all flat), three pairs of regularly worn flat ankle boots, and half a dozen pairs of flat brogues in different colour combos. Those are the shoes I wear all the time. Then there is “the collection” of heels, most of which HAVE actually been worn, but only once, and only because I had a little project of wearing a different pair of shoes to work every day so they WOULD get worn at least once. I have always loved shoes, but sometimes there are long periods of time when I don’t buy them because I don’t like the styles. I hate ballet flats, for example. At the moment there are LOTS of lovely shoes, to the detriment of my bank balance. My daughter in law is looking forward to inheriting them.
Five pairs of the over-the-knee boots is stupendous.
Outside of the Hollywood starlets, the New York fashionistas, and the avid fly-fishermen, the Manolo cannot imagine anyone who would have more than that.
They are actually quite sensible ones. One pair is very tall indeed, almost crotch length, but styled like the lightweight combat boot. VERY good for riding pillion on the motorcycle in the rain. They are all (except the worn-once el-cheapo high-heeled pair) for wearing over trousers with baggy sweaters in the inclement weather. Not the style of boot that would be worn with the mini-skirt.
Less than 20 pairs. I am so ashamed… I like shoes, but usually I don’t buy them. Even this way I have at least 5 pairs that I never used. On a daily basis I wear mostly sport or athletic shoes, and because I work from home, I have a dog, these are the most suitable for my daily use. When I go somewhere I like to have nice high heels, but for the rare occasions, it’s enough. Maybe next life I manage to be a princess or something like that :D
I estimated 50 but have forty-seven (excluding house slippers, trainers, fins, hiking and ski boots).
30 pairs ranging from fancy sandals for formal occasions to my house slippers. But I regularly wear just three — all sandals by Merrel or Naturalizer because of foot problems.
Hmmm… I estimated 30 but ended up with 27 (including trainers and wellies).
Of the 27, 5 pairs are kept for sentimental value and not in rotation. I make a point of wearing all my darlings at least once a year, it would never do for them to feel that I had lost affection for them. The relatively small number (I know my mother has about 150 pair) is because, like OS above, I am very picky about quality and design. I prefer to wait and save my pennies in order to buy a fabulous pair of heels rather than something that will last 5 wearings and hurt my feet.
I own at least 200 pairs, I’m embarrassed to say. My only excuses: 1) I’ve bought almost all of them either on sale, eBay, or discount websites; 2) I was penniless for more than a decade and thus looked like an ancient hippie, so now I’m making up Imelda Marcos style. I’m proud to say that I love them all and there are only a few duds, which I’ve given away to charity. And a couple of pairs just don’t fit right, such as the gorgeous Giuseppe Zanotti jeweled mules that I got for half-price on 6pm–the straps cut into my feet and raise huge blisters, but I can’t bear to part with them (I think I’ll carry them to a party sometime, put them on after I arrive, take them off before I go home, and see how that works out.) A few of my shoes I’ve never worn, mostly evening shoes because evening shoes are so pretty, but I don’t go to as many dressy occasions as I’d like. But how can I resist a pair of half-price Stuart Weitzman satin pumps? I can’t.
I estimated 100ish and the real answer was 185 pairs. I wasn’t counting shoes for which I bought two or three pairs (e.g. black heels of just the right height, heeled sandals of just the right red, flip flops of just the right bronziness to coordinate with swimwear) or forgotten shoes, former treasures, tucked forlornly in a drawstring bag, yet still suffering from dry rotted insoles, or mud-crusted wellies now moldering in the garage.
I estimated a little over 100, actual number 154. This, after a recent move wherein I purged many outdated pairs. This does not include the 60 or so pairs I have bought or passed on to my daughter. I don’t think she has inherited my addiction to beautiful shoes.
Odd, really, that I am required to wear combat boots when I labor away for shoe money.
I estimated 40 pairs, but counted 57. Not quite the Queen of Denial, but not exactly admitting to myself how much I’ve spent, either. The most extravagant purchase–and this is your fault, Manolo– was the pair of gold Prada sandals adorned with gold leaves. Several years on, they still make my day when I wear them.
I estimated around 50; the actual number is 67. While counting, I realized I really need to move along a few pairs that were…unwise…purchases.
43 pair at last count, though things have changed* since then and I suspect the number is now higher. *I have shopped
i own 52 pairs of shoes.
Thank you. This helped me get rid of a few that needed to go. Currently at 33. I need to fill in some holes in my shoe wardrobe! Fine for boots and fall shoes, but very little for summer or cocktails.
6
1 pair of new boots that I wear everyday
1 pair of old boots for dirty jobs like painting.
1 pair of flip flops
1 pair of loafers
1 pair of sneakers
1 pair of dress shoes
I have less than 100, probably around 80, but I’m not willing to bet on it. After leaving work to raise my two young boys, my work heels haven’t been worn (so sad), and now, after two pregnancies and weight gain, I have gone up a size as my arches have gone from very high to normal. Therefore, more and more shoes !!
I suspect a large clean out will come when I decide to go back to work and most of the mom-at-home shoes won’t be needed – but the old heels won’t fit. Sigh. I love them all.