Necessity vs. Luxury

I was listening to an amazing podcast this morning that talked about luxury marketing. It got me thinking about my precious Christian Louboutin pumps. I don't know how many times people have said to me "why don't you just get a can of red paint and cover the bottom of a pair of Payless shoes? Same thing." Um, no.

The point of my designer shoes (my only pair, mind you) is not only to stand out but to satisfy a part of me that needs to feel special. To feel just as good as a movie star or Oprah. Other people choose to feel special in the way that they express themselves artistically or politically, by their jobs or by the things they are passionate about. For me, feeling special means owning these amazing shoes. No, they aren't super comfortable. In fact, folding my double wide feet into these shoes feels like those Chinese foot binding deals must have. She's pointing at her toes, people.

Even though I have at least 30 pairs of Payless shoes, they don't make me feel special, they don't make me stand out and they certainly don't make me as happy. For the price of a Wii, can I not have something exceptional? Something just for me? So stop questioning my choices and just love my shoes, dammit.

kxx