When I was in my favorite boutique in Wilmington (NC) a month ago, I saw these darling ballerina flats – butter-soft leather, sleek silhouette, and a lowcut instep for lots of toe cleavage. I just had to have them. Alas, Elizabeth – it’s Elizabeth’s Boutique – didn’t have anything in my size. She told me where I could order online from her supplier, though.
Later on, back home, I went to the site and found exactly the style, color, and size I wanted. The shoes are made in France but sold through a British shop; therefore, the prices were shown in pounds. I wasn’t even thinking in terms of conversion rates. I knew what Elizabeth charged, but I also knew there had to be a fairly substantial markup. So I figured, how much can they be? Of course, I wasn’t thinking in terms of wholesale vs. retail pricing. In other words, I wasn’t thinking. I went ahead and ordered them. Duh.
They came last Thursday, and the invoice also reflected the price (including shipping) in pounds. Later on, I asked the question in one of my online groups, “Does anyone know how much 77 pounds is in U.S. dollars?” The answer just about made me fall off my chair. Duh! I got back online and checked my credit card statement and, yes, it was true. I had myself one very expensive pair of shoes. Cute, yes, but mondo expensive. Double Duh.
One friend, laughing, advised me to bronze the things and put them on the mantel as a reminder of a lesson learned the hard way. Another friend, also laughing, told me I’d better wear The Shoes until they rot off my feet. I was torn. On one hand, I was afraid to even wear The Shoes. On the other hand, I figured that as long as I had them, I might as well wear them. I have The Shoes on today, and they feel heavenly. They look good, too. I just may never take them off, in which case I will be wearing them ‘til they rot.
Next time I see something I just have to have and the price is in anything but U.S. dollars, you can be sure I’ll calculate the conversion rate first. That’s just common sense, which I appear to be lacking at times – like when it comes to shoes. For today, I'm just going to twirl and prance around in The Shoes.
9 comments:
$160 is not that bad if they are as nice as you say. Your feet are too important to risk bad shoes. I pay nothing for clothes, but do not hold back on shoes. It is not that bad a lesson.
I'd expect to pay much more for Jimmy Choos or something, but these are just ... flats. They're cute, though, so what the heck. If you pay nothing for clothes, you definitely don't want to know what I paid for one little outfit in that same boutique. LOL.
Probably not. I have that style of dressing that comes back every three years. I hate buying clothes and have not really bought anything in five years or so.
Clearly, this is a guy thing. LOL. I love buying clothes, hate getting rid of them. Thus, whenever some style comes back, I generally have leftovers somewhere in my closet. This year, it's leggings making a comeback. Yay! I love leggings.
Big 5.....nuff said
5 back atcha. :)
Leggings are coming back? YAY. I still have some of those. I won't have to shop. Alas, I was born without the shopping gene. Are the shoes Capezio?
Ah, I was going to say in my early morning brain state, £77, roughly halved, gives you $38, which isn't really that much for shoes.
Now I've read Kanrei's comment, and realised that £77 minus US postage is what I would have to pay and I've woken up!
Expensive shoes!! But worth it for comfortable good-looking feet. No, YOU are worth it!
Yup, Lesia, according to the weekend paper, leggings are back. And the leggings looked great on the models photographed. I love Capezios, but these shoes are French Sole.
I'm worth it? That's what I keep telling myself, Liz. LOL.
Not to worry, Steve. I definitely won't be doing that on any regular basis.
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