10.29.2007

another superficial post


but since I've been focusing on things I love. . .
I saw some boots I looooved on Urban Outfitters, but they're $268. So I was still wandering around web-land, not really planning on buying new boots, but just kinda browsing, when I saw the same boots on clearance for $120 less at Anthropologie! Well, not exactly the same, a different color, but same style. Out of curiosity, I thought I'd check out Zappos, who also has the same boot, and their's were $254.
So I bought them. . . from Anthropologie. They'll take a week to get here, and are more than I ever needed to spend on shoes, but I've learned to treat shoes as an investment, and I think these are a worthy one, at that.
Just enough ruggedness, sassiness, and I think they'll be perfect with thick, warm tights.
But they're leather, you say? Yes, they are. And yes, I'm a vegetarian, and no, I don't think leather is really the way to go. But when it comes down to it, I haven't found veggie friendly shoes that live up to the staying power of a pair of well-invested leather shoes. I have some birks I've had since my pre-vegetarian days (12 years ago!), and some cowboy boots that are 2 years old and still kickin'. But all the plastic-y fake shoes I've gone through in that same amount of time will be sitting in a land fill for hundreds of years, and that just makes me feel sick.

So how about you? What are some favorite shoe investments? Are you a faux wearer or is leather okie dokie by you?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

dude, this is getting scary. of course you are a vegetarian. i myself have been a vegetarian since i was 13 years old. that was 14 years ago!

and yes, i wear leather shoes, too. one day perhaps i will go the entirely animal-free route, but for now i feel ok about it. i just like to hope that it's the skin from the cows that are already getting slaughtered that they're using for my favorite boots. :)

heather smith jones said...

i'm a vegetarian also and consider shoes to be an investment; they last longer than a hamburger. that's at least how i console myself.

clare cupcake said...

good investment! frye boots are the best. they will last forever.

i've been vegetarian since i was 13, too. and i went vegan four years ago. vintage shoes are my sneaky leather loophole. i shop around at thrift stores and on ebay and find used leather boots. i figure i'm supporting a small business person...not the actual manufacturer of leather goods...they got paid like 10, 20 or 30 years ago, right? at this point i'm just reusing and recycling. ain't no harm in that...

but i have bought a couple pairs of brand new leather shoes in the past year or so...which i can't rationalize at all. other than the fact that leather shoes last longer, my only defense is that they were really, really, really, really cute shoes.