Shoes. They always fit. They can turn
even the blandest outfit into one that captures attention. And their
very presence can instantly make a woman feel sexy.
So at what point, as the heels and
buckles and laces and straps tumble out of our overfilled closets,
should we start to feel a little guilty about the number of shoes we
own?
Our initial reaction when this question
was posed to us was, of course, a resounding “never!” But then we
decided to set out on a quest to discover how many pairs of shoes the
average woman owns.
Let’s start with the basics every woman needs. Of course, there are shoes for work. Given the number
of outfits, occasions and combinations possible throughout the workweek,
we decided that women need at least a solid base of eight to ten pairs of
shoes for the office and other occasions that warrant professional,
modest clothes.
After work you’re likely to hit
the gym. While all you really need is one good pair of running shoes,
we figured an extra pair for working in the yard; one for the locker
at the gym; one for home; and one for the car when a walk is just too
tempting on the drive home. So we really should expect this number
to be closer to three or four.
Once the workout is done it’s time
to pick up the kids and run them around. Casual, all-occasion shoes
will likely make up the largest percentage of a woman’s collection,
so we’re saying we’ll average between 12 and 16 pairs of casual
shoes.
And then there are those special nights
that warrant the purchase of a brand new pair of shoes. While these
are few and far between, it’s important to have at least four or five options
when it comes to stunning evening shoes to accompany that little black
dress and other modern clothes.
So by our calculations, the average
woman should have somewhere in the range of 30 to 40 pairs of shoes
in the closet at any given time.
How close were we to your closet?