It is a truth universally acknowledged that a girl in possession of a mid-year bonus must be in search of the perfect shoes. People consider shopping as a complete waste of time... But for me, I have learned love's greatest lessons from shopping.
I consider Glorietta-Greenbelt-SM-Landmark chain of establishments as my home away from home. I practically buy most of the stuff there. Sales people in those shops where I buy my "kikay" stuff are practically on first name basis with me. If there is any part of shopping that I enjoy the most, it would be shopping for the shoes.
Shopping for shoes is something I consider sacred. Shopping for shoes requires commitment, commitment of your resources to get the best shoes your resources can afford. I like shopping for shoes alone because it gives me the freedom to choose the shoes without having to worry what people think about it. It gives me the freedom to decide based on my idea of a good pair of shoes, and not based on what other people think the perfect shoes should essentially have.
After months of waiting for the midyear bonus, I finally got it. Now it is time to pack my bag and head for my Glorietta to hunt for the perfect shoes. I don't plan to spend my entire bonus on shoes. I only wanted to buy one pair of black leather shoes... The pair I'm going to wear daily to the office. Hmmm, it should be sophisticated enough for the office and yet, comfortable enough for daily wear. I guess I have a fairly good idea of what I would like to buy. Since I normally wear pants to the office, a good pair of boots will do.
So I set off to the first shop I could find. I scanned the shop for the shoe I would like to buy. Well, no boots here but I sure fancy the mules. I just had to try them on... So I asked the sales lady for my size, fitted the shoe and walked in it back and forth. Well, the mule was sophisticated enough for the office but the heels are killing me. I can imagine myself wearing this but the thing is I can't wear it for a long time, how much more wear it daily? I knew this shoe was just not it. Moving on to the next shop, I found a great pair of black leather shoes, asked the sales lady for my size and fitted the pair. It's a great pair alright, but when I looked at the tag price... My budget will be busted. It's price is thrice of how much I currently have. It's a good pair but I think I can do without it, if it means busting my budget. A part of me feels bad because I think this is a good buy... But overspending isn't what I have planned for my shopping activity for this particular day. So I hop from shop to shop, finding shoes of different sorts, some of them almost the same as what I have in mind, but then something is not quite "it." I went back to some of the shops I went to a while back, fitted the same shoes I fitted before, thinking to myself that maybe I need to give these shoes a second look to convince me that I ought to buy them.
By 3:00 pm of that Saturday, I felt exhausted and frustrated. I wanted to buy a great pair and I just couldn't find one. It's either I totally don't like the style or the fit or I totally don't like the price. I told myself "just buy a pair! Whatever pair and go home!" For a minute, I wanted to agree with my sore feet. Yeah, maybe I should just buy a pair for the sake of buying, wear it once in a while and get on with my life. However, when I think about not getting my money's worth by buying something that would not completely fit what my idea of great shoe find would be... I just couldn't buy a shoe for the sake of buying.
Perhaps I haven't seen all the shops... Just when I was ready to give up and go home with a box of donuts instead of a box of shoes... There they were... A pair of black leather wedge boots... Great for slacks and denim... I knew I just had to try this pair. So again, I ordered for my size and fitted the pair. Yes! This pair is perfect. They're comfortable enough to be worn for more that 8 hours a day, sophisticated enough...
I checked the price... Hmmm, exactly fitting my budget criteria. I just knew the moment I fitted this pair that I just got to have them. I just knew that if I'd come back tomorrow in this shop and not find this pair, I'd be regretting it until the next bonus. I just need to purchase this pair... NOW.
Shopping for shoes is much like finding love. Don't try to fit it if you're not going to buy it. Don't buy it if you have reservations. Don't buy it when it's "almost but not quite." You judge the best pair based on your own criteria because you will be the one to wear it everyday. When you buy a pair of shoes, you need to be commited, at least, your feet should be committed to wear them, if needed, daily. And when you finally get the perfect pair, and you know you just can't do without this pair... Go for it before you actually regret it when somebody else buys that shoe.
No comments:
Post a Comment