Why are women obsessed with shoes?

[Ivy]

(Now would be a good time to point out that I work from home, so I don't have to dress up except on rare occasions- weddings, funerals, etc.)

 

[prplchknz]

last pair of shoes i bought it was the same pair i got in the store. I hate dealing with sales people and crowds.

 

[EJCC]

Is there standard operating procedure for women?

There's only standard operating procedure with business clothes. In that case, the rules are similar to men's rules, with the addition of an optional skirt if you don't want to wear pants. Even then, there are more shoes to choose from: loafers, heels, flats.

Casual and business casual get REALLY complicated though.

(Now would be a good time to point out that I work from home, so I don't have to dress up except on rare occasions- weddings, funerals, etc.)

Ah -- yes definitely worth noting! And I should note that I work in an office almost entirely staffed by fashionable twentysomething women -- so there's a bit of competition in terms of how well you dress. Some girls REALLY outspend their budget, though, so I say I choose to be less fashionable and not have any credit card debt.

 

[HongDou]

(Side note: I think a lot of guys could benefit from mascara and eyeliner.)

I know! I enjoy having some make up on from time to time just for fun. I like how eyeliner makes my eyes look - especially in pictures.

 

[infinite]

Yep. No judgment here, though.

I'm not sure we are on the same page, why do you mention "no judgment"?

 

[EJCC]

I'm not sure we are on the same page, why do you mention "no judgment"?

For whatever reason, people tend to assume that when I espouse a particular aesthetic or way of operating, that I'm going to judge everyone who doesn't do the same thing. (Type 1 problems...) So I wasn't sure if the fact that I DO have a lot of shoes, and try to stay on top of trends and whatnot, was going to make you assume that.

Anyhoo. Sorry for the misunderstanding!

 

[infinite]

For whatever reason, people tend to assume that when I espouse a particular aesthetic or way of operating, that I'm going to judge everyone who doesn't do the same thing. (Type 1 problems...) So I wasn't sure if the fact that I DO have a lot of shoes, and try to stay on top of trends and whatnot, was going to make you assume that.

Anyhoo. Sorry for the misunderstanding!

OK I see No I didn't assume you'd be judging people about that. You explicitly said it's up to people to choose if they want to engage in the game.

 

[Mole]

For guys it's fairly simple. Black shoes with a black or gray suit, brown shoes with a brown or blue suit, although you can do black shoes with a blue suit if it's pretty dark. Your socks should match your pants, and your belt should match your shoes. With braces you have more leeway.

Yes, this is the male uniform for the industrial society where we do specialised work called jobs.

But as we move on from the industrial society to the electric society we find we have roles rather than specialised jobs.

For instance, on this electric site we have roles called avatars.

So dressing for a role is different than dressing for a job.

For instance, those who have a job are interchangable, so they need to be uniform, so they need to wear the same uniform.

And those who have a role, dress for the role, and are not interchangable nor uniform, so don't wear a uniform.

 

[93JC]

Quite simply, women's fashion is more complicated, and so women have many more shoes to choose from. A "core" set of shoes, for women, in order to stay trendy, would probably be:
- Casual sandals
- Work sandals
- Casual flats
- Work flats
- Work heels
- Party heels
- Winter boots
- Gym shoes
- Shower sandals

Whereas for men it would probably be
- Work shoes
- Casual shoes/gym shoes
- Shower sandals

If you're going to preface this list with "in order to stay trendy" you should keep up with male fashion trends, and from this list we can glean that you don't, fair EJCC. A man needs far more than three pairs of shoes to be trendy.

First of all, "work shoes". That depends on where you work. "Business" attire requires at least two pairs of shoes: black and brown leather shoes, usually of the Oxford style. "Business casual" still implies a leather shoe although a loafer may be acceptable. ("Business casual" is a nebulous term that can vary substantially from company to company, let alone city to city; what may be "Business casual" at one office may be considered full-on "casual" and completely inappropriate in another, or vice-versa.) No matter whether he wears a suit and tie or merely a collared shirt a trendy man will have at least two pairs of "work shoes".

Blue-collar workers often require a pair of steel-toe and sole boots. So do professionals in certain fields, e.g. engineers and geoscientists who might have to visit "site".

"Casual shoes" run the gamut from loafers, less formal slip-ons (e.g. boat shoes), canvas shoes, sneakers/runners/gym shoes... A trendy man will have at least two pairs of casual shoes. A particularly fashionable man would have several pairs in an assortment of colours, and may also have one or more pairs of sandals.

A trendy man will also have at least one pair of sneakers/runners/gym shoes for exclusive use when exercising and/or playing sports, in addition to the ones he may have as mere "casual" shoes.

The number and style of boots a trendy man owns will vary based on his location and vocation. In a snowy climate he may have a dedicated pair of winter boots. In a more moderate climate he may have only a pair of leather chukkas. In a rainy one he will almost certainly have a pair with a rubber sole so as to not subject his leather-soled business or business-casual footwear to damage.


In summary a trendy man will have:
- at least two pairs of work shoes, plus any heavy-duty footwear as required
- at least two pairs of casual shoes
- gym shoes
- additional weather-appropriate footwear (winter boots, rain boots, etc.)

That's at least five pairs of shoes, and the final total can very easily be double that.


(And no trendy man owns "shower sandals"... )

 

[EJCC]

[MENTION=5837]93JC[/MENTION] Touche -- thanks for the correction.

Re: that last point, if you don't wear shower shoes when you shower at the gym, then what DO you wear?

 

[93JC]

Re: that last point, if you don't wear shower shoes when you shower at the gym, then what DO you wear?

If etiquette at the particular gym dictates the use of some sort of shower shoe the trendy man will wear some cheap rubber flip-flops and feel shameful for doing it.

 

[Redbone]

I don't get the shoe thing. I hate shoes...don't like anything on my feet.

I like perfumes and jewelry much, much better. I also like dressing other people rather than myself. My sister used to force me at wallet-point to get new shoes because they would literally be falling off my feet. I'm hoping that she will do when she comes to visit me out here!

 

[EJCC]

If etiquette at the particular gym dictates the use of some sort of shower shoe the trendy man will wear some cheap rubber flip-flops and feel shameful for doing it.

Good to know!

 

[Coriolis]

I'm not a shoe fiend like some ladies are, but to the extent that I enjoy buying new shoes, this is why. I hate clothes shopping. It's depressing. Shoe shopping doesn't remind me of my huge ass.

I don't enjoy shoe shopping at all, because I'm usually looking for something like this:

when the stores are full of this:

Granted, clothes shopping is not much better, and not because things don't fit. Styles are just silly.

Women are told that heels go with particular outfits and flats with others. We're told that no one pair of shoes can go with every work or casual outfit. I'm not sure whether women started this, or men, but those are the rules of the game, and you can choose to either play, and have that big collection of shoes, or not play, and do what men do.

Are you kidding? Who tells you that, and why do you listen? If I had to keep the assortment of shoes you listed, I'd land in the asylum. I have shoes for work (top image above), a dressier set for church (where I usually change to organ shoes anyway), sneakers for exercising, hiking shoes, old sneakers for yard work, and sandals.

For guys it's fairly simple. Black shoes with a black or gray suit, brown shoes with a brown or blue suit, although you can do black shoes with a blue suit if it's pretty dark. Your socks should match your pants, and your belt should match your shoes. With braces you have more leeway.

Is there standard operating procedure for women?

There is for this woman:

Black shoes and socks, always; to match gray and black pants, or black suit, or dresses/skirts that are primarily in these colors. No brown in wardrobe at all, except for sports/hiking wear.

 

[EJCC]

Are you kidding? Who tells you that, and why do you listen? If I had to keep the assortment of shoes you listed, I'd land in the asylum. I have shoes for work (top image above), a dressier set for church (where I usually change to organ shoes anyway), sneakers for exercising, hiking shoes, old sneakers for yard work, and sandals.

No one tells me, but I absorb it from pop culture and from my peers. Mostly I listen because it's fun. With trends, I always take the ones I like and leave the rest, when it comes to jewelry, makeup, clothes, hair, etc. It would be different if I didn't like clothes, or shopping. But I do. I think fashion is interesting and I like bargain-hunting.

 

[Evo]

I have shoes for work (top image above), a dressier set for church (where I usually change to organ shoes anyway), sneakers for exercising, hiking shoes, old sneakers for yard work, and sandals.

Yea, this is pretty much what I have. And even that feels like a lot. I don't like to buy things without a purpose. And I can't convince myself that more than that is necessary.

 

[Noll]

Irrational gender role.

 

[johnnyyukon]

Women are so cray.

This is the only shoe you need, good for all occasions. Casual, gym, formals, clubbing, baby showers, square dancing:

 

[gromit]

Women are so cray.

This is the only shoe you need, good for all occasions. Casual, gym, formals, clubbing, baby showers, square dancing:

I think you mean

 

[SD45T-2]

Women are so cray.