I Splurged On A Pair Of Louboutins And I Kinda Regret It
“Treat yourself” has always been my motto when it comes to shopping.
In all other aspects of my life, I’m a saver. I’m the child of my mother, who swears by Marshall’s and will buy seven boxes of Special K if there’s a coupon, leaving my dad confused af when he opens the pantry.
When I’m trying to save money (which is, like, all the time), I can go an entire month without eating out. I’ll walk everywhere humanely possible to avoid spending on transportation, which results in blisters and lots of sweat. I even stopped eating meat in an attempt to save money on my weekly grocery trip.
But when it comes to clothes shopping, I have much less self-control. That’s not to say that I’m walking into Urban Outfitters and spending $80 on a dish-rag marketed as a tube top, but if said tube top was on sale, I’d probably buy it solely because it’s “such a deal” and end up wearing it once before relegating it to the drawer with my 20 other tube tops that were purchased on discount.
But I don’t really care that much about tube tops. My real weakness is shoes. And like every basic bitch with an Instagram account, I’ve always dreamed of a pair of Louboutins. It’s not necessarily the red bottoms and the status that made me want some Loubs so bad (although they def didn’t hurt), it’s really that I’m just fucking obsessed with high heels, spikes, and obnoxiously over-the-top design.
While I spent most of summer 2011 browsing Louboutins on Poshmark and Ebay and saving the money I made waitressing at a beachside seafood restaurant, I held off. After all, I was still in high school and I had absolutely nowhere to wear Louboutins. What the fuck was I going to do? Wear $1,000 shoes to prom?
Fast forward to fall of 2014 and I was living in New York and working three jobs. Two were unpaid internships, and one was a nightclub gig that made me enough money to justify the other two. I was making a ton of money and most of it was in cash. When Christmas rolled around I decided that to reward myself for all the hard work I’d been putting in, I’d buy myself a pair of Louboutins. I found a pair on sale at Bergdorf’s for $675 that were just spiked enough for my liking, but subtle enough to be wearable for everyday events.
The pair of shoes that currently sits under my bed untouched
In my mind, these shoes were casual enough for work at the fashion house where I was interning. I envisioned myself rocking them with jeans a T-shirt for a day look on the weekend. Obviously I would wear them out clubbing, they’d be the perfect way to dress up an all black winter ensemble.
Who the fuck was I kidding thinking I was going to wear my most expensive shoes to everyday events? Sure, maybe if you’re Kylie Jenner and you have 300 pair of Loubs, you can wear one to Tyga’s ratchet house party and not give a fuck if Lil Wayne spills lean on them, but if you’re me – you fucking care.
Want to know how many times I’ve worn my nearly $700 shoes since I bought them in fall of 2014? Twice.
The first time hardly even counts, because I wore them to a family Christmas party at my parents’ house, meaning that I never even stepped foot outside.
The second time, I wore them out to Catch in NYC for my friend’s birthday. It didn’t matter that we were at a table, drunk people were still stepping on my shoes. Instead of having a good time pretending I liked the shitty DJ and getting drunk off of Wodka Vodka, I was worrying about some drunk dude accidentally stepping on my most prized possessions. When I got home that night to inspect my shoes for any damage, I realized something horrific but obvious that happens when you wear your Louboutins outside – the precious red bottoms get scratched.
Take a good look at your favorite Instagram blogger or celeb next time they post a picture of their Loubs. If they’re proudly showing off the perfectly smooth and unscathed red bottoms, it means that they haven’t ever worn them outside. Must be nice getting carried and/or Ubered everywhere. Or maybe they have a personal assistant carry a decoy pair of shoes when they have to step foot on the non-Louboutin approved sidewalk? I’m still unsure.
The thing is, in movies, fashion blogs, and celeb-land; people wear Loubs all the time. But in real life? They don’t. My co-workers at the fashion house usually opted for sneakers for work. And while celebs seem to be rocking Loubs all the time, it’s because they’re walking on red carpets instead of a grimy city street. I’ve certainly seen girls wearing sky-high Louboutins to the club, but I’ve also seen girls carrying them while dancing on tables.
By the way, my Christian Louboutins weren’t anymore comfy than my go-to black heels that I got for $40 at a random store in Philly (they weren’t even on sale). I’d say they are comfier than Steve Maddens, but that’s because I think Steve Maddens are over-priced for their shitty quality to begin with. Loubs certainly don’t make you feel like you’re walking on clouds, hence the reason why I always see girls carrying theirs at the end of the night.
Who are the people who wear Louboutins on the reg? Maybe they’re people who can afford a new pair as soon as their current pair gets ruined, or maybe they’re the people who just don’t give a fuck. Maybe they’re just the type people who go to far more classier events than I do.
Either way, when I left New York to go back to school, you can bet your ass I didn’t bring my Louboutins. Something told me that if I wasn’t comfortable wearing them to an upscale club in NYC, I wouldn’t be comfortable wearing them to a frat party or a bar that sells $1 drinks. So essentially I haven’t got any use out of my $675 purchase in nearly two years.
Do I regret buying Louboutins? Not completely. I mean, I wouldn’t buy them now because I have more financial obligations, plus now I know that living in NYC doesn’t mean that you’ll suddenly have events to wear over-priced heels to. The benefit is that my shoe size likely won’t ever change, so perhaps once I grow up and go to events where there aren’t drunk-ass people giving champagne showers, I can get some use out of them.
In the mean time, I’ll just keep those puppies safe from harm (and lean or champagne) in their box under my bed. If I grow up and decide they’re not my style anymore, I could always sell them. But my advice to you is to think about how much you’re going to wear an expensive pair of shoes (or bag, or whatever) before you dish out your cash.
