I got a pair of Ariat two-tone (caramel and milk chocolate brown) leather lace up ankle boots. They retail between $200-$400, and I got them off ebay for $25. They are gorgeous, in great condition, look to have been worn twice at the most, and fit like a glove -- or a well-made boot, I've just realized how many pairs of gloves I've tried on that haven't fit. I understand why people buy expensive shoes; you don't realize the difference in quality sometimes until you stick your foot into a $30 boot and then into a $300 -- what I don't understand is why they'd bother paying full price!
I've bought second-hand high-end shoes in the past - wearing a pair as I type, in fact - and would only recommend it if someone has (genuinely!) only worn them very, very briefly i.e. a few hours or so. Your pair sounds like it fits this description and certainly, the ones I'm wearing did when I bought them. Leaving aside hygiene issues, the bigger reason is that once the shoe's footbed moulds itself to someone's foot, it's very difficult for it to reshape itself to yours. According to a orthopaedic colleague, that can to potential subtle problems further down the line. I haven't read any literature around this myself, so don't know if he's being overly cautious/paranoid, but I've decided it's probably best to err on the side of caution. So I've personally stopped buying second-hand shoes completely, and I think the pair I'm currently wearing is the only one left in my wardrobe. Anyway, from shoes to jackets: I've just ordered a couple of tweedy checked jackets. One is a blue check on a grey background, the other a tan/mustardy check on a green background. Really looking forward to getting them, though it will be some time until they're ready.
About $2.25 to use the toll road, $40 to see the dermatologist, $4 to get out of the parking lot, about $18 bucks to get lotion, cat food, chips, etc at the grocery store. About an hour of driving for a 5 minute appointment, for which I had to wait 20 minutes.But at least I'm skin cancer-free for another year.
Hygiene? I thought it was a given that one cleans used shoes and garments before wearing them! I had heard that about the shoe conforming to the foot, but I wouldn't buy shoes that had been worn that often, and given that I probably walk more in a day than most people do in a week, I think my feet will stubbornly pound their adorable little shape into the soles fairly quickly! And my feet are both stubborn and adorable. Like the rest of me. I've just ordered a pair of bespoke leather gloves, and so am playing the same waiting game! They will be 35 cm long leather fingerless gloves in camel.
Those guys will also tell you to throw away your flip flops, terrible awful damage or something... health and safety gone mad! Last thing I bought were herbs and spices!
Picked up this cute dress today! I can't wait to wear it, but it's probably not cool enough. It's been really warm...I actually wore shorts today!
Now those sound very interesting! Bespoke glovemakers are pretty rare these days; who are you using, if you don't mind me asking? (I've heard of LaCrasia in NYC, but don't know any other makers there.)
I'm actually not going through a company but through connections. The guy whose making them is a friend of a friend --actually, the friend of the milliner who made one of my bespoke felt cloches -- they met when she was learning to make leather hats.
I lost my Alias DVD collection (among other DVDs) so I'm slowly replacing them. I ordered seasons 1 and 2 from Amazon.com. I should be able to get the other three by the end of November.
Stocked up on groceries in case the storm hits hard. I got about a week's worth with the $25 I made selling a pair of shoes and a jacket at consignment.