Nine Pairs of Shoes

I was reading an article the other day. Not anything to increase my knowledge of middle eastern politics or why civilizations fail. This was more important. It was about fashion. The article said the average man owns five pairs of shoes and the average woman owns nine pairs. I went back to re-read that sentence.

Who is this average woman? Certainly, no one I know. Were they just counting flip flops? Were they just counting black shoes? Maybe it was a typo and they meant to say this average woman owns nine pairs of boots or nine pairs of sandals.

I did a little survey in my head.

Work heels: More than nine
Flats: Multiply by 3
Flip/Flops and shoes to wear with swim suits: More than nine
Boots (Dressy, casual, tall, short, snow and rain appropriate:) Multiply by 3
Black Tie/Cocktail shoes: More than nine
Slippers: LESS than nine (Whew!)
Athletic shoes: Exactly nine

The husband owns more than five pairs of shoes. Are we shoe gluttons? The difference is that the husband is a shoe snob and his are all quite expensive. He likes name brands and Italian leather. My shoes run the gamut from $2 flip flops to the occasional splurge.

Several years ago, the husband worked with a man who put those rubber shoe condoms over his shoes before he went outside. The husband said to me, "Why he feels the need to protect those $20 shoes is beyond me."