I could be accused of taking the mickey if I said I needed another pair of boots, but the moment I saw these (or maybe it wasn't until I tried them on?) I knew I did. This despite the fact that the addition of the black&white boots I bought a week or 2 ago had brought my current collection up to 10 pair to get me through this winter -- but that includes 3 square-nosed ones: one black embossed velvet, one blue denim, and one motorcycle boots inspired butch pair, and square-noses are so last season or even the season before that; 1 punk inspired pair of extreme winkle picker ankleboots complete with spikes and metal heel that one can only wear when in a certain mood; and a pair of Pocahontas mocassin boots with feathers, fringes and bright beads that aren't very everyday either. And how often do I wear my hard pink, rose-embroidered cowboy boots, anyway? So I really only had 4 pair, and they were all high-heeled! And far too special for daily wear -- sitting in that shop, I suddenly realised I desperately needed a mundane, classic riding boot model in soft camel-coloured suede to stomp through the sleet and snow that are soon to come, or my collection would be woefully inadequate and wasteful in the sense that I would have spent a whole heap of money and still not have the means of keeping my feet dry and warm. I barely needed the 10% discount offer the salesperson dangled in front of me, "for our special customers such as yourself".
I had gone to the high street in search of a new winter coat. I'd had a slight accident with my old Benetton this weekend; and after careful consideration, I could suddenly understand where the protests of my family and the pitying looks I've been receiving from strangers when wearing my trusty old wax coat come from. It's falling apart. What can you expect from a coat that has been glued to your back since the early nineties, and that cost you 20 quid at Kenmare market? It's battered, tattered, ripped and torn and all the wax in the world isn't going to keep the wind and rain out now. With winter approaching fast, I found myself without a coat, and so off to the shops I went. But I couldn't find a coat I liked; wherever I went, it seemed all they had were these parka models with fake fur hoods and I don't fancy me one of those.
I don't know how I ended up in that shoe shop. But I do know that I'm my own purse's worst enemy.
embarrassed