How much would you spend on a great pair of shoes?

The other day I was sitting in my car at a downtown intersection waiting for the light to turn green. That's when I saw a flash of red — a twentysomething woman was crossing the street in sky-high black pumps with red soles.

By Caroline Cakebread

Updated November 2, 2012

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Woman in grey pleated skirt trying on white high heel shoes

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The other day I was sitting in my car at a downtown intersection waiting for the light to turn green. That's when I saw a flash of red — a twenty-something woman was crossing the street in sky-high black pumps with red soles. Red soles being the signature style of Christian Louboutin shoes. She looked great in them, but at $700 or more a pair, they are serious status shoes. With a flash of that red sole, I knew how much she was willing to shell out for a fantastic pair of shoes.

I have friends who are happy to indulge in a great pair of shoes, but I’ve never been able to swallow the cost. Unlike many shoe-obsessed women I know, I break into a sweat at the thought of spending more than $100 on a pair. I imagine the heel getting stuck in a grate or somehow getting scuffed up and it just doesn't seem worth it.

This probably makes me a giant failure among the Carrie Bradshaw set and I get the reasoning behind spending a lot of money on shoes. After all, cheap shoes are the absolute worst — plastic straps that dig into your feet and heels that fall apart after just a few wears. In fact, all my summer shoes bought at various discount stores last year look kind of shabby now and need to be replaced.