Hall of Fame Steals: My Luxury Shoe Collection

There is a widely acknowledged Rule of Sales that most ladies know by heart and most men will never understand: the ratio of the discount to the original price of an item increases an items appeal in the eye of the shopper. Further, this ratio is  increased exponentially if said discounted item is normally priced out of the shopper's price range.

Simply stated, the more something is marked down, the more it appeals to us, especially if the original price of the item is way out of our budget. Who among us has never come home from a shopping excursion with a priceless piece of art (okay, a shoe) to the baffled consternation of a boyfriend/spouse/father who doesn't understand that even though the sale price you paid for something doesn't seem to qualify as a "sale", it truly is considering how much the item would have cost at full price?

Some people just don't understand that a good mark down can justify an enormous expenditure.

This theory can be applied to any number of consumer items, but we will allow shoes to serve as the focus of today's lesson. Plus, shoes are my addiction. I always like to say I have two vices: driving fast and expensive shoes.

And what's better than expensive shoes except expensive shoes at deep discounts! I am the proud owner of  several pairs of Jimmy Choos and one classic pair of Manolo Blahniks. What can I say? I may have grown up in Westminster, MD, but I also went off to college the year Sex and the City aired on HBO, so I've come to appreciate the finer shoes in life, especially when they are on sale.

Below are a few luxury shoes in my collection with their original price and the price I paid.

Jimmy Choo brown leather heels with suede and beading detail and a 3.5" heel. Purchased at C-Mart in Perry Hall before they closed. Regularly $450, snagged for $150. The only downside to these lovelies is that it can be difficult to keep them on while walking because the back strap doesn't stay up.

These classic, gold strappy Manolo Blahniks with a 4" heel were also a C-Mart steal. For $150, I got a $350 part of cultural history.

Finally, le piece de resistance. Silk, tropical floral Jimmy Choo sling backs with a 3.5" heel. Purchased in a little shoe boutique in St. Petersberg, Florida for $175, originally $400. These are my all-time favorite shoes, not just my favorite Jimmy Choos. Fun, elegant, unique, unexpected. Also, these were my first pair of Jimmy Choo's, so they hold a special place in my heart.

I realize that even the sale price for some of  these shoes may seem high, but here is a valuable lesson I learned about shopping from the purchase of the above treasures - occasionally you have to bite the bullet and buy something that is a little out of your price range if, and only if, you know you will treasure it forever and you will never find another deal like it. To this day, I have only ever stumbled upon two amazing Jimmy Choo deals in my life. There may never be another one again...but I can keep looking!