I am on maternity leave which means our household has been living off one wage. There isn’t a lot of cash left over for personal spending, but I do try and put a little bit of money aside for clothes and shoes because they are a need.
Last winter, ankle boots were a big trend and they are making their season debut. Since clothes aren’t really on my radar due to my fluctuating size, a new pair of boots have been.
I fell in love with these Zoe Kratzmann Boots which are $289. I loved the colour and style, but not so much the heel height and they only go up to a size 10.
I researched boots online by looking at other shoe retailers and I loved these boots by Nine West and they were cheaper than my Zoe Kratzmann boots at $179.95. I even became quite partial to the orange boots (which were reduced by $20) but reasoned the beige colour would get much more cost per wear value.
Last week I went to Nine West at Robina to try the HippyChic boots on and their size 10 was a bit too snug for my foot. The sales assistant said that the leather would stretch but I’m not a fan of wearing shoes in while creating blisters on my feet. The assistant advised they didn’t go up to a size 11, although now looking online they actually did, but she mustn’t have had the size available.
I was disappointed because most of my online research and even window shopping hadn’t been successful for what I was looking for.
I decided to head to Harbour Town at Southport which is a factory outlet shopping mall, to see if I could find what I was looking for and low and behold, every shoe store I went into didn’t have my size (I’m a 10.5-11) or didn’t have the colour or style.
I then walked into Joanne Mercer and found these two pairs of boots.
The Orange Suede Boots were a size 10 and were reduced from $179.95 to $49.95. They were a generous size 10.
The Natural Tan Boots were a size 11 and were reduced from $169.95 to $69.95.
There was also an extra 30% off sale prices while I was in the store. I ended up with two new pairs of boots for $85. I was very pleased with my purchases and can’t wait to wear them this winter.
To get what you want within a budget comes down to good research and sometimes compromising on style and colour. It’s important to remember when buying shoes, a good fit is much more important than style, so don’t go and buy a style you love that doesn’t fit your foot properly. My natural colour boots aren’t beige like the original style boots I was intending to purchase, but I know they are a workable colour within my wardrobe.
In the end my compromise saved me money, and I got two pairs of boots.
How do you go about getting items to suit your budget? Had any good bargains lately?
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