... and another thing I don't understand about my wife

[cleveramerican]

I like yard sales as much as anyone but there are some things I would not EVER consider buying at a yard sale, Shoes are one of them.


Her side: They are by some famous italian designer, they are his most famous model in an unusual color. Back in '85 they cost around $700, if you could even find them in this color. They are not very worn or anything, but you can tell they have been worn some. In 2007 they cost $40 at the yard sale in question.She has around 40 or so pairs of shoes in a wide variety of colors and styles.


My side: My grandfather gave my mother one instruction when it came to kids; Don't hand down shoes. Back in Ireland my grandfather lived his whole boyhood wearing his older brothers outgrown shoes.He blamed his bad feet on this until the day he died. His first pair of brand new shoes were US Army issue, just before he went off to WW1. I have never put on a pair of used shoes as a result(except for rented bowling shoes).

Who's right? or is it just a guy/girl thing?

[anti-everything]

1. You are right

Used shoes are not a good thing...Then again, I'm a guy and care nothing about some Italian designed shoe that once cost $700.

[murielm99]

2. I was taught that, too.

And I am a girl.

I don't mind buying things at garage sales or at the local resale shop. I have gotten nice jeans there that fit well and last. I have gotten shorts there in the summer that look nice, too. For some reason, I can't see paying thirty dollars or more for a pair of summer shorts.

But growing up, my mother taught me that shoes should never be handed down. We all have our own way of wearing and wearing out shoes, it seems. It is unhealthy for feet, or so I'm told, to try to fit someone else's mold. The very idea of putting someone else's shoes on my feet is yuck, yuck, yuck.

I dunno if any of that is true, but, I would not buy used underwear, either. Even if I washed it a hundred times, it would not be mine. I guess things like jeans and t-shirts are outerwear that can be washed and re-used.

I buy stuff at resale because I want to. Maybe if I was desperately poor, used shoes and underwear would not sound so bad.

[Maine-ah]

3. eeww.

you don't know what kind of fungi the previous owner might have had.

[liontamer]

4. vintage shoes:

you can have them refurbished to avoid fungal issues, however the molding to another foot is a problem. But they can still be worn, just not for long periods of time (more than two hours). That's why vintage women's dress shoes are sold (most of those shoes shouldn't have been worn for more than two hour stretches when new either). Used sneakers however are a horrible idea.