Showing off: two pairs of Marc Jacobs shoes for $200!
The Bargain Queen has a couple of conflicting impulses. On the one hand, she LOVES beautiful, well designed things. On the other hand, she knows all about the environmental damage, psychological ill-health and financial ruin that are caused by excess consumption and wants no part of it. So when she falls in love with a fabulous designer something, which happens at least once a year, there's no way she'll buy it unless she can fit it into her budget AND will get many years of wear out of it. That doesn't happen very often, but when it does, what a thrill!
The other day The Bargain Queen outdid herself by finding two pairs of Marc Jacobs shoes for under $200 Australian (about US$150) in the winter sales! (OK, she'll admit right now that one pair are knock-offs, so it's not quite as amazing as it initially sounds, but she's still mighty pleased with herself.)
Here's what she bought:
Marc Jacobs rubber boots, $150
Before winter had even started, The Bargain Queen was already obsessing about these Marc Jacobs boots. At the original price of $240, they were only affordable if she trimmed her budget for other things dramatically, so she waited a while. Then they went down to $150 on sale... bingo! As she mentioned before, she only had one pair of waterproof shoes before and they're nearly worn out, so apart from being gorgeous, these also fill a genuine practical need.
Plus they look equally great with a skirt or peeking out under jeans, but not with jeans tucked into them even though that's really fashionable these days. (The Bargain Queen's a full-grown woman and doesn't need her hips to look any bigger than they actually are.)
Marc Jacobs (knock off) flats, $50!
While The Bargain Queen was buying the boots, she got talking to the sales assistant about her other current obsession - the adorable Marc Jacobs shoes with the studded bows. They still had the real thing in her size, but only in black with a 4" heel, and they were $500 Australian on sale. The bad news: they weren't going to be marked down any further, so The Bargain Queen was never going to be able to buy them :( Then came the good news: there were knock offs. In the same store. In fact, on the opposite side of that floor!
The Bargain Queen raced over and found them in the sale bin immediately and they were marked down to $50... BUT they were an 8.5, a whole size too small. And they were the only ones left. She tried them anyway, just in case, and they fit perfectly. Score!
Two weeks later, they've been worn practically every day even though it's freezing right now (well, freezing by Sydney standards, so nothing's actually frozen). She's wearing them partly because she's so in love with them, and partly because her inability to buy dull but practical things means she can't wear her boots until she goes shopping and buys some suitable socks. *Sigh*.
But if those boots are enough motivation that the next time she goes shopping for socks, she actually buys some instead of getting bored and going home, they're special boots indeed!
The other day The Bargain Queen outdid herself by finding two pairs of Marc Jacobs shoes for under $200 Australian (about US$150) in the winter sales! (OK, she'll admit right now that one pair are knock-offs, so it's not quite as amazing as it initially sounds, but she's still mighty pleased with herself.)
Here's what she bought:
Marc Jacobs rubber boots, $150
Before winter had even started, The Bargain Queen was already obsessing about these Marc Jacobs boots. At the original price of $240, they were only affordable if she trimmed her budget for other things dramatically, so she waited a while. Then they went down to $150 on sale... bingo! As she mentioned before, she only had one pair of waterproof shoes before and they're nearly worn out, so apart from being gorgeous, these also fill a genuine practical need.
Plus they look equally great with a skirt or peeking out under jeans, but not with jeans tucked into them even though that's really fashionable these days. (The Bargain Queen's a full-grown woman and doesn't need her hips to look any bigger than they actually are.)
Marc Jacobs (knock off) flats, $50!
While The Bargain Queen was buying the boots, she got talking to the sales assistant about her other current obsession - the adorable Marc Jacobs shoes with the studded bows. They still had the real thing in her size, but only in black with a 4" heel, and they were $500 Australian on sale. The bad news: they weren't going to be marked down any further, so The Bargain Queen was never going to be able to buy them :( Then came the good news: there were knock offs. In the same store. In fact, on the opposite side of that floor!
The Bargain Queen raced over and found them in the sale bin immediately and they were marked down to $50... BUT they were an 8.5, a whole size too small. And they were the only ones left. She tried them anyway, just in case, and they fit perfectly. Score!
Two weeks later, they've been worn practically every day even though it's freezing right now (well, freezing by Sydney standards, so nothing's actually frozen). She's wearing them partly because she's so in love with them, and partly because her inability to buy dull but practical things means she can't wear her boots until she goes shopping and buys some suitable socks. *Sigh*.
But if those boots are enough motivation that the next time she goes shopping for socks, she actually buys some instead of getting bored and going home, they're special boots indeed!
posted by Sara @ 10:39 am
4 Comments:
At 12:05 pm,
Ivy Frozen said…
Those boots are gorgeous! *::drools over them::* Congrats on the bargain!
At 12:07 pm,
Sara said…
Thanks Ivy!
At 2:26 am,
Rebecca said…
My daughter and I were sitting here together, scrolling through your post. When the picture of the flats came up, in unison we said, "Ohhh ... those are cute!"
If they're comfortable, who cares if they're knock-offs?
At 10:27 am,
Sara said…
My sentiments exactly :)
Marc Jacobs deserves every cent he gets because he's a great designer, but he has a lot of money and I have very little so I can't manage to feel bad about buying a fake. I buy the real thing when I can afford it (i.e. rarely) but the rest of the time, knock-offs will have to do.
Of course, if he teamed up with Target or H&M like so many other designers, at least people in the U.S.A./ Europe could afford his work :)
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