Requiem for a pair of sneakers
Toms, you were a good pair of shoes to walk around in, and we traversed vast distances comfortably. Unlike most trainers you were light and never made us feel like we were clomping around. Unlike tennis shoes we could wear you in the summer. You went well with everything, although we don’t particularly care whether our shoes match our clothes. Plus you had that Buy-a-pair-and-we-donate-a-new-pair-to-a-child-in-need hook, which made us feel virtuous even if we didn’t know if the shoes donated to needy children were also Toms.
But after one year of infrequent wear—we’d wear you every day for a week and then forget you for two months—we noticed a hole in the fabric. (Note: We only wore you on paved surfaces, not mountain crags or rocks.) Okay, maybe our little toe is too sharp so it poked out a hole. And then we saw the rip right across the top, exposing the lining. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Is that intentional, like pre-torn designer jeans? Is it supposed to rip, to enhance that socially-responsible world traveler look?
Fine, you’re a year and three months old and maybe this is what you consider normal wear and tear, but you cost around Php5,000. That’s more that we ever paid for Doc Martens, and our 15-year-old Docs are alive and fighting. That’s more than we usually pay for shoes, actually (We got you with GCs, the legal tender of the freelance writing set). If you had cost, say, Php1500 we’d think, Well, we got our money’s worth. In this case we feel a little gypped.
We’ll probably keep on wearing you till you fall apart completely, ignoring the stares of the finicky and fashionable, but we’re disappointed.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
July 12th, 2013 at 10:45
What?!?!?!?! That’s more than double the price here in NY! I got my Toms for less than $50! What the heck?!??!?!
July 12th, 2013 at 12:40
joycalo: The cheapest Toms here are probably the espadrilles, which cost around Php3,500 (USD82!) Mahal pa rin! Added importation costs? Or they figure the local buyers would be willing to shell out more?
July 14th, 2013 at 00:15
I have been shelling out more for shoes recently. Men’s shoes are expensive and those that cost less than P3,000 last less than a year. I even had a pair that lasted only a couple of months. If my past self from five years ago could see my shoe rack now, he would go ballistic.
I figured I should invest in expensive shoes and buy at least three pairs and use them on rotation so as not to wear them out too soon and to make sure that their soles would not just fall off while I’m attending a function. Plus, I am under pressure to wear good shoes because the utility personnel at the place where I work have better shoe collections than me.
July 14th, 2013 at 21:51
the chronicler of boredom: This sounds horrible and elitist, but we judge men by their shoes. Do not wear cheap shoes. Women can get away with it; it’s one of the few ways sexism works for us. But men need to wear proper real leather shoes. They just do. They don’t have to be designer shoes, but they have to be well-made. And don’t think we’re impressed by expensive basketball shoes, they just call attention to the fact that most of their wearers are not sports stars.
The great thing about good leather shoes is that they look better with age, so you can wear them for decades.
July 15th, 2013 at 22:24
jessicazafra: Yep, I am slowly climbing my way up the price range. Fact is, expensive leather shoes are very comfortable to wear and adds a certain panache to a guy’s everyday office wear.
But I have yet to acquire leather shoes that have a five-figure price tag. i feel that I need to have a car and a chauffeur first or I have to live in a place that is not susceptible to floods, has well-paved roads, or carpeted. It would be such a shame to splash them around in the mud or be trod upon by other commuters.
July 15th, 2013 at 23:09
the chronicler of boredom: You could do as women do and keep sneakers in your desk for the commute.
July 18th, 2013 at 10:18
Well, here’s the answer to your question… the children don’t get Toms, they get better shoes :) plus they get more shoes as they grow older.
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/3-things-don-t-know-toms-134605971.html