The Obsession with High Fashion Designer Footwear

What is it that intrigues women so about designer shoes? Why do we go gaga over the likes of a Manolo Blahnik or a Jimmy Choo?

As a woman, ergo one of the intrigued, I often find myself in the middle of discussions about the price of designer brand shoes. Why do they cost so much? Who would pay those prices? Then there's the ever popular "you would be crazy to lay down that much cash for some famous shoe designer's name!"

There is somewhat of a reprieve, however. Discount stores like DSW (Designer Shoe Warehouse) and Nordstrom's, Off the Rack, give a shoe maven the opportunity to scratch her itch for the best designer shoes without demolishing her bank account.

Whenever my cohorts ask me why designers charge so much for their wares, I always have the same answer: because that's what their clientele want to pay. You see, even the quintessential bargain shopper has her favorite designers and will rarely deviate. Oh, how we love to share our conquest: "girl, you won't believe how much I got these (insert designer name here) for! They were originally..." (insert exorbitantly high price here). While the savvy shopper may be acquiring her favorite designer shoes for less, the original price remains a fixation in her fashion psyche.

Paris Hilton, Eva Longoria, Rihanna, and Britney Spears are not the only ones amassing their high-end designer collections. It's also the self-made businesswoman, the 21^st century female entrepreneur, the unsung heroine who has earned her keep, worked her way to the top, and has no problem treating herself to the guilty, or not so guilty, pleasure of sporting the latest creation of her favorite shoe designer. To the winner go the spoils!

It's just my opinion, but I believe women who buy Christian Louboutin, Ferragamo, and Miu Miu at full cost, are not only enamored with the shoes, but probably get at least a slight thrill from being able to afford the prices they pay for them. For me, it wouldn't be as much about bragging rites as about the ability to purchase a high quality, high fashion, designer shoe of my choosing without having to worry about what bill I can't pay because of my purchase.