but since I've been focusing on things I love. . .
I saw some boots I looooved on Urban Outfitters, but they're $268. So I was still wandering around web-land, not really planning on buying new boots, but just kinda browsing, when I saw the same boots on clearance for $120 less at Anthropologie! Well, not exactly the same, a different color, but same style. Out of curiosity, I thought I'd check out Zappos, who also has the same boot, and their's were $254.
So I bought them. . . from Anthropologie. They'll take a week to get here, and are more than I ever needed to spend on shoes, but I've learned to treat shoes as an investment, and I think these are a worthy one, at that.
Just enough ruggedness, sassiness, and I think they'll be perfect with thick, warm tights.
But they're leather, you say? Yes, they are. And yes, I'm a vegetarian, and no, I don't think leather is really the way to go. But when it comes down to it, I haven't found veggie friendly shoes that live up to the staying power of a pair of well-invested leather shoes. I have some birks I've had since my pre-vegetarian days (12 years ago!), and some cowboy boots that are 2 years old and still kickin'. But all the plastic-y fake shoes I've gone through in that same amount of time will be sitting in a land fill for hundreds of years, and that just makes me feel sick.

So how about you? What are some favorite shoe investments? Are you a faux wearer or is leather okie dokie by you?