I’m in love with a pair of Tory Burch boots.
Just look at them. Go ahead.
A pair of tall glistening leather equestrian boots with an elegant little golden logo that gleams glamor at the ankle. Classy. Sexy. Sophisticated.
$500.
Monday through Friday I’ve been getting up at 7:30 AM to do admin work at an office off Times Square. Then on the weekends I pass out menus at a restaurant. It’s not glamorous, but it’s the sort of thing a college student has to do if she wants to get established. These boots — these boots are what get me through the day. Whenever things start to get rough, I close my eyes and imagine myself strutting down Madison Ave with the wind blowing through my hair, Jimi Hendrix’s Foxy Lady playing in the background and men in suits straining their necks to say “Damn, look at that hot chick in those sexy ass Tory. Burch. Boots“.
The funny thing is, I’d never even heard of Tory Burch before I arrived to Manhattan.
You see, this is what New York does to you. Even in Paris, I was perfectly content with my kitten heal leather boots from Clarks. They were sharp. Sensible. They kept my feet in style in the fall, warm in the winters, and dry in the spring.
Now, screw Clarks. My grandpa wears Clarks, I want Tory Burch.
In the Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith wrote that social pressure delegates how much we decide to spend. We’ll purchase anything to avoid feeling embarrassed by our lack of it — even when it’s beyond our means.
So what do I want to purchase? A pair of beautiful boots? Or a stamp of approval that says I’m worth something? And if that’s the case, does that mean I don’t feel like I’m worth something?
I know, I know, the whole thing is so shallow. I’m a smart cookie, I know what’s going on here….
…But I also know that’s gonna feel damn good when those snotty little fashionistas’ heads snap into place to gaze at my shiny legs or when I hear gay men mutter to each other, “Damn, look at that girl’s boots.”Ahhh.
I promise, after this purchase I’ll focus on a savings plan or figure out what I’m going to do with my life or work on my film or something and not have anymore of these unreasonable splurges…
(I mean that is right after I get a Longchamp tote to carry my schoolbooks)
Just a couple more weeks of answering phones…
