The survey also revealed that more than one in ten women spend more than £800 a year on their footwear. Almost 30% of www.handbag.com respondents confessed to owning over 30 pairs of shoes, with 17% admitting to having over 40 pairs.
With findings revealing that shoes can affect how we feel, it is not surprising that one third of women buy a pair of shoes almost every month. This would account for women buying 3.37 billion pairs of shoes in 2008 alone[2].
But why do we own so many shoes?
61% of respondents surveyed by www.handbag.com, the first website dedicated to women's lifestyle said ‘Footwear makes me feel happy'. Furthermore, two-thirds of women said that the right shoes make them feel confident. Also, almost half of women feel that shoes make them feel sexy, which could explain why women own so many!
To explore our fascination and relationship with shoes further, handbag.com commissioned psychologist Christine Webber to analyse the findings to help us understand what our shoes say about our mood.
THE SHOES | HOW THEY MAKE US FEEL... |
Ballet pumps | Young, girlish and carefree |
Killer heels | Powerful and confident |
Dull loathers | Flat, there is no need to dress up |
Christine Webber, psychologist, says: "Although a great pair of shoes might not bring your boyfriend back, or make up for losing a job or gaining a few pounds, the findings clearly illustrate that they do have a cheering effect on our emotion and even if it is temporary, it is still an almost foolproof pick me up."
Webber also comments ... "Shoes are a great indicator of personality. If, for example, you see a woman dressed in a smart black outfit, but she is sporting a pair of high-heeled leopard print shoes, you can tell that she is kittenish by nature and that she is quite tongue in cheek about her ‘serious' garb. Shoes express the real person more than the perfect pair of black trousers ever can."
Belinda White, Fashion Director at www.handbag.com, says: "We women have known for years that buying shoes is food for your soul and now we have actual proof! The simple fact is that women love shoes because they can always find a pair to make them look and feel fabulous no matter their body shape or height."
However although woman adore their shoes, the survey also revealed that 23% of respondents admitted to owning at least 5 pairs of shoes which they have never worn.
Continues White: "There are so many great shoe brands around now for all price points so there's no excuse to be un-happy anymore. We've all bought shoes that we've never worn because they are impractical or uncomfortable but that doesn't detract from their beauty. Sometimes just knowing they are in your cupboard can cheer you up."
To tie in with www.handbag.com's Shoe Month and to help you make the right shoe buying decision this season, Belinda's top five shoes are:
1. Gladiator sandals - everywhere on the catwalks and all over the highstreet
2. Espadrille wedge - making a comeback spearheaded by cult Spanish label Castaner
3. YSL Tribute - totally impractical but works of art with serious heirloom potential
4. A sculptural heel - again all over the catwalk from Miu Miu to Fendi
5. Balenciaga warrior boots - fierce and iconic. To treasure.
Notes to editors
About www.handbag.com
www.handbag.com took the UK by storm when it launched in 1999, as the first website dedicated to women's lifestyle. Now with over 1.5 million unique readers every month, it is very proud to be the market leader.
www.handbag.com is a stylish, glamorous, trusted and informative editorial title providing the inside track for busy women online on everyday important issues like fashion, beauty and celebrity news and relationships. With the luxury look of a glossy and the lightening reactions of a daily, www.handbag.com offers a breadth of coverage from expert writers, establishing a powerful reputation as the leader in a crowded field.
www.handbag.com was acquired by the National Magazine Co. in October 2006 alongside its subsidiary sites getlippy.com, aimed at 18- to 30-year-old women, allaboutyou.com for women aged over 35. www.handbag.com is part of the company's Hearst Digital network.
About The Hearst Digital Network
The Hearst Digital Network, a division of the National Magazine Company', publishes the following websites: http://www.handbag.com/_, http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/_, http://www.getlippy.com/_, http://www.allaboutyou.com/_, http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/_
About the National Magazine Company
The National Magazine Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearst established by William Randolph Hearst in 1910.
The business comprises the core wholly owned business, also called the National Magazine Co and interests in two joint ventures. These are partnerships with some of the world's best publishers as follows:
NatMag Rodale:
A 50:50 joint venture with Rodale Inc. of the USA which focuses on health and wellbeing.
COMAG:
A 65:35 joint venture with Conde Nast, one of the UK's largest magazine distributors.
NatMag publishes 14 consumer titles in the UK: Coast, Company, Cosmopolitan, Cosmopolitan Bride, Country Living, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Harper's Bazaar, House Beautiful, Prima, Prima Baby, SHE, You & Your Wedding, and Zest. The group publishes three large scale weeklies, Best, Reveal and Real People and also publishes a further two magazines, Men's Health and Runner's World, through NatMag Rodale.
NatMag division, Hearst Digital Network, publishes a number of community websites for NatMag magazines and also includes the Handbag network and http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/, the UK's leading consumer health site.
For more information please log on to www.natmags.co.uk
[1] Handbag.com survey questioned 500 woman during May 2008
[2] Stat estimated using the figure of 30.7 million woman in the UK taken from http://www.statistics.gov.uk/
