![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Male counterparts to Imelda Marcos
Jun. 17th, 2012 01:56 pmSo what's Dad getting for Fathers' Day this year? A tie? A set of golf clubs? How about a pair of designer shoes?
When we think about someone going gaga over a pair of shoes, we probably think about, say, Lady Gaga. Or Carrie Bradshaw with her walk-in shoe closet in Sex and the City. Or maybe the amateur sleuth in a novel by Janet Evanovich, Carole Nelson Douglas or Mary Jane Maffini. But recently, camping outside a downtown sports shop for several nights in a row in hopes of getting their hands on and feet into one of an exclusive limited-edition line of running shoes, was a line-up of young MEN. Nor were they the kind of men (if there IS a particular kind of man) that you would expect to see shopping at Fredrick's of Hollywood!
No, they call themselves "sneakerheads" and they were there for the prestige value of owning a pair of these things. Or even for the shoes' "investment" value - perhaps they would be able to buy a pair for, say, $500 and sell it on e-bay for $50,000!
The store refused to divulge in advance just how many pairs of these sneakers it had. Turned out, they only had ten pairs, so most would-be customers walked away empty-handed. Those who DID get to buy a pair mostly weren't able to get one in their size, so presumably they hoped to swap with someone, give them as a gift, or sell them at an outrageous profit.
Well, whatever turns you on, I guess. But who says it's WOMEN who are ditzy and frivolous?
When we think about someone going gaga over a pair of shoes, we probably think about, say, Lady Gaga. Or Carrie Bradshaw with her walk-in shoe closet in Sex and the City. Or maybe the amateur sleuth in a novel by Janet Evanovich, Carole Nelson Douglas or Mary Jane Maffini. But recently, camping outside a downtown sports shop for several nights in a row in hopes of getting their hands on and feet into one of an exclusive limited-edition line of running shoes, was a line-up of young MEN. Nor were they the kind of men (if there IS a particular kind of man) that you would expect to see shopping at Fredrick's of Hollywood!
No, they call themselves "sneakerheads" and they were there for the prestige value of owning a pair of these things. Or even for the shoes' "investment" value - perhaps they would be able to buy a pair for, say, $500 and sell it on e-bay for $50,000!
The store refused to divulge in advance just how many pairs of these sneakers it had. Turned out, they only had ten pairs, so most would-be customers walked away empty-handed. Those who DID get to buy a pair mostly weren't able to get one in their size, so presumably they hoped to swap with someone, give them as a gift, or sell them at an outrageous profit.
Well, whatever turns you on, I guess. But who says it's WOMEN who are ditzy and frivolous?
