I lived off jacket potatoes for month to afford £950 Prada shoes like Kylie Jenner – it was worth it
I CAN’T say I have ever felt like Kylie Jenner and I were kindred spirits . . . until she showed off her incredible £750,000 shoe collection.
The reality star and cosmetics mogul gave fans on Instagram a glimpse of the colour-coordinated rows of Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana and Christian Louboutin.
Pure heaven for shoe addicts such as myself.
From heels to thigh-high boots, stilettos to wedges, the 24-year-old has enough shoes to fill a shop.
Shoes can transform your outfit and lift your mood. It is a confidence thing, the same feeling as when you get a new haircut.
My shoe collection is an INVESTMENT.
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I’ve got around 60 pairs, worth upwards of £6,000 in total.
From heels to trainers, designer shoes and bargains, the collection covers all bases.
And I don’t discriminate. All shoes are welcome in my wardrobe — even painful ones . . . as long as they look good.
‘CONQUER THE WORLD’
Unlike Kylie, who is reckoned by some to be a billionaire already, I am on a modest salary.
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So I save up and — don’t judge me here — sometimes use interest-free credit cards to buy new pairs.
If I am desperate to get my hands on (or feet into) an expensive pair, I will cut back on my food shop, for instance, to save cash. Once, I lived off jacket potatoes with baked beans for a month to buy some Prada shoes — with crystals on — that cost £950.
And I would not be afraid to do it again.
My Prada shoes take pride of place in my archive — alongside £670 Fendi trainers, Ralph Lauren loafers and Guess trainers costing around £100 a pair — in fitted wardrobes in the hallway of my one-bedroom flat.
Lockdown was great for me because I was not spending money on travel or eating out.
It was the perfect time to invest in my collection.
My boyfriend Aaron, who I live with, does not know the half of it.
I have been guilty of lying to him and claiming a new pair of shoes were on sale when really they were not.
I have even told him I could not cover my share of the rent because I spent so much on our food shop, when in reality I had splashed out on a pair of heels.
A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do, right? As design legend Coco Chanel once said: “Accessories are what makes or marks a woman.”
I know some would say I sound crazy. But it is all about priorities — and mine might be different from yours. Some people love to eat out for dinner.
Accessories are what makes or marks a woman
Coco Chanel
I would prefer to save that money for something I can keep. Some drive. I would rather save on petrol and walk — in an exceptional pair of shoes.
My obsession began at 13, when my mum bought me my first special pair. They were leather loafers with Swarovski crystals and were so comfortable.
I thought I was the bee’s knees when I wore them with my school uniform, though I later got in trouble for wearing them to school.
Since then, I have loved adding to my collection. And I am not the only one guilty of stocking up.
One in eight women in this country owns more than 100 pairs of shoes. That is a shoe for every occasion, and then some.
Even so, Kylie came under fire for showing off her fabulous footwear, with critics calling her “tacky” and “shallow”.
I beg to differ. If you’ve got it, flaunt it. And though I don’t own anything like the number of shoes Kylie has, I know what it is like for people to take digs over my expensive hobby.
Friends and family constantly ask me: “Do you really need those?” And: “Why did you spend so much?” Or: “Where did you get the money for those?”
One friend even said she was “appalled” that I had “wasted so much money” on shoes, adding that I needed to get my priorities straight.
But I don’t care. People enjoy art — and Kylie’s shoe collection is art to me. I am more than willing to make the investment.
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Shoes make me feel more confident and like I am ready to take on anything. As the actress Marilyn Monroe famously said: “Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world.”
And hey, if the shoe fits . . .