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This summer, nearly every top designer has a "Cinderella" slipper, a shoe priced so high that it should come with a handsome prince - or an hour with a male escort, at least. Christian Louboutin's webbed suede and button sandals sell for $1,345 (Dh4,940), while Versace offers a $1,400 (Dh5,142) satin pump festooned with nothing more than a few tassels. Dior's platform slingback with beaded heel runs $1,030 (Dh3,783), while Balenciaga's pink and brown braided gladiator sandal goes for $1,375 (Dh5,050).
Then, there's the $1,045 (Dh3,838) Lanvin flat. Women are salivating for this sandal adorned with a couple dozen leather-covered studs.
Splurging
"Footwear is having its runway moment," says Marshal Cohen, chief analyst for New York market research company NPD Group. Designers are "raising the cachet of the brand by having one extravagant style, and that one makes the other pairs seem more reasonable."
In other words, the glass slipper has shattered and consumers have resigned themselves to splurging. Case in point: You pick up a sandal and sigh with relief when it costs less than your monthly car payment. And those sale endorphins surge when you see $1,000 (Dh3,673) platforms marked down to $675 (Dh2,479).
Miuccia Prada was recently quoted as saying, "The obsession with handbags has finished for now. It feels over. It's about shoes."
Status symbols
Celebrities such as Kirsten Dunst pout for Miu Miu ads that highlight accessories, and starlets name-check their mules on the red carpet. Christian Louboutin's iconic crimson undersoles - as eye-catching as fresh spilled blood on asphalt - have become status symbols. Every new season brings a new style, and with the reign of jeans and casualwear, a breathtaking shoe separates the chic from the chaff.
Not good news
That's not exactly good news for shoe junkies. A pair of sandals could set you back as much as a shoulder bag. Right now, a turquoise Prada satchel sells for $535 (Dh1,965) on the Neiman Marcus website, neimanmarcus.com, and the designer's wavy ankle-wrap sandal sells for $550 (Dh2,020).
"I will literally think, 'Do I spend $600 (Dh2,203) on shoes or get new plumbing?'" says Carlota Espinosa, vice president of online sample sale retailer HauteLook.com. "They keep raising prices to see if people will pay more. And there's no law that says they can't."
Nor is there any way to justify the steady and exponential boost in price. Cohen traces the trend back to 2002, when everyone was crying foul over $300 (Dh1,101) jeans. "Denim stole all the attention, so no one noticed that footwear prices were quietly rising," he says. "The retailers saw that women were passionate about shoes and looked at footwear as an investment."
Los Angeles boutique owner Tracey Ross felt the sting about five years ago. "When Chloe came on the scene, I remember noticing it," she recalls. "All of a sudden, every line started designing a shoe collection that was more elaborate and more expensive." That's about the time that Lanvin entered the scene.
Blame Louboutin
Some blame Louboutin for spiking prices. Even his sequined ballet flats sell for $880 (Dh3,232).
"He started the trend when he introduced the platform," says John Rutenberg, who recently retired from Barneys in Beverly Hills, California, after 15 years as a shoe sales associate. "He wanted to pull ahead of Manolo Blahnik, and his platform sold for $395 (Dh1,450) in 2004. Now, it costs $730 (Dh2,681)."
Louboutin - who fetches up to $2,700 (Dh9,917) for a pair of crystal-studded pumps - refuses to take the blame for footwear inflation.
"This is not in the hands of the designers," he said from Paris. "It's the retailers. If Neiman's or Barneys decides that people are used to spending $700 (Dh2,571 on a pair of pumps, why would they lower that price?"
Great question. Not surprisingly, spokespeople for Neiman Marcus and Barneys declined to comment on the great shoe price debate.
But like the real estate market, the shoe market could be in for a correction. Reports say that in 2005, footwear sales were up 11 per cent. That figure dipped to 5 per cent in 2006 and wilted to 2.5 per cent last year. Now, with a recession looming, the industry can expect some scuffs.
In the meantime, don't fault Lanvin or the retailers for your financial blisters. "This is a free market," says Milton Pedraza, chief executive of the Luxury Institute, a retail research firm in New York. "The consumers are to blame for paying these prices."
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