Shoe Diva's Ruby Slipper Society

One man’s trash is a certain woman’s treasure.

Especially when the trash is handpicked from Barneys’ discards and collaged onto a red-soled shoe by Christian Louboutin.  And even more so when each pair of paradoxical peep-toe pumps is a one-of-a-kind creation, available exclusively at Barneys New York.  Only then, perhaps, can one justify a $995 price tag for a shoe that’s been cobbled together from trash.

Mon cher M. Louboutin is undoubtedly a marketing genius, but Shoe Diva suggests we momentarily divert our attention from Christian the charismatic designer, to address instead the women he dresses.  What is it that moves a woman to buy a très chère shoe like the PVC-coated couture trash retread?

Although they aren’t as exclusive as his Marie Antoinette capsule collection design, guillotined from production at 36 pairs, the Barneys Trash heels are more unique than the usual Louboutin design, due to their one-of-a-kind stature.  Perhaps it’s this extra-ordinary quality that levitates a lady’s longing for a pair.  When red-soled status becomes ubiquitous in the circles in which one circulates, a style like this trashy shoe sets one apart from the crowd, giving them a leg up on the competition.

Or perhaps there is a more noble reason to buy these trashy heels.  Because each owner is the sole beneficiary of that particular combination of découpaged derivatives, a purchase could, in effect, be construed as an investment in an original piece of art.  And art’s worth, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.  So, any original price is, at best, an approximation of the perceived value of a given work, and as such, subject to future speculation and subsequent market appraisals.

What do you think?  Why do women buy a shoe like this?  Do you regard certain shoe purchases as artwork acquisitions rather than fashion?  If so, what characteristics converge to constitute that designation in your mind’s eye?