Thursday 12 July 2007

wearing new shoes!

My new shoes! Hurrah, because I really needed them too. My regular every day work shoes had really had it, and the big holes let in water.

I recently saw last season's version of these (exactly the same, without the side cutout) at the Camper shop in Melbourne, but they didn't have my size, and couldn't get it in. But hooray for technology, because they're still making a similar style this season, and I bought them online and had them sent via Elsie in America since Camper won't ship to Australia. Thanks Els!

I just love how beautiful and soft the leather is, and how the shape is slightly organic and interesting, but they're still plain enough for everyday, and how they're a bit feminine and delicate but strong enough for regular consistent use. And actual foot-shaped!

I have high hopes of them being really comfy too. They fit perfectly, and at the moment the only hurty bit is the top of the heel where the leather is reinforced and a bit stiffer. Hopefully it will soften up, but for the moment the tough strips seem to be doing their job.

All in all, I am extremely happy with them!

As excited as I am about this cross-ocean shipping system though, it did bring up a few questions. When I found that they shipped to America but not Australia, I assumed it was because they had a warehouse/distributor in the U.S. Not so - according to my tracking, my shoes were made in Morocco, and went via Spain, Belgium, and England before arriving in America. Why then, do Camper not ship directly to Australia? How much oil did it take to ship my shoes such a long way round? Why were they still cheaper (including shipping) than if I'd bought last season's shoes (the rest of the world's leftovers I assume) in Melbourne? Why were the shoes so expensive since they're being made cheaply in Morocco, rather than by craftsmen in Spain as I thought? Hmmm. I find it a bit frustrating when overseas companies give us a raw deal because we're relatively small and far away. It might've worked 10 years ago, but now that there's the internet, we can figure it out and it's kind of insulting to assume we won't!

Still - happy pretty shoes! I guess I'm just lucky I have the internet, and good friends in (latitudinally) high places!

1 comment:

Elsie said...

A whole blog on THE shoes! They do look pretty and I can even tell that the leather is soft and lovely :)
Really glad they got there safely.