Lmao no sympathy for anyone who buys expensive shoes. You're gonna cram your stinky feet in them then stomp around in the dirt. May as well buy designer toilet paper.
Edit: alright then ya'll keep buying $600 shitkickers because they have a picture of a rich guy on the side or Limited Edition blorange-colored laces.
Buy decent shoes that last well and provide good support. Anything else is stupid.
Once you're older than 15 you will discover that a few things in life can have a massive impact on your general well being and health, and it absolutely makes sense to spend big on those. Good shoes are one of these things, a quality mattress appropriate for your body type is another.
Bro I have bad feet after years of wearing shitty chucks and vans. $100 is like the entry level for good "adult" shoes. Even then you're probably walking around in some neon Asics or something.
edit: orthotics are your friend but they're not cheap either
Chucks and Vans are definitely not good shoes. They are stylish shoes, but the shoe itself is a piece of cloth over a piece of cardboard. No wonder you have bad feet, bro, you've been walking on trash.
I bought a pair of steel toe boots with good insole and arch support for about $85 three years ago and those things are still going strong. Comfy and durable. If you've got big feet or want nicer boots than me, that can range up to about $150, anything higher than that is designer bullshit. Don't fall for a brand name.
When you mature as a human being, whatever age that may be, you develop kindness through a willingness to understand and empathize with perspectives that conflict with your own. That doesn't necessarily mean you have to accept it for yourself. For many people, clothing is not simply a means of pragmatic function. It's also a source of self-expression, joy, and beauty. Now for me, $600 for a pair of sneakers is exorbitant and ridiculous no matter who designed it. But it's not a product for me. And if someone with the means feels great buying and wearing them, I don't see the harm. I don't usually pay more than I have to for footwear, but I would pay a premium for certain kitchen tools I use all the time if I like the design, enjoy looking at it, and feel good using it. What I do sympathize with and would like to see reduced in harm is the consumerist culture that pressures people with less means into feeling like they have to have such things for fulfillment.
"What I do sympathize with and would like to see reduced in harm is the consumerist culture that pressures people with less means into feeling like they have to have such things for fulfillment."
We're saying the same exact thing. You just went on a long preachy monologue first to try to make yourself seem smarter/superior to others, while simultaneously being denigrative towards the people you're addressing, which is the exact thing you're preaching about not doing. Furthermore, you didn't even reply to the right person, I'm not the one who chose to disagree with someone only to then say the exact thing they just said.
Everyone in this thread is just repeating the same thing I said yet somehow I'm the asshole. Get a grip, people.
The fact that you don't understand that you're NOT saying the same thing... is pretty sad. Not sure if it's because you have poor reading comprehension or that you're just so clearly emotionally invested in this that you can't see it clearly, but either way, it's pretty sad.
Exceptions can be made for shoes that have a special purpose, e.g. hiking boots or dress shoes in my opinion. For everyday stuff I look for the cheapest neutral looking ones that fit well
Agreed on point about special purpose footwear. However disagree with both you and OPs point about not investing in footwear and seemingly choosing options based at least mostly on cost.
Cheap footwear leads to a variety of other health / joint / posture issues that cost far more in the long run.
All new shoes are going to feel okay when you first get them. Something people forget is how a cheap shoe will degrade over time. Common example is soles wearing down unevenly because say the insole or outsole is made out of something cheap. Now you need to walk on a slightly uneven footing for months till you buy a new pair, thus furthering the damage created by ever other cheap pair of shoes you've bought over the years.
I struggled with my back being numb and tingly for 3 years over a pair of shoes wearing like this. Nearly drove me insane and a decade later I still have issues from time to time.
Yeah, I see how that makes sense. I typically don't buy "cheap" shoes but rather shoes for which there is likely a newer model available or the store has some other reason to get rid of the old stock and are therefore heavily discounted.
Hey man don't take it personal that we disagree with your original point..if you meant to say something else, fair enough, but we all posting / responding to the OP which was more broad than what you are saying now.
Additionally, my response was more about quality of materials which may incrue extra costs and had nothing to do with buying over priced designer stuff. I agree with your new point, but thats not what you said initially.
Not wasting energy explaining this to you. You're clearly incapable of engaging with a disagreement which has lead you to double down and move a few goalposts around.
All criticism of your original point was done respectfully, its really not my problem if you can't just acknowledge you misspoke in the first post.. Its downvoted like 20+ times man. What other evidence do you need that maybe you didn't communicate your thoughts clearly.