Commuting expense? We're No. 6
from THE ENQUIRER:
Cincinnati has landed on a list of most expensive American cities forcommuters by Forbes Magazine, coming in sixth in the nation behindHouston, Cleveland, Detroit, Tampa and Kansas City. The study looked at percentage of annual expenses devoted totransportation to work and found that 20 percent of household expenseswent to transportation in Cincinnati."Forget taking the train; there is no commuter rail system," the Forbes report concluded.
Well, kids, that's what we voted for! No public transportation...it would cost too much! We'd rather pay out of pocket, and then complain about the price of gas. And about the cost of parking, even though its generally lower here than in most cities. Thanks to Delta, we can't afford to fly anywhere and now thanks to ourselves, we spend far too much of our money driving everywhere.
Shortcut to:http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070820/BIZ01/308200030
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Damn that Stacey London! I think she’s a great person and all, but she is convincing me to loosen my purse strings. I used to hate to spend “a lot” of money on clothes and accessories. But she has a point. If you spend the money carefully, it is worth it. Spending a little more on classic, well-made, well-fitting pieces is actually a good use of money. The trouble we have, is finding those worthy pieces, and limiting ourselves to those worthy pieces.
Last night, she hosted a show called Fashion Fanatics on TLC about shoes and handbags. I am still not convinced that any handbag is worth the money. Especially since most of them are trendy and will be ‘out’ soon. But shoes are another story. There’s the timeless dilemma. Heels, short or tall, generally look better. Sometimes sexier. But heels often are not comfortable. I will not suffer for fashion and I don’t think anyone should. Just think, you slip on those high, sexy heels for a night on the town and they look great, and you feel great. But if your feet are in pain a few hours later, do you still feel great? Does the strain on your face look great? No. That just doesn’t work for me. But I am beginning to believe that high heels are not necessarily painful and uncomfortable.
I learned some things from Stacey’s Fashion Fanatics show. First is about Christian Louboutain shoes. They have high heels, but the sole is on a small platform. This gives the illusion of a higher heel without the foot actually being at such a steep angle! A side note about platforms. Three inch soles from toe to heel look ridiculous. Except when they don’t. I have actually been pleasantly surprised by some platforms that I’ve tried on. Since they are not really heels, they can actually be quite comfortable! And the aforementioned partial platforms can make a heel much more wearable.
The second interesting bit from Fashion Fanatics is “toe cleavage.” I had never heard that term! It means that the spot where the toes start is peeking out from under the top of the shoe. I had sometimes wondered if that meant the shoes fit right, but sometimes it looks better. Apparently “toe cleavage” is the preferred look.
Intuitively I know that better materials and craftsmanship make a shoe more wearable. It can make the shoes look and feel better. Unfortunately, it usually comes with a very high price tag. I will not pay $400 for a pair of shoes, no matter how wonderful they are. There must be some compromise. Well-designed shoes with good materials surely can be found for under $100. Right?
So today I had to go to DSW. I wanted to look at heels and put some of Stacey’s ideas into practice. I didn’t have much success with slingbacks. But on the clearance racks I found a great pair of black, quilted patent leather Steve Madden slides with a 3 inch heel. Never mind that I already have 3 pair of black sandals in varying heights. I also decided that I want some red patent leather slingbacks. I didn’t find any satisfactory ones today. But I must find some!
I’ve never paid more than $100 for a pair of shoes but I saw some boots at DSW that I will buy. All last winter, I wanted cozy, fur-lined boots. Not just boots with a fur cuff that makes you think they are fur-lined when they aren't. I wanted totally furry boots. And now I've found them at DSW. They’re even UGGs. But they aren’t the classic ugly UGGs which never looked good no matter how trendy they were. These new UGGs look and feel good. And they are $150. That will soon be my new shoe price limit. $150. It’s just hard to buy furry lined boots in August. But I can't wait too long or they might be gone!
Last night, she hosted a show called Fashion Fanatics on TLC about shoes and handbags. I am still not convinced that any handbag is worth the money. Especially since most of them are trendy and will be ‘out’ soon. But shoes are another story. There’s the timeless dilemma. Heels, short or tall, generally look better. Sometimes sexier. But heels often are not comfortable. I will not suffer for fashion and I don’t think anyone should. Just think, you slip on those high, sexy heels for a night on the town and they look great, and you feel great. But if your feet are in pain a few hours later, do you still feel great? Does the strain on your face look great? No. That just doesn’t work for me. But I am beginning to believe that high heels are not necessarily painful and uncomfortable.
I learned some things from Stacey’s Fashion Fanatics show. First is about Christian Louboutain shoes. They have high heels, but the sole is on a small platform. This gives the illusion of a higher heel without the foot actually being at such a steep angle! A side note about platforms. Three inch soles from toe to heel look ridiculous. Except when they don’t. I have actually been pleasantly surprised by some platforms that I’ve tried on. Since they are not really heels, they can actually be quite comfortable! And the aforementioned partial platforms can make a heel much more wearable.
The second interesting bit from Fashion Fanatics is “toe cleavage.” I had never heard that term! It means that the spot where the toes start is peeking out from under the top of the shoe. I had sometimes wondered if that meant the shoes fit right, but sometimes it looks better. Apparently “toe cleavage” is the preferred look.
Intuitively I know that better materials and craftsmanship make a shoe more wearable. It can make the shoes look and feel better. Unfortunately, it usually comes with a very high price tag. I will not pay $400 for a pair of shoes, no matter how wonderful they are. There must be some compromise. Well-designed shoes with good materials surely can be found for under $100. Right?
So today I had to go to DSW. I wanted to look at heels and put some of Stacey’s ideas into practice. I didn’t have much success with slingbacks. But on the clearance racks I found a great pair of black, quilted patent leather Steve Madden slides with a 3 inch heel. Never mind that I already have 3 pair of black sandals in varying heights. I also decided that I want some red patent leather slingbacks. I didn’t find any satisfactory ones today. But I must find some!
I’ve never paid more than $100 for a pair of shoes but I saw some boots at DSW that I will buy. All last winter, I wanted cozy, fur-lined boots. Not just boots with a fur cuff that makes you think they are fur-lined when they aren't. I wanted totally furry boots. And now I've found them at DSW. They’re even UGGs. But they aren’t the classic ugly UGGs which never looked good no matter how trendy they were. These new UGGs look and feel good. And they are $150. That will soon be my new shoe price limit. $150. It’s just hard to buy furry lined boots in August. But I can't wait too long or they might be gone!
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