The Telegraph reported on a poll today that was commissioned by a shoe storage company so I think we need to take this with a grain of salt, but it is still interesting and I want to know if you think it is true. The poll asked 1000 women in the UK what were the first pair of shoes they bought with their own money. 92 percent remembered. The other question asked was the name of the first boy they kissed. Only 2 percent remembered the name of the boy.
Now, it doesn't say if they had to come up with a first and last name which would be much more difficult than just a first name. The people who funded the poll said the results were attributable to the fact that most women at a young age bought the shoes for a special occasion and therefore were more easily able to remember the shoes.
What do you think? How would you answer the question?
The first boy I ever kissed was Glenn Something when I was 8. First pair of shoes I bought? I dunno. North Stars? Who cares about that.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletefirst kiss: ryan s. (and yes, i remember his last name. i remember the names of everyone i've ever kissed.)
ReplyDeletefirst pair of shoes i bought with my own money: i have no idea.
but hey, i'm just an every day person and will probably never own a pair of jimmy choos or manalos. if i ever owned such things surely i would remember the first time i made such an extravagant purchase.
...but i hope i would still remember my first kiss. it's a little disheartening to think that many people remember their material possessions over their first kiss.
No idea what shoes I purchased with my own money. I remember my first Gap sweater that I purchased - that was my first "high-end" purchase with my own money in HS. I'll never part with that sweater. Ever. I think it was like $50.
ReplyDeleteI totally remember the first boy I kissed. I'm friends with him on FB too.
Brian somebody. Back in the days when everyone spelled Brian the same way. I don't remember the first shoes I bought, but I'm sure they were super cheap.
ReplyDeleteOh - I did recently purchase a $278 pair of Frye boots. That I'll remember for the rest of my life. LOL.
ReplyDeleteFirst kiss...John M. First shoes I bought...no freaking idea.
ReplyDeleteFirst kiss: a guy named Rick. Never knew his last name. He enlisted in the Army and I never heard from him again.
ReplyDeleteFirst pair of shoes with my own $: the standard black high-top Converse Chuck Taylors. And I still buy them...I'm probably on my 10th pair by now.
His name was David...S. I like to pretend the S stands for shithead.
ReplyDeleteHave no clue about that first kiss name, I remember I was 12 & he was 19 (ick).
ReplyDeleteThe shoes I bought with my first paycheck were black patent leather mary jane heels. I bought them at a super cool punk boutique in Seattle and looooved them for years.
I remember the first expensive pair of shoes I bought - I was 26 and my pulse raced when I paid for them. I don't, however, remember the first normal pair of shoes I bought for myself.
ReplyDeleteI kissed Doug Walters on the cheek under the library table in 3rd grade. Don't think I'll ever forget that!
Sean Patrick R. and Capezio dance shoes. Do I get a cookie now?
ReplyDeleteFirst boy: Chris S.
ReplyDeleteFirst shoes: ??????
I do remember the pair of cowboy boots I bought in exchange for a returned wedding dress back when I thought I would line dance forever.
I remember the first boy I've ever kissed, Charles.
ReplyDeleteThe first pair of shoes? I have no idea.
I do remember every pair of expensive shoes or boots that I've bought.
ReplyDeleteThe first pair were obviously cheap because I don't remember them.
Like the others, first "normal" pair of shoes? No idea. My first "designer" pair of shoes? Hell, yes. I know the style, brand, store, and price, and if I tried really hard, probably even the month I got it.
ReplyDeleteMy first kiss was my first boyfriend is my husband, so kind of hard to forget :)
I will always remember Steve.
ReplyDeleteI'm a shoe whore and my first real purchase was like 25 years ago, so nope, don't remember.
lol @ genesis
ReplyDeleteIMO the story's crap. just reading the comments above proves that :)
i'd like to forget my first kiss cuz it was sloppy and there was too much tongue on his part. blech. i do remember his name though.
first pair of shoes? no clue.
I can tell you where I bought my first pair of expensive shoes on my own dime - Nordstrom. But I'm clueless as to the brand.
ReplyDeleteFirst kiss though, that's a very easy one - Ed H.
I think the reason why this is so lop-sided is because we were first kissing boys between the age 9-15....YEARS later we were coughing up serious money for shoes. So, do I remember who I first kissed in third grade? No. But do I remember crazy expensive shoes I bought when I was no younger than 27? Yeah, because that was only 5 years ago!!
ReplyDeleteOooh, I remember. Rommy D. He was sooo cute.
ReplyDeleteFirst pair of shoes? No idea. Or desire to know.
But Tommy D? Yeah, he was sizzlin'. For a 3rd grader.
I remember the first pair of shoes I bought with my own money. They were expensive at the time (back in the 70s) $52 for a pair of navy blue all leather platform shoes. God I loved those shoes. I don't remember the brand, but I remember I bought them in an upscale shoe store in Englewood, NJ and my mom was horrified that I paid so much for them LOL.
ReplyDeleteThe first boy I kissed? LOL who knows? ohhh...it may have been Kim when I was 5, or else it was Kent when I was in 5th grade - both of them did the kissing.
I think women remember the first pair of shoes they bought because really...it's something they did for themselves - it's a major accomplishment - your own cash, they are truly YOURS (not something your parents got you)...whereas the first boy you kissed, although significant, I don't think has the impact that a step towards independence does. /shrugs
First boy was Greg Patterson. I was in the 5th grade. I'll never forget it.
ReplyDeleteShoes..mmmmm...First shoes I was proud to buy would be my 8 eye Purple Doc Martens. We drove from SLC to LA after graduation (a very last min. decision), and I bought them at this cool store on Melrose!
That was in 1992 and I still have those Docs, I'll never get rid of them...That is not to say I still wear them :)
I remember the kiss and the kisser- first and last name. Don't remember the shoes.
ReplyDeleteFirst kiss - my seventh birthday party. His name? No clue.
ReplyDeleteFirst shoes - Pumpkin colored 5 inch heels. My Mother called them baby killers. Today they would be referred to as F*** Me shoes. Sadly, I too am a shoe whore.
I'm hardly surprised this "poll" was commissioned by a shoe storage company.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember the first pair of shoes I bought, but I still remember fondly pairs of heels I wore right out. I actually MISS them.
first kiss- Ryan C. at the park near my house when i was 12.
ReplyDeletefirst shoes- black Doc Martens bought at Fluevog in 1990. Still have them in my memory trunk.
First expensive shoes, classic black pumps with super high heels.
ReplyDeleteFirst kiss, either Rodney (7th grade) or Max (6th grade), both were blonde and I don't think I ever dated another blonde guy.
First record I ever bought...Carole King's Tapestry.
My memory stinks, but if I can remember my outfit I can totally recall an event or day no matter how many years ago it was.
I don't remember either. I remember who I kissed in school, but I don't remember who my first real kiss was...probably Danny in 9th grade. Yeah, I got a LATE start. As for shoes, who knows? At my worst point I had over 500 pairs of shoes (just regular shoes from normal, not too expensive places), so there's no way I could remember which pair was bought when or where. Besides, in HS I would buy shoes with money I got for Xmas, birthdays if I wanted them, and the only pairs I remember were a gray pair of New Balances (when they were super popular) and I only remember that because the first day I wore them my friend spilled pink lemonade on them. I also remember the gunmetal gray shiny platform boots with zippers all over them simply because they were so fucking cool. If my wide ass feet hadn't oozed up a size, I'd still be rocking those thangs 12 years later.
ReplyDeleteFirst kiss was Jared when I was 13.
ReplyDeleteFirst pair of shoes I bought for myself was a pair of Gucci loafers, and I still have them!
first kiss: Stéphane N. I was 14...
ReplyDeleteFirst shoes: I was 16. Leopard print calf-hair kitten heels, that I bought at Aldo, which pretty much cost my one week's paycheck then: $90 (10 hrs/wk, back in 1980'something...). Of course, my second pair of shoes came from Aldo as well, seeing as that's where I was working.
... I wonder if that's where my unhealthy obsession with shoes and handbags started...
I had to think about it for a moment but jax jogged my memory. Doc Martens. I also very clearly remember buying my first leather jacket. It was pretty much a fashion slide from there.
ReplyDeleteand did they fall apart a month later like most Aldo shoes? lol, better than Le Chateau..you'd barely get them on b4 they bust somewhere.POS.
ReplyDelete1st kiss - Gorgeous dude on Ft. Lauderdale beach. He had a surfboard and eyes as blue as the sky. Who cares if he had a name.
ReplyDelete1st shoes I had to buy myself - Pepto-Bismol pink high top Reeboks. It was the only color Mother wouldn't spring for, because she hated the sight of them. lol
First Kiss? Aaron B.
ReplyDeleteFirst shoes? no clue and I remember all milestones. I worked at Rack Room in high school, so I bought lots of shoes.
This article is BS.
The first boy I kissed was likely one of my kindergarten boyfriends, but the first one I "frenched" was a dark-haired blue-eyed boy from Ohio when I was at fat camp when I was fourteen. No idea of his name.
ReplyDeleteThat was also the year I bought my first pair of designer shoes were Pappagallo clogs with bright yellow wooden rounded platform bottoms w/white canvas uppers. I found them in a discount shoe outlet and paid less than $20. Ugliest shoes ever, but then many shoes were fug in 1978.
My first pair of designer shoes that were not fug were purple Diane von Furstenberg open-toed pumps w/knot detail on the instep that perfectly matched my favorite,truly awesome, purple corduroy jumpsuit that I wore from 1979 - 1984. The shoes lasted longer and I had them until just a few years ago.
Hell, I don't even remember the last pair of shoes I bought.
ReplyDeleteFirst Kiss: Brandon
ReplyDeleteFirst Shoes: ???
I'm with Mooshki, I can't even remember the last pair, although I am a SO not trendy mom/woman who works nights at a hospital, so I usually wear boots to work, and boots to school, and boots to church...yeah, pretty much boots everywhere. Oh, and not cute boots. I mean snow-shoveling boots. You know the kind. Whatev, I could give a shit. Shoes do not make me happy or sad, they are something that go on my feet.
First kiss was Jimmy.
ReplyDeleteFirst shoes were a pair of platform sandals that had tulips painted on the platform part. I wore those things til they were way too small and my dog chewed one up. I was probably 12 when I got them.
First kiss--Joel T. Shoes??? Haven't a clue.
ReplyDeletethis post makes me happy...shoes are my obsession. *blissful sigh* i'm the type who plans an outfit around the shoe...can't remember wth my first kiss was...but who cares...ahhh, shoes...high-end or red sticker clearance @ target, shoes are life.
ReplyDeleteFirst kiss: Bill S. 1967
ReplyDeleteFirst shoes: Charles Jourdan boots. 1975
Ed Gorman - I think I told that tale here in a "Your Turn" post?? And the first pair of shoes I bought with my own money .. a pair of red 9 West pumps circa 1988 or so. I loved them both actually .. though I have no clue what happened to either.
ReplyDeleteFirst kiss - Tim S. I think. Memory's cloudy.
ReplyDeleteFirst pair of shoes? I think they're black sky high heels that I bought at Macy's, to match this black silk dress I bought at a surf shop (it's gorgeous, not grungy). I still have both.
Just reading through a few comments and I think someone in marketing made up these numbers...
ReplyDeleteI remember the name of the 1st boy I kissed but have no idea the first pair of shoes I purchased with my own money.
I doubt the validity of their numbers as well.
ReplyDeleteFirst boy: Andrew D.; 1992, age 9
First shoes: Doc Martens; 1998, age 14.
First "I am Woman, Hear me Roar" shoes: Burberry Riding Boot; 2009, age 25
^I ate a lot of yogurt for lunch this year.
First Kiss-David Steinberg, behind the lockers at the roller rink, 8th grade.
ReplyDeleteFirst pair of shoes I paid for myself was a pair of Candies slides.
(another purchase the same day was a pair of Sassoon jeans so tight I had to use a hanger to get enough leverage to zip them up!)
I'm in the minority on that poll because I couldn't tell you what the first pair of shoes I bought??? My first job out of college I barely made salary above poverty level so they were probably not worth remembering. My first (real) kiss was with a boy named Randy whilst on spring break.
ReplyDeleteboy: Jorg. I do remember his full name, it was a doozy!
ReplyDeleteShoes? No idea.
I have bought a lot more pairs of really nice shoes than I have kissed really good kissers, unfortunately.
shoes? either a spare pair of adidas for eigth grade track, or a pair of (non-custom) SPterri skating boots i bought for dance that never fit.
ReplyDeletekiss?
i'll never forget what's-his-name.