# Shoes and gender: a poll **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 8, 2011, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoes-and-gender-a-poll/584728 "2011-06-08T12:56:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoes-and-gender-a-poll/584728/1 "2011-06-08T12:56:11Z")
But not an automated poll. 1. Are you male, or are you female? 2. How many pairs of shoes do you own? ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoes-and-gender-a-poll/584728/2 "2011-06-08T13:24:03Z")
Female, 5. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoes-and-gender-a-poll/584728/3 "2011-06-08T13:33:37Z")
Female. I own about 100 pairs of shoes. Yes, I know it’s a stereotype… At age 20 or 25 I’d’ve answered with about 20 pairs - I hadn’t yet built up what I needed for career wear. At 30 or 35, I had built up a much larger collection - probably 200 pairs. I hit 40, and decided that I was too old and too wise to wear uncomfortable shoes, so I’ve purged those. But I still need more than seems reasonable: basic black brown and navy pumps in .5, 1.5, 2.5, & 3.5 inch heels, sandals in different colors, boots (different colors and heel heights, of course!) Throw in some sneakers, a couple of pairs of frumpy clogs for grocery store runs or gardening, one or two (or three or four) pairs of strappy impractical shoes for formal occasions, and it’s easy to hit a number like 100. Of course, my husband owns 3 pairs of work shoes, a pair of loafers, a pair of black wingtips, sneakers, and flip flops. That covers his needs for all occasions! ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoes-and-gender-a-poll/584728/4 "2011-06-08T13:34:20Z")
Male, probably 15 to 20. This includes dress shoes, boots, tennis shoes, running shoes, flip flops, and casual shoes. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoes-and-gender-a-poll/584728/5 "2011-06-08T13:39:06Z")
Female, and maybe only a dozen pairs, which includes one pair of sandals, one of flip-flops, and two pairs of athletic shoes. I could use a few more pairs at least; I got rid of some recently. My husband has way more shoes than I do. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoes-and-gender-a-poll/584728/6 "2011-06-08T13:39:50Z")
Male. 3: steel-toe boots, sneakers, and dress shoes. I pretty much only ever wear the boots. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoes-and-gender-a-poll/584728/7 "2011-06-08T13:42:34Z")
Dude, nine. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoes-and-gender-a-poll/584728/8 "2011-06-08T13:45:46Z")
Male. At least a dozen, but only wear 3 pairs (including a pair of sneakers and sandals) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoes-and-gender-a-poll/584728/9 "2011-06-08T13:49:22Z")
Male - three. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoes-and-gender-a-poll/584728/10 "2011-06-08T13:51:28Z")
Female. Let me think: 2 pr plain black flats 1 pr sneakers 1 pr boots 1 pr good sandals 2 pr crappy sandals 1 pr flipflops 1 pr fancy shoes So let’s say 10. I buy new crappy sandals every year and wear them into the ground. I spend less than $20 or $25 and it makes me happy all summer, so I feel no guilt about it. But shoes - shoes always look good, is what it is. Your feet don’t change as much as your ody, so fat or skinny, you can always find a pair of shoes that look nice. My SO owns at least as many and maybe a couple more. He has this…attachment to shoes, and doesn’t get rid of old ones as fast as I do. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoes-and-gender-a-poll/584728/11 "2011-06-08T13:51:42Z")
Male - about 15 ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoes-and-gender-a-poll/584728/12 "2011-06-08T13:52:18Z")
Do you want us to count old shoes kept by the back door for working in the yard? $.50 flip flops? I probably have about 10 pairs of shoes like that, never worn away from the house, and another 20 or so pairs of “real” shoes. I’m a girl. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoes-and-gender-a-poll/584728/13 "2011-06-08T13:54:04Z")
Female, 12 or so pairs, including more sandals than I need, a pair of good walking boots, couple of pairs of trainers and a pair of good shoes. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoes-and-gender-a-poll/584728/14 "2011-06-08T13:59:17Z")
Female. I can only count the winter shoes at the moment because the summer ones are stored in another room. 1. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoes-and-gender-a-poll/584728/15 "2011-06-08T13:59:26Z")
Male, I’ve probalby got a dozen. I’ve got big feet, am hard on shoes and live a long way from where I can pick up a new pair. I’ve also got a problem where I end up buying a pair of dress shoes when I buy my suit yearly. I’ve gotten over that problem recently and have narrowed myself down to three pair of dress shoes. 2 running 2 flipflops 1 cleats 2 steel toes 2 casual 3 dress ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoes-and-gender-a-poll/584728/16 "2011-06-08T14:02:12Z")
Female… er, at least 20. Probably more like 40. I don’t know how it happens - I actually wear, like, three on a regular basis. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoes-and-gender-a-poll/584728/17 "2011-06-08T14:12:15Z")
Male. About a dozen, maybe less, including ski boots. ---
**Author:** ![jonesj2205](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecc23a/32.png) [@jonesj2205](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonesj2205)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoes-and-gender-a-poll/584728/18 "2011-06-08T14:14:38Z")
Male two pairs of dress shoes two pairs of sneakers two pairs of running shoes one pair of sandals Feel like I should buy another pair of sandals to fix the pattern. Oh and two pairs of winter boots, if you’re counting those ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoes-and-gender-a-poll/584728/19 "2011-06-08T14:20:56Z")
Female. 3 or 4 pair. 1 pair good sandals (Birkies) 2 pair of midrange flipflops 1 pair house shoes I’m not sure if the house shoes should count as shoes, though. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoes-and-gender-a-poll/584728/20 "2011-06-08T14:25:48Z")
Female, I have about 10 pairs. But I only wear a few on a regular basis. Some are specialty shoes like hiking boots or snow boots or pool shoes, which I only break out when we travel. The six I actually wear are: good sneakers, dog-walking sneakers, driving-to-work shoes, brown work heels, black work heels, and _other_ black work heels. I plan to ask for some nice sandals for my birthday…I’ve been online shopping for a couple of weeks and haven’t found them yet. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoes-and-gender-a-poll/584728.md?page=2)