Trying and Failing to Make Do

Although I really like to shop, I do also like to try and make do and try to look after the things I already have.  In the case of my favourite tan brogues, however, I can't actually say that this is completely true.  I found these shoes in a charity shop a few years ago and they were hardly worn.  At £4 you would have had to tie to a lamp post to stop me buying them, so of course I did.  Since that day, I have worn them A LOT. 

I took them out of the wardrobe the other day, as I wanted to try to do something with them.  On account of my persistent neglect, the leather had become terribly dry and they were looking more than a bit worse for wear, as this photograph demonstrates.

Talk about trying to shut the gate after the horse has bolted, I decided to try to nourish them a little with some leather cream.  At first it seemed to work and when I put it on they looked like this, which was a distinct improvement. 

However, fast forward a couple of hours and the cream seemed to have soaked in and they were back looking a little dry again.  Despite several attempts, I decided that there was little I could do to save them and came to the conclusion that I needed new ones.

Unfortunately, La Redoute no longer sell any as nice as these anymore, so I had to cast my net a little wider.  I managed to  find a lovely pair on the Joules website.  At £100 they were a bit steep for me, until that is, I received a catalogue through the post offering 25% off everything, in celebration of their 25th anniversary. I must admit that £75 sounded a lot more reasonable, but still a lot of money.  My solution was to get OH to buy them for me, for my birthday, which is coming up soon and that way I haven't really spent any money on them myself.  At least that's what I tell myself and then my No Spend/Low Spend September resolution stays on course.  I'm pretty sure that if the old pair are anything to go by, it will be money well spent - by him of course!  I just need to make sure I look after the new pair.

With regard to the old pair, I can't quite bring myself to part with them just yet.  Surprise, surprise.  I've really enjoyed wearing them and they are just so comfortable.  I console myself by telling myself that I can always wear them to walk the dog.  Trouble is, that is now my stock excuse for not throwing anything out - old trainers, old shoes, old coats, etc, etc.  I think I'm going to have to get a bit more ruthless, but maybe not just yet.