How many is too many? Photo by Louise Young, secretboudoir.co.uk

Own up, how many pairs of shoes do you own? We’re reliably informed that the average woman owns 30 pairs. Is that too many or shockingly few? Sian Townsend investigates

Once you’ve caught the shoe bug, there’s no hope of recovery. Just one glimpse of an achingly pretty pair, sitting there, tempting you with their slinky, elegant heels and you just have to have them. But how many pairs are too many? Do you take the practical approach – one pair for the office, one for nights out and one for sports – or do you crave the ultimate pair to match every outfit?

Taking up space

Storage is an issue. If you take the Carrie Bradshaw approach and store yours in see-through boxes, with a Polaroid on the front, they take up a lot of space. Sarah Delor, a self-confessed shoeoholic from Milton has recently bought her 160th pair. All are boxed and for ease of use she has a spreadsheet to tell her what’s where. ‘It’s a complex operation,’ she says. ‘The spreadsheet doesn’t just tell me which box each pair is in - it tells me which shop I bought them from and also gives me a brief description of them.’

Most shoe lovers would admit that it’s often a question of want rather than need when it comes to purchasing a new pair. Louise Cox from Godmanchester-based Cocktail PR agrees, ‘A pair of killer heels make you feel instantly fabulous.’

Walk the walk

Heels can be an instant lift, and not just in the height stakes. ‘If I have in important meeting or interview then I always put on heels,’ says Emma Godfrey from Newmarket. ‘They help me to feel assertive and in control.’

And when it comes to men’s shoes it seems women still have an opinion. ‘I judge a man by his shoes,’ says Esme Coleridge from Abington. ‘If he has old, cheap shoes on then he’s just not for me.’

But this is not just a female passion, men love their shoes too. ‘I own a lot of shoes and I love the feeling of wearing an extra smart pair,’ says Neil MacLeod from Histon. ‘If you have to wear a uniform shirt and tie everyday then shoes are one of the only way to express your personality’

Sarah Decent, who owns Modish shoe shop in Saffron Walden, says owning a store full actually made her cut down her collection. Now it’s about quality over quantity. ‘I don’t buy any shoes that aren’t comfortable now. Pain shows in your face and so there is no point wearing heels that look amazing but leave you grimacing – that’s never attractive!’

Sarah opens a new shop in Cambridge this month, and she regularly wears three-inch heels to work. So how does she do it? ‘There are all kinds of devices – we have a brand in store which includes a shock absorber in the heel – they really help. I can honestly say that on more than one occasion I have been the only one left on the dance floor still dancing in my heels – they are that comfortable.’