It is the shoes that kill me

I actually do not like shopping for baby/toddler clothing. Doing so bring up so many conflicting feelings that I get really overwhelmed and quit. It is probably two or three times a week that I make a "shopping cart" on some site and then close the browser before buying anything. I hate cheap clothing for myself, and I hate knowing that children barely older than my own son might be forced to work in the overseas factories that make the cheap stuff, but at the same time we are not rich and I can't afford only the finest, made in decent countries with labor laws, clothing. And then there is the waste of it all. He'll only wear them for 6 months, at best! The consumerism!

So this leaves me feeling like I should get everything from a consignment or thrift store. The only issue with that is that often, that stuff isn't cute, and it is a lot of time and effort to get what I truly need. And shopping with a toddler in tow can be hard. And most small stores in this town are closed on Mondays. Truly. People in other cities don't believe me, but I swear that most of the independently owned small stores in this town are not open on Mondays. And of course, Monday is my day to hang out with Cooper all day (except nap time, when I do some work). So that's a bummer in terms of time usage.

But the thing that kills me is the shoes. I love little boy shoes. Weirdly, I could shop for shoes for Cooper ALL DAY LONG. Little boy shoes are just the greatest things ever. They are tiny masterpieces. And you'd never know this from his actual selection of footwear, because I don't actually buy the shoes, you see. I just admire them and wish that I had less internal fortitude and could justify splurging on awesome shoes.

His current everyday shoes are a pair of leather sneakers that were exorbitantly priced but I got them on 75% off, making them quite reasonable. They are wonderful shoes and I get lots of compliments on how cute and stylish they are. His famously awesome red-flames shoes were also very pricey but found on super sale. These too drew many compliments.

Of course, he also has cute yellow rain boots (which he likes to wear around the house over his pajamas, which is adorable) and some nice suede boots (still a little too big, but handy in the cold when he's wearing two pairs of socks) and some cute moccasins (too big, but will be perfect in a few months) and some fleece slippers (too big, again, we are hoping they will fit soon).

But he's getting snug in his beautifully scuffed up, all leather, European style, extremely well crafted and attractive sneakers. So I want to find him his next pair of awesome shoes. But where? WHERE? and can I get them for cheap???

Sigh.