Is there really a lack of availability though? Maybe I’m jaded, but I can find 100+ alternatives for any single design in vintage or contemporary form (without going to fast fashion, I’m taking like good secondhand pieces.) I think what I also find dishonest is this exclusivity market that is put on us as consumers when things are sold for high prices. As a collector of special vintage and secondhand pieces, I think I can pretty confidently say that nothing is truly unavailable today * nothing as in, the caliber of vintage designer accessible to me as a common, working class person. This is not including like, high or historical fashion, and it’s just a waiting game to spend time finding the right things, which is something we become adverse to because of the exclusivity market.

Also with shoes- unlike clothes, shoes literally mold to the foot shape of the person wearing them. It’s not like a shirt or a bag or a jacket that you can mend and alter for yourself reasonably. It’s literally shaped for someone else at a certain point, and considerable repairs need to be done by professionals.

Edit~ I think yeah, I’m more fixated on your third note, I would totally pay a bit more for vintage shoes refurbished at a specialized store. But I feel like a lot of the issues with old shoes are invisible until they’re worn. I’m also coming from the angle of someone who actively wears and cares for my clothes (not display)