Of all the non-essential purchases shoppers crave, shoes are always the top of the list. Think that sounds like a cliché out of a Sex and the City rerun? Pop into the shoe department of any big store on a Saturday afternoon and you’ll see the intense thrill many women get from picking up yet another pair of heels, booties or cute little flats. Between bailouts and bankruptcies, however, it’s gotten hard to justify indulgent purchases, particularly if your taste veers more towards Prada than Payless.
Just in time for spring, Sigerson Morrison has come up with a way to rationalize buying new shoes, even saving you money while you’re at it. For the next couple of weeks, show up at one of this glamorous brand’s boutiques with cans of food for the needy and you’ll get a discount on the footwear of your choice. The percentage they take off your purchase price depends on how much you donate, starting with a 10 percent reduction for 10 cans and capping off at 20 percent off in exchange for 20.
Since Sigerson Morrison’s shoes aren’t exactly cheap — these adorable flats are over $500, although there are lots of styles in their less expensive Belle line at around half that price — it can lead to big savings, even if you deliberately sprint to the supermarket to pick up soup and beans on your way there.
The Sigerson Morrison folks, who are based in New York, came up with the idea when they heard that many local food banks these days are having problems keeping up with growing demand. In the Big Apple, donations will go to the New York Food Bank; cans gathered at their West Coast stores in Los Angeles and Malibu will go to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. The promotion runs through April 5, so there’s time to visit these boutiques a few times, providing you keep coming back with bags full of canned goods each time.
If you don’t have a footwear fetish, you can still participate, since Sigerson Morrison will accept cans for donation even without a purchase. They’re also applying the discount to their handbag collection, including this season’s punky black studded satchel and a spacious blue suede tote that’s perfect for work. So if you think you can’t justify buying new accessories right now, as long as you head to Sigerson Morrison with a charity donation, you actually can.
For the locations of Sigerson Morrison’s boutiques, go to www.sigersonmorrison.com.
