By Clemence Tashaya
EENHANA – Boutiques in Eenhana and Oshikango towns have one thing in common, women shoes and their matching handbags and according to one shop operator, these accessories fetch lots of cash for the shops owners and their business.
“It’s not a secret that women like shoes and hand bags, they feel comfortable in command when spotting nice shoes and a hand bag,” says Ananias Nepembe, a shop operator in Oshikango. A snap survey by Time Out showed that some shops are selling pairs of shoes and matching handbags for as much as US $ 100 (plus/minus N$1000) in Oshikango, and still most Namibian women defy the price barrier in favour of style. Women interviewed acknowledge that they are naturally in love with their handbags and shoes.
Ester Hailaula (30) says, “Only stylish ladies wear heels and only real ladies carry nice handbags. The two describe real women.” However, she admits that she was now an “addict” because of her love for nice shoes and handbags. “I have more than 70 pairs and countless handbags and because of my passion, I will one day turn it into a business and open my own trendy collection shop,” she adds. Other women say nice shoes and good handbags define the style and status of a person in society. “A nice shoe takes one to nice places,” confirms one.
Justine Ndakondja says it is biological and natural for women to fall in love with their shoes and handbags. “Handbags help us to carry everything in case of emergency. Every woman has a shoe for every occasion. Besides, handbags and shoes increase the feminism in women. Women are very particular on smartness, that is our nature,” she adds.
A flashback into the history reveals women who have shown extraordinary love for shoes and handbags. A former Big Brother Africa – the Chase housemate, Pokello Nare, from Zimbabwe, made headlines in Africa for owning more than 200 pairs of shoes. The mother of one confirmed that she owns more than 200 pairs of designer heels and believes in fashion, particularly shoes and has intentions to bring her investments to Namibia. Her love for shoes has led her to open a shop named “Pokelo Addicted to Shoes” in Ghana and soon in Namibia.
Ndakondja still asserts that fashion in America and England is always ahead. Even in African countries like South Africa and Nigeria, the trends are always steps ahead of us. I feel that we are too behind as Namibian women and we should change that,” she adds. “I am not sure why though, but we are behind. We need to set up our own standards, get up there and flow with the rest of the women in the world of fashion,” says Ndakondja. A self confessed shoe addict, she goes on that she does not own a pair of flat shoes.
International celebrities and first ladies have also boasted at one time with the amount of shoes and handbags in their wardrobes. In 1986, the Marcos regime of the Philippines was overthrown in a people’s revolution, with the then incumbent leader, Ferdinand, and wife, Imelda, forced to flee the Malacanang Palace. Imelda fled wearing her espadrilles. But because she was fleeing to Hawaii, she was unable to take her enormous wardrobe along. In the palace closet she left behind between two and three thousand pairs of shoes. All those wonderful feelings are intensified when one chooses high heeled shoes, notes Michael Jongwe, a lecturer at the University of Namibia (Unam)’s Hifikepunye Pohamba campus in Ongwediva. “Like most animals, we are wired to associate height with power,” says Jongwe adding that high heels can literally raise one’s status because one is then taller when one wears them.
Heels carry historical significance as well, adding to their appeal. In previous centuries, only the wealthy wore high heels and everyone else had practical footwear to do manual labour. “Shoes were measure of class,” adds Jongwe “and we still have a bit of that mindset ingrained in us”.