a history of architecture: eBay saga continues--boots

so i bought these APC boots last December at Hejfina in Chicago, hoping desperately that I could make them work, even though they felt a little small. well, i think i've suffered long enough. But oh, they're so beautiful. i especially love the narrow calf opening, which is perfect with a mini skirt and tights. so, i'm selling them on eBay. i don't think i'll get much for them, considering they're worn. the rubber layer on the sole is worn down enough that it needs to be replace (damn my pronating ways!), and the left boot is oddly more worn-in than the right. maybe it was the display shoe? hmm. anyway.

apc military boots, FW 06: originally $588 (they were on sale, when I bought them), asking price, $49.99.

ideally, i'd like to sell them for $100-150. that would make me happy

because

i just bought these boots on eBay.

i need to preface this with a small confession:

i love loeffler randall boots. when i first saw their Kat boot nearly 2 years ago, i desired them more than i've ever desired a pair of boots. they were the perfect color (vachetta leather), with the perfect wedge heel, and resembled a minimalist grown up pair of cowboy boots.

anyway, $630 was too too much for me at the time. then, last January, a friend and i went to the Louis Boston half yearly sale. and there were my boots. but not in my size. my friend tried them on, they were perfect (in my mind), but there was some doubt about the canklage. so, even though they were $315 or so, my friend decided not to buy them.

anyway, later she found a shorter version of the Kat boots, but with grommets. they were on sale, in her size, but in black. she wanted brown. and the grommets? not necessarily what everyone wants in their everyday boots, if you know what i mean. so she didn't buy those, either.

so, recently i found these Birtie grommet boots in brown on eBay. and, well, i ended up buying them for a few various reasons.
1) my apc boots were a major disappointment, and i really wanted a pair of shorter boots to wear with skirts, etc.
2) there's nothing i want more than a pair of loeffler randall boots
3) i love the color and the quality of the leather
4) secretly, and not so secretly, i see myself as a grommet kind of girl
5) so cheap, so very very cheap
6) i don't care if there's canklage, and i don't care if they're a little bit 80s, i want them

so i feel bad that i ended up with these boots and my friend still doesn't have her perfect brown boots. all i wanted were boots that fit. my riding boots are too big (a really big italian size 39), and my apc boots are too small (a really small french size 38). i feel like i can never win with shoes. but i'm pretty sure these 8.5 boots will fit. please god. let them fit.

Loeffler Randall Birtie boots: originally $600ish, paid $230.
up until the last 5 seconds, i was winning at $160, and then someone came in and pushed the price up drastically. my limit was $260. argh. $160 would have made for a much nicer story, but $230 isn't bad at all for new in box shoes.

i hate eBay. i need to promise myself that after these boots sell (or not) that i'll swear off eBay altogether.

someday i'm going to buy real cowboy boots. or something that resembles cowboy boots. like these boots designed by Heather and Margo Harrison of Gurej, an awesome boutique in Houston. i think they're made by this really famous bootmaker in Texas who charges $1000+ for really hardcore cowboy boots with blue colored ostrich leather and scary things like that.

i want these, but in a darker color: