The Rest of the Story

Before I reveal the results of the thong experiment thus far, I feel I should explain how someone could pay $120 for a pair of thongs. There are at least two possible explanations. The first would be one of opulence. There is no way that these or any other thongs could have a value of $120. Perhaps if those rhinestones were real diamonds, but that just lends further credibility to an elitist’s attitude that what makes these thongs worth that much is that they cost that much. Although I understand how the rich and wanna-be rich spend money, it doesn’t mean what they buy is worth what they pay for it.

One of my regular readers, Lee Ann, commented that she has paid $120 for shoes many times and she would again – but not for thongs. I absolutely agree. I have too and hold the opinion that when it comes to shoes, it pays to shop around and get the best possible. It is an expensive attitude, but worth it. However, it does not apply to thongs. Thongs are the t-shirt of the shoe world where three or four sizes really do fit all. Those thongs pictured look far better than they are… aside from the “designer” signature (on just one) and the rhinestones, these are identical to 50-cent drug store thongs.

My friend and co-worker has lived and knows the Wilshire Boulevard lifestyle as well as the practical, modest trappings of a small town mountain community. She is not one to waste her herd-earned money in this fashion. How could it be that she did indeed shell out this kind of cash and become the not-so-proud owner of this lovely footwear? As it turns out, a combination of factors contributed to what can only be characterized as a mistake, a very expensive mistake.

It all started out with a company Christmas party. A $100 gift certificate to a boutique was among the “give-aways” at the party. My co-worker ended up with this “prize.” When she went to the boutique, she found that very little there had a price tag under $100. She managed to find an over priced $80 t-shirt which was only worth it because of the gift certificate. However, that left her with a $20 credit. She saw a basket of what appeared to be drug-store thongs near the cash register and picked up a pair.

She was amazed that the price tag on these designer thongs was $20, but purchased a pair to use up the rest of her credit – after all, they were essentially free. She used her credit card to cover what she thought was just the sales tax and went back up the hill. It was not until she returned home and looked at the receipt that she realized she had just paid $120 for those thongs – the $100 gift certificate had just cost her $100 of her own money. The mistake is a logical one… it’s easy to miss the numeral “1” in a $120 price tag when everything in one’s mind says that a $20 price tag is outrageously expensive, but plausible - $120 just couldn’t be. Plus she left her glasses at home.

When she realized the terrible mistake, she immediately tried to return the shoes. No dice! The boutique had a firm “no return, no exchange” policy. She was screwed. What she is left with is one pair of over-priced thongs and a tragically funny/sad story. Sad though it may be, it’s not nearly so sad as those who actually paid $120 for those thongs knowing what the price really was.

Now for the results of the experiment: There were a number of search hits on the term “thong.” Some came from the U.S., but others came from Spain, the U.K., France, Slovenia and Greece. I expect there will be more, but my curiosity is satisfied.