Women own 20 pairs of shoes ... but only wear 5

SOME boots are made for walking but more, it seems, are made for hiding at the back of the wardrobe. The average woman owns 20 pairs of shoes, a study found, but wears only five of them regularly.

Worse, nine in ten admit to owning at least one pair they have never taken out of the cupboard.

More than 2,000 women were surveyed on why they so regularly buy shoes they never wear.

The most common reason was that their shiny new high heels were just plain uncomfortable, with almost two-thirds confessing to having bought a pair of shoes that were either too tight or too high. More than half said they had taken a new pair of

‘Either too tight or too high’

shoes home only to find they did not match any of their outfits.

Four in ten admitted they had bought a pair of very expensive shoes but had never worn them because they were scared they would damage them.

And one in three had hidden a pair of shoes at the back of the wardrobe because they were a gift they secretly hated.

The study found women spent an average £490 on their shoe collections.

Researchers from website VoucherCodesPro.co.uk surveyed 2,352 women aged 18 and over from across the UK after noting a surge in online searches for women’s shoes in the past month.

A spokesman said: ‘While it is widely known that British women take pleasure in shopping, there still seems to be the age-old nuisance of finding an outfit and the right pair of shoes to wear.’