Window Shopping

So, a phenomenon that is certainly not unique to Argentina but is too amusing not to write a blog about: Argentine women window shopping for boots. Argentina is full of shops, and the majority of these shops sell some combination of clothing and leather boots. Now, a word about boots in Argentina. They´re hip. Or so I hear. And they´re cheap...but only for Americans. For an Argentine that makes 1200 pesos a month and has only 100-200 of that (25-50 US$) for disposable income, a 300 peso pair of hand stiched leather boots (for us, 80 US$) are a little out of the price range. But, they want them really bad. So, what do they do? Easy. Stare at them through the window. You can literally walk past any store window with a display of boots and there will be 2 or 3, and sometimes upwards of 6 or 7, women with their faces against the glass, salivating, I am assuming, over the prospect of owning some new silky soft leather. Then you look past the boots into the shop and there is nobody but a lonely sales lady staring back. The solution to this apparent problem? I got it! Argentina needs some more aggressive credit card companies. Let´s get these people some plastic, some boots, and some severe debt...American style.