No names mentioned
More-or-less normal people drive more-or-less normal cars that have more-or-less normal names: Focus, Civic, Malibu. Get into the higher price class, and suddenly you’re faced with alphanumeric soup: 335i, E350, G37, TSX.
Is this going to happen to shoes?
This grey-suede pump by Roberto Cavalli definitely qualifies as “higher price class” — it’s a startling $984 at Zappos — and for some reason it’s given the prosaic designation “MPS108 PC014.”
Then again, the reviewer at ShoeBlog is okay with that:
I think it is refreshing to see this line named with an alpha-numerical code and not with a silly name like thisissilly. Who names shoes anyways? If I were in charge of a shoe names department, they would be called “cute boots with studs” or “dorky looking gladiator sandals.” I think you all know why I am not in charge of naming shoes.
Pictured at this link: cute boots with studs, but no dorky-looking gladiator sandals.
fillyjonk »
18 November 2009 · 10:36 am
Except for most people, it’s a lot easier to remember a name than it is a random string of numbers and letters. And if you’re wanting to buy a particular shoe, it’s easier to remember, say, “Jolie” and ask for that at a store, than it is to remember XJJ90TQ76. Or some other captcha-like string.
sya »
18 November 2009 · 10:45 am
You know what would be awesome? If shoes had the equivalent of an LCC number. That way, you could look up exactly what you wanted instead of browsing willy-nilly with the shoe salesman breathing down your neck.
CGHill »
18 November 2009 · 10:59 am
You can do something like that with the New Balance line; I went to their local store and asked for a replacement for my long-since-discontinued 587s, and without missing a beat they came up with three models with similar features, one of which (the 1122) I bought.
Although it would have been easier, I concede, had it been “587 v2″ or something like that.
r5bales »
18 November 2009 · 2:20 pm
With most European designer shoes, they go with an alpha-numeric code. With automobiles, the maker is trying to convince us that the numbers make our cars go faster. (My opinion, of course) I think it is a difference between what we see in countries other than the United States. Good post.