Indy Boot or 500 Dollar Shoes

My wife and I have an ongoing debate about 500 dollars shoes (FHDS). Like anyone who hasn't been enlightened about awesome men's shoes, my wife thinks that spending 500 dollars on a pair of shoes is absolutely outrageous, preposterous, and ridiculous. What makes a pair of shoes worth 500 dollars? Great craftsmanship, great materials, love. I've never owned a pair of FHDS, but I know they're fantastic. There are plenty of people out in the menswear blogosphere that will attest the the greatness of Alden shoes (and other nice shoe makers, but where focusing on Alden here).

The Alden factory is located a scant 40 miles from my humble abode. I think it's a lowdown dirty shame that my wife is discouraging me from helping the local economy and a local business. This great country of ours is losing job after job to foreign markets. We've got to keep the jobs in America if this country is ever going to survive. The very fate of the nation rests in my hands. Maybe my wife is a Russian spy working for the Red Menace...

Okay, maybe I'm starting to take this a little too far.

Here is a post from The Silentist about this subject.
All pictures from Leather Soul.