If the price is right and the shoe fits . . .

BY SHARON HARVEY ROSENBERG
sharonhr@bellsouth.net

I am obsessed with shoes. Lately, I've watched in amazement as piles of too-small shoes accumulate in my house. Over the past 12 months, my oldest son has outgrown about five pairs of dress shoes and several sets of sneakers. Almost every six to eight weeks, his shoes (some in mint condition) are just too small to wear.

With an eye on costs, I have suggested a shopping spree at discount shoe chains. But armed with money from his bar mitzvah, my son took his sneaker plight into his own hands. He set out for Lincoln Road with designs to buy a pair of the Dwyane Wade Converse shoes, which are hip, but pricey. After a short stop at Fritz's Skate Bike & Surf, a sporting shop on Lincoln Road, my son emerged with a really cool pair of high-quality sports shoes. They had been marked down -- for a short period-- to $50 from the original $120. I was impressed with his frugal sense and more importantly, his friends were very impressed with his sneakers.

As a bargain shoe shopper, my son is in good company. Bargain hunters include Kenneth Thomas, a national banking consultant based in Coral Gables. Thomas, who lives in comfort and drives a late model Lexus, enjoys picking up high-end shoes at discount prices. His purchases include a pair of Bruno Magli shoes from Marshall's. Although leather shoes from that Italian designer can cost as much as $500 a pair, Thomas purchased his pair for $100. (During the early spring, I bought a black pair of Bruno Magli open-back, handmade shoes for about $37 at Marshall's.)

Thomas also has bought shoes by Johnston & Murphy and Allen-Edmonds at great prices. To save money and time, he prefers to shop at discount outlets such as Sawgrass Mills, where he finds bargains at Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom.

Those outlets, along with Marshall's, are favorites because of the diversity in brands and styles. On the downside, Thomas does not always find a full range of styles for his size 12 feet. But he's delighted with the quality of top names.

''You get expensive labels and manufacturers that you may not see at any one store,'' Thomas said. ``It's not just saving money. It's also saving time, and for a business person, time is money.''

Meanwhile, I have friends who have received rave reviews for fashionable shoes picked up at Payless ShoesSource. Even the pages of glossy magazines are touting the value of fun but affordable shoes at discount stores. For example, in a recent issue of Celebrity Living magazine, the editors raved about a pair of $15 daisy sandals from American Eagle Outfitters (www.ae.com) . And in the July 4 issue of that same magazine, a pair of $17 black and silver thongs from Payless (www.payless.com) made the magazine's ''hot'' Hollywood trend list.