Who says female celebrities must wear high heeled shoes when they walk the red carpet? Not one of our favorite actresses Susan Sarandon. We’re guessing that she’d rather be comfortable than wear them insanely tall shoes.

You go, girl!

From London to Shanghai and now in New York, girls went a-buying their Jimmy Choo shoes. Those economists who are saying that shoe sales are recession proof may be right after all.

Londoners aren’t the only ones queuing up to buy themselves a pair (at least) of Jimmy Choo shoes. Here’s a sizeable crowd in Shanghai waiting for the H&M Department Store to open. What is it with Jimmy Choo shoes that it attracts a special devotion?

Lucky girl Jessica Macdonald shows off her newly bought Jimmy Choo shoes. The shoes went on sale in London and thousands of girls waited outside the H&M store to buy their Jimmy Choos.

It seems like the recent negative turn in the world economy has not stopped American men and women from buying shoes. In fact, according to the NY Times, the sales for shoes in the U.S. increased in September/October 2009. More from the Paper of Record:

The American public, it would seem, cannot carry on without new shoes. Boots, booties, sneakers, pumps — for the last few months they have all been selling well as the broader economy struggles toward recovery.

Retailing executives and analysts offer varying, occasionally wacky, explanations. The one favored by many of them is that consumers consider shoes more of a necessity than, say, dresses, cuff links or handbags, so people feel less guilt about buying them.

So, have you bought any shoes lately? Or during the recession period which started last year? If so, how do you justify your purchase? Or why did you buy shoes rather than, say, a handbag?

Photo credit: NY Times