For the love of Louboutin! British women spent a staggering £3.5 BILLION on shoes last year... but two thirds will never make it out of the box

  The average women owns 19 pairs of shoes but wears just seven 

·        One in 20 said they owned more than 50 pairs of high heels

·         Christian Louboutin was the most coveted shoe designer

Whether it's Manolo Blahnik, Kurt Geiger or even New Look, no one could ever doubt that women love to splash the cash on a new pair of heels.

However, the UK's shoe addiction doesn't come cheap, with British footwear fans spending a whopping £3.5 billion on shoes last year. 

But despite spending vast amounts on new shoes, two thirds never see the light of day, languishing unworn at the back of the wardrobe.

A nation of footwear fans: British women spent £3.5 billion on new shoes last year 

  Luxury: Designer shoes such as these Louboutins are fuelling British women's passion for high heels

The survey, which was commissioned by the Diamond insurance company, found that the average woman owns 19 pairs of shoes, but only wears seven.

Although the average woman owns a relatively modest 19 pairs, one in 20 admitted to owning more than 50 pairs, while seven per cent said they buy at least 10 pairs of shoes every year.

What's more, for some extreme shoe devotees, their love of footwear has even caused rifts between them and their other halves.

Natalie Grimshare, spokesperson for Diamond insurance company, said: 'According to our study, the average woman owns twice as many shoes as her partner.

'For some women their shoe spending habits have even caused arguments.

'As many as one in eight of the women we questioned told us they've argued with their partner either about the amount they spend on shoes or the sheer number of pairs they own.'
Sky high: Most of the shoes bought had spike heels like this pair of Christian Louboutins

    Expensive: Like Jennifer Lopez and Victoria Beckham, a third of women covet expensive Louboutin shoes

While many women covet designer brands such as Christian Louboutin and Nicholas Kirkwood, the average woman spends a reasonable £41 on a pair of shoes.

The research also highlighted the British public's eye for a bargain with women preferring quantity over quality.

69 per cent of women said that if they were given a budget of £300 they would rather spend this on lots of cheaper shoes than just one designer pair.

Nailing catwalk trends and looking as stylish as possible is a big driver of shoe sales, with high heels proving the most popular among women.

Women polled even admitted to being willing to ditch comfort for style, with over a third of those questioned saying they wear uncomfortable spike heels just because they like the way the shoes look.