I think Margaret Thatcher's bags were much stiffer. But vintage always sells better with a story 
it doesn't look all that sinister.
OH randomly exclaimed the bread I baked this morning was sinister looking. I think I might already be a witch 
Ah shoes, so much to say. I think Bani mentioned some linked shoes were very English and this is what's still interesting about shoes to me. They're a vernacular of sorts, you can dress like you're somewhere else or as samey as everywhere else but shoes keep you in geographic place, reveal the visitors and tourists even on a micro level of who is from the burbs and who actually resides in the inner city. Brits are, how to say this politely, a bit different about footwear than the rest of Europe and it's quite an easy marker of British tourists. I keep off of the shoe threads on here for a reason, vive le difference and all that.
I think I am lucky in terms of place and that I cycle most places so I don't have to be all that practical about them. I've also found they last long because of that so I can easily cycle them and wear them in new ways over many many years (with a few reparations). Some overly serious fashion teenage boy on the street went all gaga over my Isabel Marant wedge trainers when I recently decided to revive those again (must have had them for over a decade now), apparently they're some rare special edition (probably should look after them better 
).
But I have difficult feet with high arches and they're prone to blisters too so I've never really had a choice of cheap footwear and my mother and grandmother were rather obsessive about good quality footwear from when I could walk. I've yet to find a shoe that doesn't require breaking in so I've always persevered and I know which brands are worth it and which aren't. I'm sometimes lucky in Mango or Zara when they have leather shoes made in Spain or Portugal. Occasionally &Other Stories and Arket.
Pricing is a bit of a conundrum, it's like most other aspects of fashion these days, there's a lot of high street affordable of varying quality (but overall hit rate will be low), then a sparse middle (that's probably around your £200 mark, shoes not boots) where quality is still variable but you're not getting a substantially better shoe. The top end splits in two, fashion shoes can be extortionate but not fit for purpose beyond a photo shoot or a party. Then there's the quality dull stuff but a lot aren't really worth their asking price either as manufactured in China and I suspect the leather isn't European either. There's some interesting direct to consumer brands but I've been disappointed in their design/finish a lot, they lack the finesse that makes a shoe droolworthy and overcome any sticker shock. As for sizing, hmm, not sure I have a very popular size so there's just as much scarcity. I always see loads of the smallest and largest sizes in TKmaxx and places like that, I know the one on Oxford Street had loads of gold label brand shoes. Although is an 8 41 or 42, if the latter then, yes, you're probably sized out of 98% of shops. I think Aeyde carries a size 42, used to be a DTC brand but are sold elsewhere now, medium price range.