The Philippines’ Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) confirmed the 3,000 count to Rappler, but Time reported in 1987 that the “final tally” was 1,060 pairs. There is a discrepancy among reports of how many pairs of shoes were actually discovered in the presidential palace Malacañang.

They were only discovered after being drenched in rainwater that leaked through the ceiling of the museum hall they were locked in.Īnother possibility is that the collection is smaller than what the legend of the Marcoses’ downfall would have us believe. In 2012, the Associated Press reported that more than 1,000 pairs have been damaged by termites and mold, after years of being stashed in boxes. One report claims that many of them are now destroyed. The whereabouts of the rest are less definite. I imagine the pumps, peep-toes, and sling-backs that once strutted the pavements of cosmopolitan cities and rubbed heels with dignitaries, back when they fit neatly into the soles of Imelda, and can’t help but wonder, where are they now? This fascination has led me to ask some serious, and not-so-serious questions: How did she get away with this? Did she get to wear all those shoes? (This would've been equivalent to not repeating a pair for 8 years!!!) How hard must it have been to break in every pair? I know many are, too, since she’s now at the center of the new documentary The Kingmaker, which premiered at the 76th Venice Film Festival in August, and opened in select theaters in the United States last week. With the money I make, I would not be able to rack up that many shoes in my lifetime, even if I started today (trust me, I just calculated it).ĭespite its more serious backstory, I can’t help but be fascinated by Imelda, now 90 years old, and her gaudy lifestyle. Her locally made shoes were said to be priced at anywhere between $6-11, while imported pairs cost up to $100 or more. Three thousand pairs sounds even more ludicrous now than it did back then, since it has become an emblem of the billions of dollars her family stole from the people while her husband, late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, ruled for 21 years.

Iceberg sandals