Shoes never go out of fashion, and everyone loves to buy shoes in the spring and summer, but this year might be harder than normal with the rapidly rising prices. Shoe prices have been falling for the past ten years or so, but sadly that scenario is now over. Low cost leader Payless recently increased it’s prices, and the Brown Shoe Co, makers of Buster Brown and Via Spiga, have also announced a 5-12% price increase for the fall of 2008. Nine West will be increasing prices by 15% in 2009.

The main reason for price increases is the higher costs of production in China, where 85% of shoes that are sold in US stores are manufactured. Other reasons are increasing fuel costs and the falling US dollar. After shoes, it might just be handbags and other accessories made in China that will face a price increase.

The prospect of higher prices “is causing a good deal of apoplexy” among retailers, says John Shanley, an analyst at Susquehanna International Group, who estimates that shoe makers will raise prices by an average of 10% to 15% in the next year, which would be the largest single-year increase in more than 50 years, according to the BLS.

Some makers figure they have room to maneuver now because the weak dollar has pushed up the price of high-end shoes made by European labels. At Jones Apparel Group Inc., maker of Nine West shoes, Chief Executive Wes Card says that, even if the price of a $65 shoe rises to $75, consumers are likely to view it as a good value compared with European luxury brands. “The gap between a Nine West shoe … and a Jimmy Choo” has gotten wider, he says.