Jeffrey Walter thinks I have a lot of shoes and he may be right - I bought two shoe cabinets recently that hold between 26 and 30 pairs of shoes each (see photos below). They are both full along with the shoes I have in my closet, in my office and in various other places, even in my car. The thing is though, not only do women's fashions change and I need different shoes for different styles of clothing, but I have a really hard time finding shoes that don't make my feet hurt. All that means I end up buying a lot of shoes just trying to find a pair that's comfortable, practical and cute. Don't get me wrong, I wear them and even the fanciest of them get worn more than once. It's just a PITA to find good shoes.
Think for a minute about men's shoes. Men can get away with wearing the same style of shoes every day and men's shoe styles don't really change all that much from year to year (at least they didn't used to). Jeffrey Walter could probably go to the store today and buy the exact same shoe he bought 5 years ago. He used to buy the same "tennis" shoes even few years and wear them every day. I can't even do that with running shoes, much less sandals or pumps. If I could buy the same sandals today that I bought 5 years ago, I'd be thrilled.
All this means that over the years, I have learned (the hard way) that if I find a pair of shoes I like, I need to get more than one pair and preferably in more than one color. I have a couple of pairs of hiking boots like that - I bought brown and black, plus an extra pair of each. I love those boots and wear them almost all winter, plus some in the summer. I also have two pairs of heeled sandals that are in two different colors because I knew I'd end up wearing them a lot in the summer - unfortunately, they aren't 100% comfortable and they are beginning to show signs of beginning to wear out - and they are only a couple of years old!
Right now, I'm looking for the perfect summer sandal that can be both a little dressy and a little casual. I had a pair that I was a little reluctant to try but the sales lady (that I had known for years by then) convinced me to just try them. Now I wish I had bought extra and in multiple colors. They met all my criteria - comfortable, could be either semi-dressy or casual, and they could survive a trip through the garden. You see, those sandals could be hosed off and look nearly as good as new, plus any shoes I wear will more than likely end up going through the garden at least once - including heels. It's a bonus if they are washable.
Anyway, shoes for me (and for most women, I'm guessing) are not the easiest thing to keep to a minimum. I try to keep them versatile but hiking boots don't look that great with my office attire and heels aren't exactly appropriate for a bicycle ride, so I wind up with a lot of shoes, especially when I realize that I can only wear them for short periods or a day here or there because they are just NOT that comfortable.
What about you? Do you have more shoes than Imelda Marcos? Do you find it difficult to find the perfect shoe? What do you do with the ones you don't wear? Do you have a hard time letting go of the ones you love when they go out of style?
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