By: Revanche

What’s in your shoe closet?

February 2, 2010

Did you think I’d fallen off the wagon?  The Minimalist one, I mean. I’d like to say I hadn’t but I did put the quest on pause for a while, I needed to catch my breath and just enjoy ownership for while before I picked up the momentum again.  This time, due to a chance remark by a male (*cough* shoe whore! *cough) friend who claims I own more shoes than he, I’ve targeted … my shoes.

I’ve had a lot of shoe rules over the years:

    • They can’t make my feet look like boats. My feet are smallish so wrong-sized shoes just make me look like a clown clomping around looking for my personal Tokyo to stomp.

 

    • Room to wiggle my toes (in the closed toed category).

 

    • Not trendy – I wanted cute but also for them to last a long time.

 

  • I had to be able to run in them. All of them. Just in case I ever encounter a creepy middle of the night, walking alone, something scares me scenario and then I have to outrun a serial murderer/survive a zombie invasion/catch a mugger/make it to Safe first.

Would you be surprised if not all of them met my last requirement?

Even with those rules, I’ve picked up some doozies of Bad Judgment over the years so I won’t show you the shoes that were just culled from the herd.  Instead, I’ll show you the shoes that made the first cut. I’m setting new rules: comfort first, attractive second, and I can’t own more shoes than half my age.

My biggest problem with shoes is the same problem I have with all clothing.  I have unreasonable expectations. I want a multi-functional,everyday shoe that’s comfortable and casual, but won’t look weird paired with jeans, black pants, shorts or maybe even skirts.  In search of that perfect shoe, I kept buying Almost shoes.  That is a LOT of money wasted on shoes that aren’t Keepers.

The shoe that I want, this Magic/Bond-like item, doesn’t exist and I have to accept that.

Instead, I’m now trying to shape the shoe-pack into a streamlined unit where a set of two or three pairs will see me through any sort of trip: the long weekend, a short week, a three week jaunt.

The workhorses: hiking, running, and trotting about town (3)

 

The casuals(6, 1 missing):
(My Rainbows are missing from this photo)

 

The fancies (7, 1 missing) 
(My interview shoes are missing from this photo.)

Clocking in at a grand 17 pairs, even after rejecting another 7, I still have a few more than my accuser, but this is a good start.

A few thoughts now that I’m facing the collection as a whole: the MaryJanes may have to go soon. They’re fun, but not really age-appropriate.  The silver ones I’m only holding onto out of sentimentality since they saved me well over $100 in bridesmaid shoes (4 silver shoe weddings).  As long as my declaration of No More Bridesmaiding! stands, I won’t be needing them either.

What’s your shoe philosophy?

19 Responses to “What’s in your shoe closet?”

  1. Are you kidding?

    If you’re a shoe whore, I must be the madam of the shoe bordello!

    Oh wait.. I WAS at one point.

    I think I counted 25 pairs of shoes, including a pair of flip flops and my 3 pairs of boots. :\

    I also can’t bear to throw out old shoes because I think: Hey, I can wear that in the mud if I go to the park to BBQ with BF! That way, I don’t get my NICE shoes dirty.

    Or “these shoes are about to fall off my feet, but they’re PERFECT for biking…” (which they are)

    My shoe philosophy is:

    – Cannot pinch my feet (hence why I go up to a Size 8 sometimes)

    – Cannot be too large for my feet (hence why I buy padding for the heel)

    – Cannot be too trendy (I’d never wear them again)

    – Cannot be too high (2.5″ is my maximum. I learned that, after buying one pair of gorgeous, pink suede Nine West 3″ platform heels)

    – Cannot be faux leather (most of the time, plastic pinches my feet… but I do own one pair that is PERFECTLY formed to my foot, made out of fake leather, however, I spent 3 years breaking them in to that point, suffering blisters and crying when I had to put them on again.

    That’s about it.

    Oh, other than “cannot go over $100 for the most part”

    The most I’ve ever spent on shoes is $70, and on boots, $300 (once, one purchase at $300).

  2. Funny, I’ve got a similar test to yours – I have to be able to do footsweeps in them. This means that I have to be able to stand on one and whip the other foot across at ankle level. It’s amazing how long you can stand in 3.5″ heels with that kind of balence. Also, not stand like a crippled bird in front of a mugger;)
    When it comes to heels and pumps, I try to buy expensive shoes that will last forver. I still have shoes from my days of interviewing for my first job. The downside is that I have trouble throwing any away. For instance, I wore three pairs of shoes at my rehersal dinner / wedding, and it took me forever to get rid of them, even though two of them were bargain shoes bought to match the dress exactly.
    Anyway, you’ve inspired me – I think I’ll look over my collection this afternoon and see exactly what it is I have in my closet:)

  3. If you think 17 is bad, then you are in for something. Just watch the Fabulous Life of ANYONE on VH1. Kimora Lee Simmons for example has a whole closet dedicated to shoes. And she stores them in TUPPERWARE containers. Amazing.

    I actually realized just last year that I was a girly girl, so my desire for shoes is still blossoming. I am more about attraction first, utility second, then comfort last. Meaning, I can have about 5 pumps. But if I want to buy another pump, it has to be cuter than all of my existing pumps. Then it has to be a different color so that I can make an outfit better (utility defined loosely). Lastly, it has to be comfortable. But I’m usually not on my feet for too long, so I don’t really care too much about comfort.

  4. L.A. Daze says:

    I don’t have a shoe philosophy. As long as it looks good and feels right, i’ll buy it. With the exception of Louboutins – they freaking hurt but look oh so good. But if you count all my shoes (and this does not include the shoes back home in Jakarta that didn’t fit in my suitcase), i’d come close to 35 pairs of shoes. This doesn’t include my flip flops, my flat sandals, and my running, workout, and cycling shoes. Now that I wrote it out, it seems like a bit much!

  5. hhmm….I have no clue how many pairs I have, but I think boots, casual sandals, high heels x 2, joggers. Yup, I think that’s it! lol

  6. Ginger says:

    I too seek the mythical perfect footwear.

    I haven’t found it yet…

    It looks like you have a lot of shoes but somehow I think I have even more than you. And that scares me. I feel like I’m always getting rid of shoes, so why do I still have so many??!

  7. eemusings says:

    Eclectic? My wardrobe sucks. I need to get a style, and a shoe philosophy. You don’t have any jandals/winter boots?

    I did a shoe show and tell aages ago on the blog – might do it again, although not much has changed since then.

  8. Yeah, I’m the ultimate shoe whore! I have so many pairs, and whenever I replace a pair, I keep the old one. I have two shoe racks and an over-the-door shoe organizer. And there are still shoes that I can’t fit in there!

  9. Hmm, I think I’ll have to post mine. It’s kind of disgusting.

  10. Aurora says:

    I am not a shoe person and really have about the same requests that you do. I did get some cute flip flops that are really comfortable so I bought them in every color available…so that upped my total number of shoes.

    Love the post and I guess I may have to do one as well.

  11. I’m don’t have a shoe fetish, but when it comes to designer jeans, I’m definitely a “jeans whore”!! Rotfl!!!

  12. Karen says:

    I have 18 pairs of shoes (plus 3 pairs of flip flops).
    5 are some that I almost never wear: 2 old running shoes- I like to keep one old pair so that I don’t have to wear my actual (current) running shoes; hiking shoes that I bought for Costa Rica a few years ago and recently wore again (for their intended purpose); old flip flops for the dog park, or washing the car etc; boys’ work boots that I kept because I tossed my old pair when I changed jobs only to discover I would need them for 2 weeks at my current job when I started.
    My philosphy is: buy what I can tolerate visually that fits. Or almost fits. 🙂 I’ve come to feel that my foot is wide and I have a narrow heel.

  13. Revanche says:

    @FB: How can you tell if they’re real or faux? I’m horrible at shoe shopping so never could tell. I kept that brown pair of peep toes b/c my local cobbler was in love with them, said they were real eel skin.

    @The Lost Goat: Oooh I LIKE that test! …but I can’t do it anymore. If you happen to do a post, let me know!

    @Investing Newbie: You know what I really envy in those situations? The closet space. Not even the shoes because at some point, my brain shuts down with too many choices.

    I think your philosophy means each shoe is cuter than the last, hm?

    @L.A.Daze: Sweet mercy, I am impressed! And curious about your collection(s). 🙂

    @notesfromthefrugaltrenches: You take the prize for fewest pairs!

    @Ginger: Let me know when you find a pair! Maybe you need to institute the 1 in, 2 out rule. 🙂

    @eemusings: I haven’t found a good winter boot yet, the last pair I bought were cheapie old things that lasted for about three years. I finally retired them without a replacement. So I just hide from bad weather 😉

    I’ll link your old post, unless you want to update it.

    @paranoidasteroid: LOL, points for honesty.

    @HighClassLowIncome: LMK when you post your version.

    @Aurora: I love flipflops, but I am a SoCal native. LMK if you post, I’ll link to ya!

    @halfdozendaily: Now that can be a pricey habit 😉

    @Karen: Welcome back! Have you ever had your feet examined for a fitting? I had a running shoe shop analyze my gait and I walk weird AND my feet are differently size. Go figure.

  14. Karen says:

    Revanche: Ha, I probably walk weird too considering the way my hips and back were sore from vacation (I have an email in work).
    I think most of my shoe problem is just that not a lot of retailers carry 5.5. I was going to go to a running shop for a fitting once but didn’t find the store. But I’m due for a new pair so I may revisit that.

  15. Flexo says:

    I have two pairs of Bass, one brown, one black. I have black Vans sneakers and one pair of Puma running sneakers designed for the kind of support my feet need. I have some snow boots I broke out recently for the first time in many years. I have a pair of black Bostonians. And I *had* a pair of black Sketchers but they were crap.

  16. Red says:

    Oh, gosh! I’m the same way with my shoes. I had a total of 26 before going through them. I decided to keep only the basics – black, bone and brown heels (still waiting to find some good bone/ivory heels for a white suit), brown and black flip flops, brown and black ballet flats, running shoes and a pair of knee-high boots. I have 8 pairs right now! 😀 I’m definitely going for a collection of shoes that can be worn with most anything, unlike my collection before that contained shoes that could only be worn with one or two outfits.

    Good luck to you! (p.s. I love those black pumps in the upper right corner of the last photo!)

  17. Jeff says:

    I never realized how many pairs I had until I counted them up:
    Winter everyday -Keen boots
    Winter boots
    Summer everyday -Nike shoes
    Biking shoes
    Work shoes -steel toes
    Summer fun shoes -Keen sandles
    An of course a nice pair for those crappy formal gatherings 🙂

  18. I don’t really have a shoe philosophy, unless having as few shoes as possible is a philosphy 🙂 I currently own 3 pair of shoes. 1 for work and going out ( black semi-fancy shoes ), 1 pair of running shoes for working out, and a pair of leather sandals.

    That’s it, and about as simple as I can reasonably keep it. Now my wife on the other hand…. the last time I counted she had over 20 pair. And as far as I can tell, 18 of them are black heels. Don’t ask me what the differences between them are, but apparently they’re all absolutely necessary.

  19. OMG, Miss Revanche, you have started something with the shoe closets 🙂 I have happily taken the pics and blogged my own collection. Thanks heaps for the inspiration 🙂

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