Friday, April 2, 2010

Building a Shoe Collection

My husband once claimed that a person only needed four pairs of shoes: sneakers; dress shoes; boots; and casual shoes.

Part of me admires the simplicity of his approach and part of me feels sorry for him as he'll never appreciate the thrill that comes from wearing a pair of canary yellow patent leather wedge heels that you scored for 75% off.

In any event, as I try to whittle my shoe collection down to 32 pairs I am faced with the need to balance having shoes that fit certain practical needs while still having shoes that are fun and make my heart sing.

On the practical front I've started to make a list of "must have shoes" for my life and climate (Northeast weather; professional job with many casual days; inability to wear heels). Here is my list so far .... what would you add/remove?

  1. Black/brown flats casual
  2. Black/brown flats dressy
  3. Black/brown tall boots - flat heel
  4. Black/brown ankle boots - flat heel
  5. Black/brown ankle boots - high heel
  6. comfort boots (yes I mean Uggs. I know. Deal with it).
  7. gym sneakers
  8. fun sneakers
  9. fun color flats
  10. rain shoes/boots
  11. snow boots
  12. casual sandals
  13. dressy pumps
  14. formal occasion shoes spring/summer
  15. formal occasion shoes fall/winter

9 comments:

jennirane said...

Hi MD! I'd say first that some of those categories need a couple of pair at least. And I say that as someone who literally has like six pairs of "real" shoes. But I'd also say that there are some other styles I've got (hiking boots and hiking/rafting sandals, a pair of crocs for mucking about in the garden, and a stack of flips for every tee.

Unknown said...

I guess I could get by with:

Black heels, dressy
Black flats, casual
Black boots, heeled and dressy-ish
Brown boots, heeled and someway between dressy and casual
Black motorcycle boots OR vintage cowboy boots (both would be better)
Red heels
Red flats (in my word red is a neutral color)
Gym shoes (bah)
Converse low-tops
"Fun" flats (a color other than black, red or brown or a print)
Metallic sandals (but not too shiny--I have some in a worn bronze finish that I adore)
Hiking boots (only because I need them for my job)

t. said...

great post. i need to put such a list together too so i don't end up with a lot of black flats.

i'm with jennirane. some categories (casual sandals, fun shoes, etc.) would have more than one shoe in the category.

i also like amy's inclusion of motorcycle or cowboy boots.

i'd add a pair of boots that hit the knee. (flat or heeled.)

Unknown said...

For myself, I'd delete #4 and #5 and substitute both flat- and high-heeled tall boots as well as motorcycle boots/Frye campus boots, since I am short legged and ankle boots do me no favors. Also, I would multiply #13 by five or six, since I work in a conservative office and fancy heels and statement necklaces are about the only creativity I am afforded. I also would add wedges as a separate category from #12, with one fun pair and one black/brown pair allowed.

Quizshow said...

I like these categories. I think the dressy flat vs a casual flat could be problematic unless it's totally obvious like a fabric ballet flat. All flats are casual to me, unless there's jewels involved so maybe it's just me.

Quizshow said...

Definitely add wedges.

Suzzeee said...

I'd add a Casual Sandals heels and a Dressy Sandals (non-evening) heels and flats category to that list. I agree that you need a few pairs in each category especially in the categories where you'd want multiple colors! I do have to confess I love shoes and probably easily have 75 plus pairs.

Lez said...

You need something metallic! I say a pair of metallic flats and a pair of metallic pumps for the list!

moth said...

I have less specific shoe needs than you so what I would consider doing is - keep the absolute must haves - 7, 10 and 11 and then let it be a free for all with the rest. I'd see what you end up wearing most - if you really live in say - flats I see no reason that you collection couldn't be mostly these with a few additions. Then again I rarely use more than 2 or 3 pairs a week.

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