it's been far too long since i've blogged about shoes ...

But since my last shoe-shopping update, I really haven't made a lot of purchases!

Well, there were these:

Somewhat impractical in color, but I've managed to wear them quite a bit. They were on sale, and they're so comfortable!

When I noticed the same shoes were still available in green (a color that perfectly matched a couple of things already in my closet), I added them to my collection as well. (Still on sale, as well!) (Uh oh, the pink ones are $27.63 on Amazon.com. Do I need them in pink too?)

These, however, are not nearly as comfortable as their yellow sister pair. The leather isn't as soft, they're a little tighter in the toes, and the right shoe rubs my heel.

They're lucky that they're so cute, and that a bandage can stop the pain.

I Twittered last week about a different pair of shoes hurting my feet. (Oh, right, I did decide to sign up.) These shoes:

Unlike the cute green shoes, they are not worth the pain. They were cheap, faux-patent, and hurt all over. They've got to go. Good-bye painful shoes!

I've got to make room for more somehow!

photo hunt: shoes!

It was time to swap out my fall/winter shoes, anyway!

new shoes

The shopping fast is over.

I've had my eye on these for months. I'd seen them in magazines before they even hit the stores. I don't even know what I'm going to wear with them ... but I'll figure something out.

I saved money by waiting, too -- originally $19.50, they're on sale at Old Navy now for $11.70!

Of course, I spent that saved money by buying a second pair.

I couldn't resist. I love this pattern, too!

Over the weekend I picked up a few items at Ann Taylor LOFT -- I had $100 in savings cards that I had to use! And Banana Republic sent me an email today to take an extra 20% off their sale items.

I know, it seems like the fast just made me explode back into my old shopping habits. Well, I had some birthday money to spend! And, yes, it was a little pent-up.

I did learn some things I needed during my fast. I guess when you're not buying things, you pay more attention to the flaws in what you do have.

Most of my pants are too short, even with flats. And I only have one pair of jeans I can wear with the majority of my heels (2-3 inch). I need to find some longer pants!

I can use a casual pair of brown flats and possibly black boots that are flat enough for my barely-long-enough pants. (They're not all hopeless!)

I also need some neutral sandals to wear with my beach dresses in Jamaica. And a one-piece bathing suit for triathlon training, but that doesn't count. It's something I actually need!

Before I buy anything else, I should really go through my closet again. If the weather would make up its mind, I could rotate my clothes and shoes for spring/summer!

list day 5: shoe essentials

We've already established the fact that I love shoes. I'm not really sure how many pairs I have at this point, but it's a lot. I think back in November when I was organizing, I had about 75 pairs.

That, of course, was before my January shoe-shopping spree that caused me to cut myself off for a couple months!

Anyway, I'm not counting. I'm just here today to give a list of my top ten essential shoes, to accompany my top ten clothing essentials.

1. Neutral flats that can go with everything
   For me, I need both black and brown, in both casual and more dressy styles. So item one is at least four pairs for me. Then you add in silver, bronze, patterned, etc. Time to stop counting!
2. Tall boots
   Again, both black and brown. Again, I have two pairs of each -- dressy and casual!
3. Ankle boots
   See a trend? I have black flat casual, black kitten heel, chocolate brown, medium brown and black patent.
4. Black heels
   To go with that little black dress. Of course, these can also be red or gold or silver or ...
5. Comfortable shoes you can walk for a long time in
   You shouldn't be wearing heels when taking your in-laws sightseeing. I like a pair of non-athletic sneakers for this, as long as they have enough arch support. Occasionally I'll use an old pair of running shoes, but that's not very stylish!
6. Canvas skimmers
   Something a little more casual for spring and summer. Of course I'm in love with my Keds "Eleanor" series. I've got four pairs (so fun!), plus two pairs in neutral shades.
7. Flip-flops
   For the beach, pool, and casual summer outings.
8. Dress sandals
   I like heels with fun-colored straps and wedges, but I've also got black wedges.
9. Casual sandals
   Like leather slides. I've got brown, black and navy.
10. Something impractical that adds personality
    Perhaps my multi-color polka dotted wedges, gold peep-toes or red patent heels.

So with a little creativity, I can fit all 80+ pairs into this top ten essential list, right?

the storage situation

I had some photos of my closet back from my NaBloCleanMo project. Here is what the shoe situation looked like up until last week or so:

And here it is today:

I picked up an inexpensive shelf that would fit the existing space, and put the shoe rack on top. Bonus, I can shove the Keds skimmers between the bottom of the shoe rack and the top of the new shelf!

Adding the patent boots caused the ankle boots to no longer fit as neatly under the bottom shelf of my closet organizer, but they can still stay tidy as they are.

And while it looks tight, I do actually have room for future purchases -- I don't really need three pairs of running sneakers that I can't run in anymore. (Our local running shop recycles them. I will probably keep just one spare pair once I lift the shoe ban to make room for more!)

So for now, things are still under control.

I just don't want to think about how it's going to fit when it's time to rotate out the 20+ pairs of spring/summer shoes hibernating in a box under the bed!

january shoe review

or, why I'm not allowed to go shopping anymore ...

Since She Likes Purple inquired about my shoe purchases ... below you will find the footwear that entered my house during the month of January.

Before I cut myself off on January 15.

See, there are several ladies (the aforementioned She Likes Purple, and a couple others) that have sworn off unnecessary shopping for 30 or 60 days.

At first, I thought, "Good for them!," but it wasn't for me. Shopping is too much fun!

I never used to indulge myself ... but as we've gotten more established, I realize I do deserve to have nice things, and have increased my (still somewhat cheap) budget accordingly.

Though, I've been on a bit of a shopping spree lately. After a string of large purchases, I decided I was on board too. At least for 30 days. I'd sort of like to make it until my birthday (March 29) -- but yikes, that's really far away!

On to the shoes ...

I found these Ann Taylor satin peep-toe heels on sale for $39.99, which is actually higher than I usually spend on shoes (boot budget is a big higher!). I'm a bargain hunter; while I have a lot of nice shoes, I usually get killer deals. I figured since these are exactly what I've been looking for for years, and they were originally $118, I could make an exception.


Technically, these bronze Ann Taylor peep-toes entered my house on January 16, one day after I said I'd stop the unnecessary purchasing. But I had things to return to Ann Taylor, and still walked out with more money than I came in with (on my credit card statement).

Also, I decided these were destined to be mine. When I was in there days earlier (pre shopping ban), I saw them on the sale rack, in my size. I wanted them, but resisted for some reason. I figured if they were still there when I brought in my returns, they were meant to be.

I've had my eye on these Steve Madden wedges for a while over at Endless.com. When I thought they were sold out, it made me kind of sad ... and then I looked again and found them. So I really had to buy them, right?

I've previously documented my love for the Keds Eleanor skimmers. I had seen the "Dove" style and when I finally found them marked down to $18, I had to buy. But I also fell in love with the wood button on the "Elephant" style and got those too.

And then, Ann Taylor LOFT had these on clearance for $9, and I couldn't resist. Also, I realized I only have one other pair of black flats which are a little more casual, so this was a great purchase!

And you already know about the patent boots.

Were you counting? Did I actually buy seven pairs of shoes in two weeks?

So yeah, I'm officially cut off.

I joked with my husband that I had to build an addition to my shoe rack!
(Um, I really did. I'll post an update later with "before" and "after" shots!)

today in a shopping center parking lot ...

A woman complimented me on my shoes.

These shoes:

Which I got for $14.98 at Rack Room. Woo!

ann taylor loft made me buy boots (again)

It wasn't quite the steal as the ones I found around this time last year, but with the original price of $89.99, marked down to $64.99, all sale items an additional 30% off and my $25 coupon (pro-rated to deduct off each item I purchased), the total cost for the boots was about $32.

Yippee!

my shoes are red and yellow and green and brown and purple and white and pink and orange ...

I admit it, I have a problem.

Yes, of course I've always had a bit of a shoe habit. But lately, it seems it's gotten harder to resist purchasing shoes that will have limited use.

Surely, I must have been more practical at some point?

I picked up these green and yellow sandals a few years ago. They were on sale, and while I loved them, I initially went home without them.

What would they possibly match?

Still, I couldn't stop thinking about them. I knew I had to go back -- I figured if they had my size in stock, it was meant to be!

Surprisingly, I do get a lot of wear out of them. The colors are subtle, and I actually have a few light green tops that coordinate.

The pink sandals were a no-brainer since they were really cheap at Target. I have quite a few skirts and tops that work well well with them.

(Though, I think I bought the skirts specifically to go with the shoes ... but, I really did need more skirts at the time!)

I didn't buy anything else colorful for a while except for some purple pumps which I needed to go with a dress.
It was a striped dress, predominately purple, but also with some green (so the yellow/green sandals match as well). Since I was wearing the dress for a fall wedding, I wanted a closed toe. The dress has since gotten more use, but I have worn the sandals every other time.

This spring/summer has seen a lot of color!

It started with these cute sneaker flats that I had to have.

They're the 'Eleanor' series by Keds. I liked a few of the prints and decided to purchase the blue owl version.

I do wear a lot of aqua blue, so I wear them a decent amount of time ... but I haven't found a way to coordinate them yet without being a close match.

I love them ... so when I found one of the other styles I liked on sale at T.J. Maxx the other day, I couldn't resist.

I wear a lot of green, too :)

I really tried to leave T.J. Maxx with just that one pair, but another impractical purchase was calling out to me.

They were very cute, and very comfortable, but I put them down and walked away. They'd be yet another pair of shoes that will be hard to coordinate.

Or would they?

I had to go back and take them home!

I wore them today, and my feet were very happy!