Awww Clutter

bronze flip flops, take 2

2011-11-24T22:48:00.001-05:00

What: size 8 bronze flip flops with rope detail
From: Talbots (clearance center)
Purchased: September 2011
Cost: $14

So, um, yeah. In August at a regular Talbots I bought a pair of bronze flip flops and put them away for next summer's use. And then in early September I was at the clearance store and snatched these off the racks and totally loved the rope-y, espadrille-y trim around the shoe and bough them without a second thought because I needed new flip flops. And I put them away for next summer's use.

And now I have two pairs of bronze flip flops. And a no returns policy. Oh well. I love bronze. I could wear one pair out and save the second pair for the summer of 2013?

Bottom line: keeper

bronze flip flops

2011-11-23T22:34:00.000-05:00

What: Size 8 bronze flip flops with little bow
From: Talbots
Purchased: August 2011
Cost: $16

All summer I wore my orange and yellow flip flops. They were already on their last legs, but I couldn't part with them.

So, when I went to Talbots close to my birthday, which meant I had an extra 15% off coupon, and the summer sale was still in full swing, and I saw these, I had to snatch them up. As we all know, I love me some metallics!

Two questions:
- how can a pair of flip flops cost the same as the shoes from yesterday?
- uh, what is that other pair of bronze flip flops in the background? stay tuned!

Bottom line: keeper

golden

2011-11-22T21:51:00.000-05:00

What: size 8 glitter and sequin gold peep toe pumps with 2.5 inch heel
From: Talbots (clearance store)
Purchased: April 2011
Cost: $16

They made it to 80% off! So I could not pass them up. These are totally impractical. Seriously, how many times in your life will you wear gold glitter pumps? I know a lot of people that will never wear glitter shoes once in their life, and I think they're perfectly fine with that. But these are comfy. And, well, tasteful. For a gold glitter pump, that is.

Right after I got them I wore them out to dinner with rolled jeans and an olive green jacket. Sort of the juxtaposition of hard edge and fancy. I guess it worked, and I could probably wear something like that a couple of times a year.

But I never have fancy things to attend where these would work. No fancy holiday parties, no super fabulous dress up dinners out, no fancy theater or orchestras......once again, my shoe mantra - I need a more fabulous life to match my shoes! Sigh.

bottom line: keeper

cheap espadrilles

2011-11-21T17:22:00.000-05:00

what: size 8 lilac espadrilles with flowers
From: New York and Co
Purchased: mid summer 2011
Cost: $10

Bought these at the same time as these. What can I say, they were cheap. I don't know how much wear they will get, but at $10 I couldn't pass them up. I was kinda looking at a dress there the same color, but never got it. I can get a wear or two out of them next year. I hope.

Bottom line: keeper

fierce espadrilles

2011-11-20T17:11:00.002-05:00

What: size 8.5 lace up platform espadrilles
From: Joan&David (Macy's)
Purchased: August 2011
Cost: $50

I saw these in some ad over the summer and cyberstalked them for two months, but never saw them cheaper than $100. I tried them on at one point in July on a random trip to Macy's, but there was no way I was paying that much for them. So late in the summer I decided what the heck and did another random Macy's trip and lo and behold found them on the super sale rack!

The sad thing is usually I am very prepared, and that day there had been a 20% off coupon in the paper, but I didn't grab it and the woman behind the counter wasn't going to help me out. I bought them anyway. They are fierce. I get a ton of compliments on them when I wear them. Just hope they won't appear too "last season" next summer, because I plan on getting more wear out of them!

Bottom line: Keeper

and so it goes

2011-11-19T15:25:00.001-05:00

While my sister did an amazing job motivating Elizabeth to make her room less of a disaster area, they didn't really tackle the root of the problem, which is stuff crammed everywhere.

I've started to notice that if Andrew is enjoying a particular toy a lot, it winds up squirreled away in Elizabeth's room. This is annoying, to say the least.

When he pulled out a little car set, and one car was missing, Elizabeth casually said it was in her room, in her nightstand. I went to find it, but her nightstand was mysteriously empty. So I went on a small rampage, rooting around in all her stashes.

Never found the car. But in 5 minutes of rummaging, I did find:

A used teaspoon
a yellow cherry from the Hi Ho Cheerio game
a red butterfly from the Elefun game

That girl! I am in a total funk right now over the toys, and specifically the games, and are really feeling a lot of annoyance directed at the nanny. Games get hauled out and then pieces distributed everywhere. It makes me crazy. None of the games we have can be played right now. None. The pieces have been dispersed to the far corners of our house, never to be reunited again. CRAZY. ANNOYED.

And we're heading toward Christmas, and more toys will make their way into our house, and the whole thing makes me think my head is about to explode.

I'm gearing up for a huge toy sort, and it has to be done before Christmas. And I have to comprehensively sort the main level, the basement, and her room, or the whole effort is fairly useless. Why didn't we choose a nanny who was more organized than us? Or at least even slightly organized? Or who at least understood why toys should sort of go together. I'm perpetuating my disorganization on another generation and it is making me grumpy and crazy.

grey booties

2011-11-18T15:12:00.000-05:00

What: Size 8 grey ankle booties
From: Aerosoles
Purchased: October 21, 2011
Cost: $26

I spent all last winter coveting grey shooties/ankle booties, particularly an expensive pair. I ended up buying these for $20, and while I like them, they're kinda cheap-y and I don't think will last. Suede is already rubbing off. Also ever-so-slightly pinchy in the toes.

Anyway, when shopping with KG recently, we hit the Aerosoles outlet store and these were marked to $26. KG got both the grey AND the black (marked down to $35, I think), but I stuck with just the grey. After seeing KG rock the black ones with black tights and skirt, I was thinking I should have gotten black, even if they were $10 more, but I had purchased the odd black Naturalizer shoes earlier that day, so grey it was.

So, the other day I decided to step out a little bit and actually wear some of the crap I buy on the clearance racks, and pulled on these funky patterned tights, with a grey skirt and black sweater. It was a little out there for me, but I think worked. At least it was a little different.

Bottom line: keeper. They are more comfy that the other ones I own. Probably better with jeans. Still feeling like I should have gotten the black ones, maybe? Or, really, neither. The real bottom line is I've gotten two grey booties for $46, which is still cheaper than the shooties I really wanted last year.

black peep toes

2011-11-17T14:53:00.000-05:00

What: size 8 black platform peep toe slingbacks with patent accents and flower bow on front
From: AK Anne Klein (Lord&Taylor)
Purchased: May 2011
Cost: $32

Shoe-mageddon, which I still haven't covered, wiped out my black shoe collection. Really, I had a number of black shoes that were staples in my wardrobe that just had too much wear, and TSM did a great job encouraging me to discard them.

These hurt the most to discard - loved those sandals, but it was time. When I wrote about them, I said I needed a slightly dressier, lady-like pair to replace them, and in the late spring, I started seeing some candidates in Lord&Taylor ads. And so when a huge coupon coincided with a big shoe sale, plus an already planned trip to Friendship Heights, I was on a mission. Tried on 4 pairs of black peep toe slingbacks and settled on the ones pictured above. They're definitely dressier then the ones I discarded, which filled a niche of sandals-that-could-aspire-higher, but that niche is difficult and I needed the dressier shoe, since shoe-maggeddon also resulted in these going away, too. OK, yes, I still have these, but I feel like they're not quite the same - I bought leather (with patent accents), and that last link is all patent, plus I think not quite as, well, for want of a better descriptor, lady-like for full skirts.

I'm still on the hunt for a low-heel almost-sandal (kitten heel, maybe?) that can be worn with skirts, but I was, and am, super satisfied with this pair, especially at the bargain price I got.

Bottom line: keeper

back to shoes - brown boots

2011-11-16T14:44:00.000-05:00

What: size 8 light brown wedge heel mid-calf boots with studs and turndown
From: Naughty Monkey (Endless.com)
Purchased: October 2011
Cost: $40

I've had my eye on these boots since last March, when they were $30 - half price end of season. I also liked the darker brown color, but with no job at the time, I could only watch as the dark brown ones sold out and the 50% off marked down price ended. I also just wasn't sure about them.

And then the job came along, and I had a $10 credit on Amazon, so finally snagged them.

I like them, and wore them my long tiring Sunday with no problems, but I am just not sure I can really pull off the tucked in jeans look. Maybe my jean legs were not quite skinny enough. I felt like I had an unfortunate star trek-like quality to the jeans, puffing out at the top of the boots. Or maybe I'm just not used to this look and need to keep trying, or need to peg my jeans so they are tighter and don't ride up, or need a different pair of pants. Undecided. But these are cute boots, with a slight kick as feel to them (studs!), and they were comfortable, so overall worthwhile.

Bottom line: keeper

small steps

2011-11-15T10:33:00.000-05:00

Ok, well, the journey of a thousand miles starts with a small step.

Today I explored trash regulations in DC and discovered that you can discard TVs at the transfer station on the first Sat of the month. So, the giant TV in the basement, along with other hazardous waste like mercury filled burnt out light bulbs, will go away December 3rd.

Small steps.

discouraged

2011-11-14T10:05:00.001-05:00

I'm writing this blog post 11/26, but backdating to 11/14. Maybe I can catch up with NaBloPoMo, maybe not, but we'll see how it goes.

So, after a frenzied weekend and exhausting Sunday, I"m mostly just waiting for Rich to get home. Although some decluttering progress was made over the weekend, I'm feeling discouraged. Everything that is on my todo list is overwhelming. There is so much to do, and most of it is linked, or requires purchasing new items to properly organize or replace old items, or is just such a huge, tedious job there's no motivation.

ALthough I made a lot of organizing progress in the play area of the basement on Friday, it was also a depressing exercise. There is soooo much stuff down there. It just feels claustrophobic. Everywhere you turn, there's a stack or pile or jumble. Attacking it requires so much energy and effort and quite honestly, it's just easier to not think about it.

Here's an example: I have a GIGANTIC desk in the basement. I bought it for $10 when I was in grad school. It is huge, and heavy, and I've hauled it more places than I care to imagine. It's an old metal school desk with a gigantic, smooth desk top surface that would be awesome for projects - if I could get at the desk and actually work at it. Right now it's inaccessible in a corner of the basement, and on the top is a giant old TV and a stash of boxes of Cats Meow pieces (more than 80) that my parents bought at at auction for something ridiculous like $2. Rich hates this desk (see the aforementioned heavy + moved many places). I like it because surface area. It would be a nice craft desk/area. It's surrounded by so much stuff I can't even take a picture of it.

I've finally decided it needs to go. I'd much rather have a large craft desk in the attic, with a storage cabinet. The desk is too big and ugly to go in the attic. So, I need $$ to buy a project table and storage cabinet. I need to clean off the desk in the basement to photograph it and sell on Craig's List, or freecycle. I need to clean OUT the desk if it's leaving - there's random stuff in drawers and some files. It's just a huge, depressing project overall and so it just sits, hulking, taking up a lot of square footage.

You might feel better after decluttering. I do feel better with decluttered area. But it's a long journey to get there.

obsessing over holiday stuff

2011-11-13T22:26:00.000-05:00

So yesterday my sister and I went to Target for a few necessary items, and wandered around a bit, too. And we found some Halloween luminaries, originally priced at $12, marked down to $3. They were super cute, Smith & Hawken, really nice, and pretty big. And I sooooo wanted them. But, I thought about how much Halloween stuff I already have, how this year I never lit any of the candles/luminaries I already own for Halloween until Halloween night itself, and how I just have too much stuff anyway. It's too much stuff. Too much. In addition to getting rod of stuff, I've got to cut down on brining new stuff in.

But I still want them.

treading water

2011-11-12T22:57:00.001-05:00

So when one half of a two-parent household is away, everyone knows it's all about treading water, holding the line, until parent 2 gets back. No one expects the stay behind parent to really get anything done, and only hopes things don't completely go to hell in a handbasket.

So no to-do list this weekend. I've still got two full days to go, so I shouldn't jinx myself, but I hoping I actually gain a teeny tiny bit of ground. Not a lot of ground, but just enough to feel like I accomplished something.

On Friday, during my hour in the basement, I managed to clear space in front of the door to our basement closet (oh yes, it's bad down there when the piles are actually blocking doors!) and I found the bulbs from last year. And they don't seem rotten, so worth trying to plant, let's see, 60 crocus bulbs, 20 tulips, and 12 daffodils. When I actually get some amount of them into the ground then I've got a thing done, but for now I'm just kinda pleased I found them.

But I did manage to collect a small shopping bag of trash, so that's 1 thing.

Then, today, my sister (who is here this weekend so it's not even like I am truly going solo while my husband jets off to warmer climes), took one look at Elizabeth's room and put her to work organizing it. There's a lot to be done, and I've been half heartedly planning to arrange some time when I'm not working but Elizabeth is with the nanny or at school to go through and just bulldoze that room into submission. But Jennifer somehow enticed Elizabeth into doing some actual organizing, minor sorting, and trashing of some of the excess - another small bag of trash, but hey, it's progress.

So that's two things for this weekend.

Not much, but I'll take it.

Throw Out 50 things in November
To date: 2
Added:2
Current total: 4
Still to go: 46

this is how it works

2011-11-11T22:53:00.000-05:00

Today Rich headed out for a trip, and I met my mom (who is at my brother's) and we went to the thrift store. And I got TWO Christmas decoration items. That will not fit in to the already overflowing stash of holiday decorations that currently exist in the basement. Sigh. They were cheap (less than $1 each), and I've wanted a glass container shaped like a Christmas tree. Why, I don't know. But now I own one.

But in penance (and because it is fricking cold - too cold for a walk to Target or the playground), I spent over an hour in the basement. Some organizing progress made, but there is Much To Do. Much.

still in the front hall

2011-11-10T22:03:00.001-05:00

Yep, those are the two Halloween (and Thanksgiving) bins, still in the front hall. I bought them many years ago, and parceled out an area in the basement for all holiday bins, and here's the thing, if every year you add one or two things (this year: a table runner and two placemats, last year: 4 large tumblers, 4 kids cups), you will run out of room.

What I need to do is aggressively go through the bins and get rid of things we really don't use. That would help.

But what I really need to do is squish as much of this as possible in the bins, slap on the lids, and shove them in the basement. (Although we haven't yet gathered up the Halloween books, sigh.) And worry about where the Thanksgiving stuff (including a new acorn dish, new acorn bowl with lid, and cutest thing ever acorn salt and pepper shakers) will go later. Oh good grief, there's a cornucopia someplace in the basement right now, not even out with the rest of the fall decorations as I've forgotten about it til this very minute.

The Christmas stuff started, 10 years ago, in 4 bins. Now it's expanded to include another bin, two LARGE boxes, a couple of bags, and stuff shoved randomly on the shelves. There's an easter bin that's overflowed, too. And a random holiday bin (Valentine's, St Patricks, 4th of July).

How do you store your holiday decorations? Maybe you don't have a lot of holiday decorations?

Wait! Rich is taking the bins down right now! Wohoo!

Not quite 50

2011-11-09T23:05:00.000-05:00

Ok, so yesterday I wrote about my friend TSM's sale in which I participated in September. I tagged 39 items for sale.

And I sold 18 of them! For $85 dollars!

And, can you see the top tag there? I even sold A PAIR OF SHOES! These shoes, to be precise, ones I thought were total duds and would never sell. OK, os it took me almost a year to get them out of the house once I decided they had to go, but I recouped $10 from their purchase! Wohoo!

So I love selling. But, uh, two downsides. Because at the sale, other people also set out their great past purchases for super cheap, and I can't actually tell you how many things I purchased. Though they've been nearly all great buys - 6 pairs of pajamas for A, several outfits for E, a couple of key Christmas presents. What I really need to do is sell enough to cover my costs entirely. (The accounting above says I spent $58, but it was more because I paid cash for a bunch.)

Second downside - the 18 things that did not sell. Which are in one bin, in my front hallway.

Well, it's just one bin. And the stuff is already tagged. So I can just bring it to the next sale (except things like the stupid snow pants, which I can't sell til next Fall). I just need to clear some space on our storage shelves and store this box (get it OUT of the front hallway!), plus start gathering new sale stuff for spring.

Thanks TSM for the encouragement to do this!

I tried to throw out 50 things

2011-11-08T21:58:00.000-05:00

My friend TSM is heavily involved in a neighborhood co-op of women who sell their gently used children's items twice per year. She tried to get me to be a new seller for the spring sale, but it conflicted with t-ball, so I finally got to participate for the fall sale. In September. E's birthday weekend. Right in the midst of what I was already dreading as hell week, early childhood style.

As a new seller, you're allowed to sell 50 items. Perfect, I thought, what a way to get rid of 50 things, and then I will blog about it, and I can finally close that browser tab that has linked to the throw out 50 things website for 18 months. I knew I could fairly easily find 50 things to sell, without even really getting into all the stored baby stuff I have amassed in the basement. I started mentally deciding which things I would tag and sell.

This sale is pretty elaborate (and to protect anonymity I'm being fuzzy on details). There are strict rules for what you can sell and how you tag your items, and how you are supposed to contribute to the organization of the sale (ie, volunteer time). I knew I had to get my act together and start gathering and sorting items. As per usual, I kept putting it off, though I did root around in a few boxes in the basement and continue my mental cataloging. Mental cataloging worked fairly well until E grabbed the stupid Lincoln logs she had not played with at all in three years and decided they were the Best! Toy! Ever! thus reducing my catalog by one item.

About a week before the sale, just as our hell week was starting, I said to Rich, you remember in the midst of the soccer and the birthday parties and the school snacks and everything else that I am doing the sale, too, right? Noooooooooo, was of course his answer. But I had it all figured out - if I just tag 10 things a night, skipping E's actual birthday, I'll be done in plenty of time and be all organized. That of course changed to well, if I just tag 15 items a night. Which turned to 20 items a night. Which then turned into, ok, I have two hours before I have to be there, what can I grab and tag quickly?

When your house is totally cluttered (and some credit here, you've done a fair amount of advance thinking about it), you actually have quite a bit you can grab. Which meant instead of 50 things, I started my plan with 39 things to sell. But that was still a pretty good effort, and heck, one of the problems in discarding things is coming to terms with the value of those things, so selling 39 things was a good first step.

So how'd I do? Say tuned for tomorow's update (hey, what can I say, NaBloPoMo is a bitch and I'm already weary of posting, so dragging this out!)

Throw Out 50 Things

2011-11-07T21:40:00.000-05:00

About a year ago I read an article about a book by Gail Blanke, Throw Out 50 Things. It was featured by the newspaper's personal finance columnist, because she felt it helped clear your mindset and not just declutter your house, but your life, too.

Well, as you can see from my sidebar, my various schemes have resulted in far more than 50 things removed from the house, but I'm not sure I feel that much more clarity in my life. Though there is always a sense of accomplishment when an area is clean and organized.

I like schemes. They help you frame whatever it is you're working on. I've had this throw out 50 things mantra in my head for over a year now. So one of my goals for this month is 50 things gone. Four pansies (and the $10 they cost) taunting me in the hall for the past couple of weeks gone. 46 more things to go!

Weekend 1 - how'd we do?

2011-11-06T21:18:00.000-05:00

OK, whew. Exhausted. My friend TSM made huge progress on her to-do list, and I think I hate her a little tiny bit for it.

The pansies are in the ground. OK, that's big, and that's 4 things out of the front hallway. (oh, I haven't mentioned, I'm also going to count things out of the house this month - tomorrow's post will explain more). I did not dig out the bulbs from the basement, but I have a plan for when I could get some of them in the ground (Wednesday morning). I dug up a part of the front yard, but more needs to be done. Back yard not touched at all, except I finally put out birdseed (also bought at the time of the pansies).

Halloween decorations are all down, and mostly packed in their bins, but that still needs to be finalized and bins taken down. Might finish this tonight.

Laundry mostly done, but all still needs to be folded and then put away. Will finish this up tomorrow.

I almost made it into the basement but the urge passed. So no real progress on any of the hot spots. The front hall is a good one, as comment-ers pointed out it's the first room you walk into when you enter the house, but it is DAUNTING. Paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork. More to come on this.

And, I clipped coupons and discarded expired ones, but have not filed the new ones yet. I have a System, you see (believe it or not). I did make it to the grocery store, but only to get things we really needed. Maybe Monday or Tuesday, before the sale ends, I will go coupon shopping over my lunch break at work.

Items out of the house: 4
Goal for month: 50

Saturday check in

2011-11-05T23:21:00.000-04:00

OK, well, the pansies didn't go in the ground, and I didn't clear the clutter by the basement closet door to try to find the bulbs. Halloween stuff has started to gather on the dining room table, and coupons were clipped but only partially sorted. So it's a long to-do list for Sunday. But we did manage E's soccer game, watching UVA crush MD (from the couch, sadly, not in person, but that also meant I got a short doze in), and a playdate with E's new school. That's a full day right there!

Weekend to-do list

2011-11-04T23:40:00.000-04:00

It can't all be shoes this November - some real decluttering has to take place, and a (relatively) quiet weekend is the perfect time. So what's on the to-do list?

Plant the pansies. They've been in the front hallway for two weeks (Rich, when I bought them: let's plant these and not have it be weeks before we get to it), and have to go in the ground. Of course this also means weeding the front yard, and then it would be nice if we also mulched the front, too. Oh, and last year, before I got sick, I bought some bulbs and they've been stored in the basement for a year. They might not still be viable, but some might, so it would be good to either plant or trash what's lurking around, reminding me of the failure to plant.
Take down all the Halloween decorations, and switch to Thanksgiving. There's some outside that require a bit of work, and a bunch scattered throughout the house. It would be good to pack them all neatly in their tubs and store them neatly too, which gets difficult when we've acquired more and they don't actually fit neatly into the space allocated in the basement.
Do laundry, which is more of a regular chore than decluttering, but it can go on the list, too.
And now I have to pick one of the big three areas to tackle, and I can't decide. It'll have to be whichever strikes our fancy. The big three, right now, are: the front hallway - there's a ton of paperwork to organize, bleah; the kitchen - a lot of organizing and cleaning to be done, along with moving some pictures and hanging some other new stuff, and I have GOT to organize my recipes, but that is a project in and of itself; and the ever present looming black hole of the basement - toy sorting, cleaning, organization. Since we have to cram the Halloween stuff back down there, it might be a good weekend for the basement, but there's only so much basement stuff I can handle at one time, so we'll see.
And a fun one, my favorite store is having double dollar coupons, so I have to organize all my coupons and plan for a shopping trip. Yes, as unbelievable as this sounds, grocery shopping is actually kind of fun for me. But my coupons are a mess right now so I need some sorting time.

Check back Sunday for a full report!

Thurday: brown peep toes

2011-11-03T21:06:00.000-04:00

What: size 8.5 N croc-embossed brown sling back peep toes with 3-inch heel
From: Talbots (clearance)
Purchased: Late August 2011
Cost: $32

When I saw these on the clearance racks of the Talbots clearance store I snapped them up immediately. I've long complained about not having dark brown shoes - I have a lot of tan, or varying shades of brown, but plain simple dark brown has not been easy to find. These are narrows, but once again they're not really that narrow.

I've worn these a lot end of summer into early fall. They are mostly perfect, though sometimes in the office the shoes squeak and the heel slides a little on marble floors. But still, good buy. No regrets. The perfect fall/spring shoe - today might mark their last wearing until early spring. If I was really following the strict one in/one out rule, I'd get rid of these brown slingbacks that I've never really loved. Although the front of those is a little beat up, they're still good shoes, and a slightly different niche as they are not peeptoe, and a lower heel, so maybe I will hold onto both for just a bit longer. We'll see.

Bottom line: total keeper

New booties

2011-11-02T23:37:00.000-04:00

What: size 8, black suede booties with white stitching trim and 3.5 inch heels
From: Naturalizer (outlet)
Purchased: Oct 21, 2011
Cost: $13.50!

Ok, so yesterday I said I had lost track of how many shoes I've bought, and then I did a little looknig around this morning and I don't think it's as bad as I feared. When last I counted, I was up to, gulp, 17 pairs of new shoes in 2011. And I think I've added 4 pairs to that total. I bought 22 pairs in 2010. So I'm on the same pace. Dammit. How did that happen? What the hell is wrong with me? Why can't I stop buying shoes? This is insane. I once said I needed a more fabulous life to match my shoes, and you know what, that is still my reality. I have no place to wear all these new shoes! It is ridiculous.

Anyway, here's the story on these. First, $13.50. Enough said. How can you pass that up? My friend KG and I have been talking for the past 18 months about doing an outlet day, and we finally managed to get our schedules sync-ed up and make it happen. I will say I bought no clothes for myself that day, btu two pairs of booties. I did buy clothes for E and A and even Rich, too, and some household stuff, but only shoes for me.

Naturalizer was one of our first stops, and we were fairly disappointed. Pickings were slim and prices were high. Clearance racks were picked over. And then I noticed these, with an 80% off sticker (and we were carrying extra 20% off coupons). Tried them on, and I'll be honest, these fit weird. They are too big. I put them back. I kept looking. KG tried on a pair of fab clearance boots that just didn't quite fit. I was intentionally shopping for a pair of dark brown boots/booties. I tried these on again. KG told me they were ugly, while trying to cram her foot in the clearance boots. Another shopper agreed with her. I said they might fit the semi-ugly but charming category. Other shoppers and KG disagreed. I put them back. KG kept dithering over flats and purses. I searched the clearance aisle for another pair in a different color or smaller size. More dithering. I snapped and bought them. Ultimately, I couldn't pass up the $13.50, and we were simply in the store too long. I sort of feel like these stylistically work with rolled jeans (boyfriend style jeans) or slim jeans, with a slouchy cardigan, maybe. Kind of a casual menswear-y, collegiate type look. Which is a look I like (though I am not describing it well) but don't actually wear. Bah. I've worn them twice, and they are too high for real casual wear. Could i wear them with a skirt and tights? There's still something about them I like, but I definitely need to think over how to wear them. I've worn them twice, both times with my boot-leg jeans, once with jeans cuffed, once jeans just worn normally. Eh.

Bottom line: I'm going to wear them 5-6 times this year, then shove them in the back of my closet and think of them fondly but never quite have the right outfit with which to ever wear them again. Until I do a massive show clean out in 7-10 years and whoever is sucked into my craziness at that time strongly suggests I get rid of them. At least I know myself well, right? But hey, 6 times is $2.25 per wear cost!

NaBloPoMo = decluttering

2011-11-01T22:10:00.000-04:00

Well, here we are again, another November underway, another NaBloPoMo (national blog posting month) challenge. Which means another chance to declutter around here, and boy, does it need it. Plus I've got to catch you up on my shoe acquisitions (um, I've lost track of how any shoes in 2011, let's just leave it at that), not to mention maybe someday accounting for shoe-mageddon!

But mostly, decluttering. My to-do list is long. LONG. We have a party in mid-November (Andrew's 3rd b-day!), plus our haphazardly scheduled kinda annual holiday open house in December, so the stakes are high!

Here's a rough first cut at a to-do list:

front hallway, always a disaster area
our small back yard and front yard need attention, ripping out dead plants, putting down mulch, maybe getting some bulbs in, plus planting the pansies that have been in the front hallway for 2 weeks
the ever present need to toy sort
the basement needs major attention
Andrew is going to need a big boy bed after Christmas, so we need to overhaul his room
Elizabeth wants a pink room (after the holiday!) so we also need an overhaul of her room in anticipation
The attic is in sad shape right now and needs major decluttering and organization

Etc. Need I say more?

September 14: new espadrilles

2011-09-14T11:55:00.000-04:00

What: size 8 brown espadrilles with cute poofy bow on front
From: NY and Co
Purchased: mid summer 2011
Cost: $10

Ok, well, first of all, since I've last written, I've purchased 11, not 10, pairs of shoes, bringing my total in 2011 to 17. How is that possible? Well, when you're under employed and bored and you wander into a store you normally never go into and see super cute, slightly dressier, super cheap brown espadrilles marked to $10, you snap them up. I have espadrilles (am now wearing the replacement brown ones, as the originals went in the trash after shoe-maggedon), but they are kind of boring and utlitarian, more casual. These are slightly dressier and perfect for skirts, or, today, a summer dress (with jacket) in the office. Or to a 50th anniversary garden party in the middle of the summer. Probably slightly better for garden parties than the office, as they make an annoying flip flop sound as I walk the halls here!

Bottom line: great buy, super cute, comfy, nice low heel but looks fancy, total keeper

and so it goes

2011-09-13T13:45:00.000-04:00

All right, well, I haven't covered shoe-mageddon, but let's just say I got rid of a LOT of shoes. A LOT. Like I think at least 35. Before shoe-maggedon, I was holding at 169 pairs, having gotten rid of 31. And that means now I had settled on about 130 pairs. That is an unbelievable amount of shoes! It's hard to do an accounting as it all happened so fast, and we got rid of so many, and then completely re-organized. I have a good memory, and it's what I call a situational memory. So I was able to remember prices of shoes or where I got them, or when I got them, based on what I remembered from the situation, or context, around the purchase or wearing. But that means that by re-organizing the shoes completely, my memory that a particular shoe was in a particular stack has now gotten all jumbled. In fact, just this past weekend I was rooting around in a stack and ran across a pair and realized I had forgotten I had them. And I was going through the blog and am really wondering where the 2011 new black pumps are. I have no idea. Not a clue. I have to go on a hunt to re-familiarize myself with my shoe holdings.

And do you know why I was looking at the post of the 2011 black pumps? Well, you may recall I've spent a significant portion of 2011 un-employed, or seriously under-employed.

In 2010, I bought 22 pairs of shoes, a number that actually kind of stunned me. I knew with a tighter budget in 2011, I wouldn't even get close to that purchase total. Surely 2010 (another year when I was under-employed) was an anomaly.

Well, let's see, before I stopped tallying in April, I had purchased 6 pairs of shoes, helped by a mini-frenzy of 3 pairs in March. The other day, after a shoe purchase, I jotted down what I knew I'd acquired since April. And - what the heck. Uh, that would be another 10 pairs. TEN PAIRS of shoes in 4 months. 4 months in which I was unemployed! How was it possible? Well, 4 pairs came after I started working, but still! Ok, 2 are $10 espadrilles, and another 2 are $10 flipflops (both once I started working). So, looks like I might have to do an accounting of my new pairs. (Some of which are awesome!)

Also, my house is cluttered. Way, way way too cluttered. I did the dreaded toy sort this past weekend, and threw out three bags of crap! Three bags! From just the main level of the house (toys + craft supplies) - the basement could probably generate another 3 bags, and Elizabeth's room.....I can't even think about it.

Anyway, bottom line - more shoes, and more sorting coming soon to AwwwClutter!

April - and grand - tally

2011-05-20T11:10:00.000-04:00

Friends, I'm finally wrapping up these shoe posts. I've been putting it off forever, but I have to tally up the shoes from April, document shoe-maggedon, and, um, also perhaps tell you about the two new pairs I've acquired! So for today, just the April tally.
In the month of April, I wore/examined 12 pairs of shoes from my collection, at an estimated total cost of $296, or average cost of $24.66. Of those, I am keeping 11. 1 was discarded.

So, from June 1-April 12 is 316 days.

I have shown you 200 pairs of my shoes. I am keeping 169 (!) (on the fence about 11 of those, though I think I gave my mom one of those 11, I need to go back and check), trashing 4, donating 27.

So keeping 169 and getting rid of 31 is a cull rate of 16% (My initial goal, before I knew I owned 200 pairs, was 20%, which means shoe-maggedon was necessary).

And, I estimate that over the past 17 years or so I've spent $5,665.50 on shoes, or an average cost of $28.33 per shoe, or roughly $333/year on my little hobby.

So - SHOE-MAGGEDON! My friend TSM came over on April 8th and we sorted through the entire stack of shoes. We allotted 4 hours for the exercise, and you know what: It wasn't enough time!

How many pairs of shoes do you think I own now? If I was down to 169 pairs pre-TSM's influence, how many do you think I now own? How many more do you think I discarded?

April 12 - 200! The End!

2011-04-12T11:47:00.001-04:00

What: size 7.5 white strappy platform sandals
From: Valerie Stevens (Hechts)
Purchased: late July 1999
Cost: $40

Y'all, you aren't going to believe this, but this is IT! My 200th and final pair of shoes! I had no idea it would end exactly on 200 (and initially I was going to count my slippers, since they take up room, too, and I have two more pairs, but I am DONE with this).

I decided a couple of months ago I would end on these, because I knew I'd never wear them. These are the shoes I wore at my wedding! And they are dang uncomfortable. I really wanted something snazzy, and I did not want a standard wedding shoe from a wedding salon, so I spent the summer checking out shoes and just never found anything that I really, really wanted. It's actually hard to find all white shoes - they all too often have a brown heel, or just something that makes them unworkable. So I settled on these, and I did like them, even though it's not a great brand. For 1999, these were snazzy - a high heel, a platform, all those straps. But with my wide feet, those straps at the toes were just really, really not comfy at all. I put them on again this morning and limped around - there's no way these are ever going on my feet.

So, even though I am totally sentimental, I decided on my own with no input from anyone that these were going to be discarded. I know, I can't believe it myself. But they're not that special (Hecht's store brand), and terribly uncomfortable, and even though they look a little modern with the straps and the platform, they elastic straps are already stiff and losing elasticity, and the heel is really clunky. I am, with a great deal of fondness, going to gracefully let them go.

Bottom line: discard!

So yeah - shoe-maggeddon. I'll do a tally for April, then the grand tally. Give my another day or two. I'm over all pleased, and I can hint I hit my discard total.

April 11 - red patent!

2011-04-12T11:07:00.000-04:00

What: size 7.5 red patent peep toe platform slingbacks
From: AK Anne Klein (Lord&Taylor)
Purchased: summer '07
Cost: $40

Can't believe I didn't find way to wear these this past summer, but high heel red patent platform slingbacks aren't exactly my lifestyle right now, you know? Oh, I do love these shoes, though. These are the ones that started me on my AK Anne Klein kick, and later that same year I bought a pair of very similar but slightly different brick red patent slingback peep toes. I grabbed these off the clearance racks and tried them on almost as a lark, and was surprised at how well they fit. Love at first try on.

But look! City living is hard on heels. One wrong step into a grate or coming off a curb and you get a little heel tear. Sob! This one isn't that terrible, but it certainly takes away a little from the shoe. I have never tried, so I wonder if that can be repaired, or if there is a way to prevent it from happening. Oh well. I need to learn to happily wear my shoes out and about in the city, and then gracefully let them go when it is time. It's not time for these, yet, though!

Shoe-maggeddon has caused me to covet some new shoes, though, and I have my eye on several pairs of AK Anne Kleins for this summer, but with a much lower heel. We'll see if I can score some good prices!

Bottom line: Keeper!

April 10 - more flip flops

2011-04-12T10:41:00.001-04:00

What: size 8 pink/green flip flops
From: ?? there's no label and I am drawing a blank
Purchased: mid 00s
Cost: ?? unknown. Guessing $15

Found this one at the bottom of my closet, still seeking the left shoe. So I have orange flips flops that are (or were) perfect - slight wedge heel, comfy wide straps. I have worn the hell out of those flip flops and they are in danger of falling apart. And ever since buying them, I've been seeking a replacement pair, with little luck. The purple ones are too high. These are super cute, and the heel and platform heights are just right, with a cork bottom for extra support. The straps, though, are NOT comfy - so narrow they really cut into your feet. And then I refuse to pay more than $15 for flip flops, so I pass up flops that might actually work and get worn. I should throw them all out and start all over. Hmm, did I do that during shoe-maggeddon? Stay tuned to find out!

This is shoe 198, y'all!

Bottom line: keeper, for now

April 9 - white/cream? slingbacks

2011-04-12T10:33:00.000-04:00

What: size 8 white/cream slingbacks with bow
From: Talbots (outlet)
Purchased: early 00s
Cost: $15

Huh, I thought these were a match to my pink slingbacks, but they're not. I am pretty sure I got these earlier, and I sort of remember my friend Kdot was on the shopping excursion with me, which means it might even be very early 00s. I've had them a long time and they've never been worn. They were on the "as is" racks at the talbots clearance store, because there is a tiny rip in one slingback strap. The rip is negligible, and I thought they'd be a good shoe to have on hand. But I just rarely wear white/cream. Are these white or are they cream? I don't even know, I guess a very light cream. Eh, I'll employ the same logic I used when I bought them - you can't go wrong with a solid pair of cream shoes in your wardrobe. I guess.

Bottom line: keeper

April 8 - forgotten slingbacks

2011-04-12T10:25:00.003-04:00

What: size 8 black embossed leather slingbacks with gold detail
From: Talbots (outlet)
Purchased: Huh. mid 00s
Cost: Another huh. Let's guess $25

OK, yes, Shoe-maggeddon happened on April 8th! TSM came over and the carnage began. It was harder work than I anticipated. But it was good. BUT! I want to really finish going through them all before talking about the big discard. So bear with me a few more days.

Anyway when we cleaned out the shoes from the shoe wardrobe, these had fallen down behind some other shoes. I had totally forgotten about them, which means I also don't remember much about them. But they are cute and functional and so they will stay.

Bottom line: keeper!

April 7 - teal sneaks

2011-04-07T10:08:00.000-04:00

What: size 8 turquoise slip on sneakers
From: Talbots in Providence, RI
Purchased: summer 2003
Cost: $14

Another pair never worn stuffed in the bottom of my closet. I was at a work meeting in Providence, and our hotel was connected to a mall, and right by the entrance of the mall was a Talbots! So I snagged these, along with a short sleeve shirt with thin, vertical, black, green, and turquoise stripes (like pinstripes, I guess). I don't know why I've never worn these. I think I was originally going to return them, as I really do need a shoe with some support, and then maybe I couldn't find the receipt, or who knows, but they've just lingered. I like the color, and I could get some wear out of them in spring/summer. Also, like another pair I recently showed, once you wear these a time or two the wear will really show, so I've probably been "saving" them. No more saving! For Pete's sake, they were $14, I can certainly wear them a season or two and toss them!

Bottom line: keeper!

April 6 - the brown clod hoppers

2011-04-06T14:59:00.000-04:00

What: size 7.5 W brown suede, um, loafers? lace ups? I think this is the first time I've ever been stymied in describing shoes!
From: Naturalizer (outlet)
Purchased: '03? '05?
Cost: $18 - guess

Cleaned out the bottom of my closet (ugh!) and there weren't as many hidden there as I feared - only two pairs (actually one pair plus a stray left flip flop, so wondering where the right one is). I had totally forgotten about these. I guess you could say they are the brown version of my black clodhoppers! But I can't remember which I got first, or when I got these. I kinda think after the black ones, but then again I kinda think I wore them on casual Fridays at SW, which would be before. So no real idea. These again fall into the so ugly they are actually cool category (at least to me). That sole! The lacing! They look like dorky 70s shoes you were forced to wear to elementary school when every other girl was wearing delicate sandals. Despite that, I have some level of fondness for them. They are a little small - I put them on with a struggle, but they do fit.

I have on my default Lands End pink trekkers (with jeans, a t, and simple blue sweater), but I could probably put these on and wear them out this afternoon. I should do that, if I am going to insist on keeping them. OK, I am wearing them this afternoon.

Bottom line: keeper!

April 5 - super frustrating pumps

2011-04-05T13:09:00.000-04:00

What: size 7.5 loafer-style red and taupe suede pumps with bow
From: Franco Sarto (purchased online from SmartBargains.com
Purchased: '04-'06
Cost: $30

Oh, these shoes annoy me. Why in the world did I think 7.5s were a good idea purchased online without trying them on? You guessed it - too tight. I stalked these and the black suede ones and got both in 7.5. And I don't know why I didn't try to return them. The ever-present hope that the next time I put them on they'll actually fit? I'm also a sucker for red/brown combos.

I marched around with these today and they are tight. Are they too tight? I got rid of the black ones (which were really, really tight). I have this unreasonable hope that suede shoes can be stretched. Bah. I can't admit the error of this purchase, too. They are cute.

Bottom line: keeper - will take them to be stretched next fall and we'll see if there's any hope

April 4 - sometime I have no reason - brown pumps

2011-04-05T12:59:00.000-04:00

What: size 7.5 brown leather loafer-style pumps with platform and buckle
From: Talbots
Purchased: '07, maybe '08
Cost: the box says $39, but I think they it was a 25% off sale, so $30

Sometime I cannot say why I bought a pair of shoes. I really don't get these. I have been trying to expand my wardrobe in brown, so maybe I felt I needed more brown. And these are kinda cool with the platform, and I am a sucker for sales. But still - I really shouldn't have them. They are too tight - it looks like I've worn them once, and I don't remember them being terribly uncomfortable, but these are tight. I do always complain I don't have dark brown shoes, so I guess these fill a niche and if I ever start wearing a lot of brown trousers I will be glad to have them. I guess.

Bottom line: keeper, for now

April 3 - really can't resist a bargain

2011-04-05T12:51:00.001-04:00

What: size 8 black leather kitten heeled mules
From: Talbots (outlet)
Purchased: early 00s
Cost: cheap. Tag says $30, but I distinctly recall they were so cheap I could not pass them up - at least 50% off, maybe 60%, maybe 75%. We'll say $15 since I can't remember.

Oh for Pete's sake, I have TWO of them! They had to have been cheaper than $15. I bet $12. But anyway, guess what, another pair never worn. I really have no explanation, other than inability to pass up a bargain. Well, they're not really a bargain if I never wear them, now are they?

Bottom line: keeper, I guess

April 2 - can't resist a bargain

2011-04-05T12:47:00.000-04:00

What: size 8 nude mules with kitten heel
From: Talbots (outlet)
Purchased: early 00s?
Cost: cheap. Box says $30, but I distinctly recall they were so cheap I could not pass them up - at least 50% off, maybe 60%, maybe 75%. We'll say $15 since I can't remember.

Another in the never worn category, which drives me crazy. These were so cheap I snapped them up, but honestly. I never wore nude shoes in the 00s, I have no idea what I thought I'd wear them with, and they've been in that box for a long, long time. I do like mules, though they seem to have gone completely out of style. And they do have a nice low heel, and the footbed in nicely padded. Sigh, oh well, perhaps I can find a way to wear them. (Seriously, why is there no resale market for unworn shoes? I should really think more about ebay).

Bottom line: keeper, I guess

April 1 - glen plaid

2011-04-05T12:42:00.000-04:00

What: size 8 glen plaid/black leather mini-t straps
From: Talbots
Purchased: mid 90s
Cost: $39

Another pair of shoes that make me smile! And another for the history books, too - this is the very first pair of shoes I ever bought from Talbots, and when I got them I considered them super special and only for fancy/formal work occasions. I loved them. But, when I was working at SW, we used to work with a woman based in another city. Every single time we saw this woman - every time - she was wearing a glen plain jacket. Every time. We only saw her in work situations, and usually just one day at a time, but it became a little joke among us, and so since I only wore these shoes in work meetings, there was no way I could wear them with our own little insider glen plaid joke hanging out there, so they've barely gotten any wear the past ten years. I don't know why I didn't pull them out after leaving SW in 2004, perhaps it was too ingrained. I actually really like glen plaid, and all these years later perhaps I can resurrect it. The heels are a little bit chunky, but these could still work today. There's a bit of wear on the front of one, but not terribly so.

Bottom line: keeper!

March tally

2011-03-31T20:43:00.000-04:00

Oh, I am weary of shoes! Weary, weary, weary. But the end is nigh!

In the month of March, I wore/examined 31 pairs of shoes from my collection, at an estimated total cost of $894.75, or average cost of $28.86. Of those, I am keeping 27, though I am seriously on the fence with 2 of them. 4 were discarded, plus I discarded another 2 from previous months. I did buy three pairs this month.

So, I've been blogging shoes for 304 days.

I have shown you 188 pairs of my shoes. I am keeping 158 (!) (on the fence about 11 of those, though I think I gave my mom one of those 11, I need to go back and check), trashing 4, donating 26.

So keeping 158 and getting rid of 30 is a cull rate of 16% (My goal remains 20%, which means I have stacks to get rid of, and my fence sitting isn't helping me any).

And, I estimate that over the past 17 years or so I've spent $5,369.50 on shoes, or an average cost of $28.56 per shoe, or roughly $316/year on my little hobby.

So when I first started this and counted my shoes, I got up to 167. It's actually looking much, much closer to 200! Which means even if I cull 20%, or 40 pairs, I'd still have 160 in this house!

So, looking back at the initial shoe count, let's see what I've covered and what still remains.

Shoe wardrobe - done
Stack of boxes next to shoe wardrobe, plus scattered on floor: ~4 more to go
Stack of boxes next to my dresser, plus jumbled under dresser - done
Stack of boxes between radiator and window - done, but I have to check, there might be one
Closet hanging shoe bag - done
Top shelf of closet - done
Shoe underbed thing - done
Shoe overdoor thing in Elizabeth's room - DONE and EMPTIED! Yay!
Closet hanging shoe bag in E's room - ~2, maybe 3 more
Other shoes on the floor of my closet - unknown, maybe ~3-5 pairs

So I'm estimating about 10-14 shoes left! If there are 12, that's 200. Gulp! (dammit, I am barely holding on resisting buying that pair of $30 boots.....)

But, in 8 days, TSM is coming over and we are lining up ALL the pairs of shoes and looking at the entire collection. I'm a little nervous!

In any case, the end is in sight!!

March 31 - brown t-straps

2011-03-31T09:24:00.000-04:00

What: light brown t-straps with punch out detailing
From: Ann Taylor LOFT
Purchased: 2006
Cost: $20

So these are the twin of my very worn brown kitten heels, but sadly these have never been worn. I don't know why - it's an odd color, I think, so light, and I just am never sure what to wear with them. I also think t-straps have an old fashioned appeal, so I guess I need some sort of vintage-y looking outfit in light brown. Hmmm. Maybe light trousers with a cream shirt and lacey cream trouser socks....hmm, wait a sec, now that I think about it I have the perfect outfit for these! It's a skirt/cream blouse combo, but the skirt is perhaps a darker shade of brown - more of a golden sand color. I tell you, shades of brown really are tough for me. But the perhaps bigger issue is it's a size or two too small.....oh well. And today is a jeans and sweatshirt day, anyway.

I once wrote I need a more glamorous life to match my shoes, and TSM constantly says I'm far too stylish for some of my more frumpy shoes, but the reality is the majority of my life is spent looking pretty blah. But maybe I should take a page from What Not to Wear and up my game a little bit.

Bottom line: Keeper, but I am challenging myself to wear these in the next two months

March 30 - t-strap replacement

2011-03-30T11:17:00.003-04:00

What: size 8W black patent t-straps
From: Naturalizer (outlet)
Purchased: January 4, 2011
Cost: $24

My first shoe purchase of 2011 was almost my last shoe purchase of 2010! On our holiday drive down to Florida, we did our first stop at the outlets in North Carolina, which is a prefect place to stop timing wise. It would be more perfect if there was a playground and better eating options (a food court would be ideal, but no such luck), but there's enough room for the kids to run around, parents to stretch their legs, and there is a Dairy Queen with relatively diverse, semi-healthy (when compared to other fast food) options plus ice cream for a treat. So of course I just popped into the Naturalizer outlet, and saw these shoes in my size on super sale. I had just written about my loved, but incredibly worn t-straps - shoes that needed a lot of repair to even be wearable. And so I came awfully close to buying these then, but the car was full, and I knew I'd have to write it down, and did I really even need them, anyway? Plus, there are outlets by my parents - which we did visit once, but they did not have my size! It happened that on our drive home in 2011 was timed such that the outlets were again a convenient place to stop, and so on my third outlet trip, safely into 2011, I couldn't resist them.

You know, one thing this shoe exercise has demonstrated is that while I have a LOT of shoes, I don't really have a lot of super duper fabulous shoes (like yesterday's diversion, yum). Most of my shoes show a fair amount of wear, and there are many that are quite old. I think of my orange/pink sandals - I LOVE them, but the fronts are really quite beat up. Or my brown kitten heels - so worn they need another heel tap replacement, but meanwhile the pointy fronts are beat all to hell. In a lot of ways, I should be getting rid of anything that isn't really in great shape, and focusing on only buying shoes that will be classics. But there's no prying the pink/orange ones or the brown kitten heels away from me.

And even though these are patent and my well-loved and overly worn t-straps are plain leather, I bought these knowing I was going to give up the older pair.

Bottom line: Keeper, but discarding another!

can't resist posting this

2011-03-29T11:33:00.000-04:00

Look what a friend just posted to her blog.

All I can say is wow. Love. From a UK shop Miss Selfridge.

Let's see, 55 pounds, plus 7.50 pounds shipping....I have no idea. But I covet.

March 29 - tweedy

2011-03-29T11:02:00.000-04:00

What: size 7.5 brown tweed pumps
From: Ann Taylor LOFT
Purchased: late fall '04
Cost: $20

And the last of the shoes from the top shelf of my closet! Wohoo! Closing in on the end. Anyway, in my fall '04 shopping trip with KG, I bought a super cool brown/multi-colored corduroy skirt. Later that fall, I found these on the sale rack at LOFT and snatched them up, intending to be worn with the skirt. And then I was pregnant, and well, let's jsut say neither the skirt nor the shoes have ever been worn. I tried these shoes on yesterday - they are tight. But I'm not ready to give up on them yet!

Bottom line: keeper

March 28 - frustrating black pumps

2011-03-28T17:28:00.001-04:00

What: Size 7.5 black platform pumps, 3.25 inch heel, .25 inch platform

From: Enzo Angiolini (Nine West Outlet)

Purchased: '01-'03

Cost: $35

Oh, these shoes drive me crazy. First, I bought them with another pair of shoes in a buy one get one half off deal. I think the deal was with these from yesterday. (though it might have been the shoes from the day before). Or maybe my memory is entirely faulty and I got them at another time entirely. But what I do remember is they did not have the correct size in store (8s were way too big, 7s too tight), and so I ordered them and had them shipped to me. I LOVED these shoes in the store. LOVED them. But I don't know what the hell is wrong with them, but there is something seriously wrong with the heel. I know I have complained bitterly about my lack of black pumps, but these are essentially unwearable. The heel somehow does not fit right, and so when I wear them, my heel slips out. step step slip, step step step slip, step step step step slip. Not good, not good at all. Somehow they just don't quite cup my heel correctly. So in desperation, I bought heel slips, grey plastic-y things you can sort of see in the side picture (they blend in too well in the head on pic). But it's no use. It's the weirdest thing but they just do not fit.

I pulled these out to wear a couple of months ago and just looked at them and wondered why I had loved them so much. They're actually not all that great. Maybe 7 or 8 years ago they were at the high end of style, but anymore I'm not certain there's anything that special about them. And though I wish it were not so, I'm not sure they'll ever fit. This pains me, but I think I have to get rid of them.

Bottom line: discard

March 27 - cross straps

2011-03-28T17:11:00.000-04:00

What: size 7.5 black cross strap heels with 3.25 inch heels

From: Nine West (outlet buy)

Purchased: '01-'03

Cost: $35

Along with yesterday's shoes, these are usually stored on the top shelf of my closet, and I think I bought these as part of a buy one get one half off deal at Nine West outlet. I think these were purchased with the pair I will show tomorrow. These shoes look super hot on, but are not the most comfortable shoes. My favorite outfit with them is a red shirtdress, though I'm not exactly sure where that shirtdress is right now. The heel is high, but they are wearable. I just don't think I'll ever wear them much, but they're still keepers.

Bottom line: keeper

March 26 - high slingbacks

2011-03-28T17:05:00.001-04:00

What: size 7.5 black slingbacks with 4 inch heel
From: Nine West (bought at outlet)
Purchased: '01-'03
Cost: $35

Ok, now I'm finishing off the shoes on the top shelf of my closet. I have three pairs of shoes to show, and I know I bought two of them at the same time (buy one get one half off deal), but I can't remember which two. I think, though, I bought these with my sister, we both got the same shoe and split the cost. Maybe? These are cool shoes, but 4 inch heels are high for me. They looks great, but after a long day in 4 inch heels my feet are killing me. I thought I might be able to be persuaded to part with these, but then I put them on and walked around the house and they were fine, so maybe these stay on the top shelf and only get worn when high heels are needed?

Bottom line: keeper.

some recommendations

2011-03-25T11:50:00.000-04:00

Remember a while ago I wrote that by bargain hunting at the end of the season, you can sometimes score a really cheap shoe at the very start of the trend? Bargain hunting can be a tough game. Often you think of end of season sales as containing tired or overlooked merchandise, past its prime. But if a look is kind of new, but hasn't quite peaked, there will be plenty left over at the end of a season for you to snatch up, and then next season, when everyone else is coveting the new hot trend, you've got yours at waaay less of a price point than everyone else is buying.

I've stumbled on exactly such a trend, so even though I doubt any of you would be into this, I have to share. My sister asked me to look around for a cheaper pair of Steven by Steve Madden boots she was coveting. They were tall boots that looked as though the entire shaft was folded back upon itself - a full foldover. She wanted the Maryn style, in stone, at left.

I couldn't find it online many places. Seemed like a popular shoe that had sold out and prices were high. But in looking around, I noticed this foldover style a lot of places. And I noticed it was cheap. And I remembered I had seen a fair number of foldover styles over the winter, noting a new trend. Skinny pants tucked into boots were a hot trend this year.

And then I noticed some really cool boots for super cheap. Believe me, if I was working, at least two of these boots would be in my possession right now.

Another tall option: the Detective Boot by Naughty Monkey. Don't know anything about this brand, but last week the boot was $60, this week it's $50. A huge buy. Black is almost sold out, but there are plenty in other sizes.

WOW! These Turnout by Naughty Monkey are now $30! Look at the cool studs. Again, black is almost sold out, but there are lots in other colors. I like this color which is called taupe, though appears brown. $30. Free shipping. Free returns if it doesn't work out. Seriously, that is an unbeatable price. Cool wedge heel, which is also on trend.

Steve Madden P-Zesst - $38.50 in taupe and brown, $43 in black. No large sizes left (nothing over 8.5). I like these a lot in taupe, which almost looks grey in the picture.

Those studded Naughty Monkeys for $30 may prove to be irresistible to me. Endless.com has some goooooood prices right now.

March 25 - red mary janes

2011-03-25T11:16:00.002-04:00

What: size 8.5 dark red suede mary janes with brown strap
From: Franco Sarto (6pm.com)
Purchased: May 20, 2010
Cost: $40

I think with these I've finally covered all 22 of the shoes I bought in 2010. Whew. I cyber-stalked these all last winter/spring and finally got them. I thought I had paid slightly less than $35, but my bank records say $40, so that included shipping. I really liked them, but just never had occasion to wear. I like the red-brown combination, though typically I wear red/black.

There was a sweater I liked a lot at Lands End and with a gift card from Christmas I was even able to buy that sweater this winter to match - cardigan over white dress shirt, jeans and these shoes. Perfect. Thanks goodness for this current cold spell, huh? (well, not really, but it does give me the opportunity to actually get this outfit/shoes worn this year (see many previous discussions of work from home pajamas), otherwise these shoes would just sit in their stack for yet another spring/summer!).

I was at a DSW last summer and saw these in brown suede on the clearance racks, and I tell you if I had not just learned my contract position was not going to be renewed I would own those, too. Both the purple Franco Sarto and these came a wide range of colors, and I had a hard time deciding which colors to get in which style. I would have loved these in brown, and for the purple ones, I loved all the options - red, brown, and, grey but went with the cute purple. Tough decisions!

Bottom line: Keeper!

March 24 - blue peeps need fashion advice

2011-03-24T12:38:00.000-04:00

What: size 8.5 nude peep toes with blue suede band and gold buckle
From: Talbots (outlet)
Purchased: fall '08
Cost: Hmm. $35

Last week I was writing about what I thought was the last of the shoes in the shoe wardrobe, but then these caught my eye. So now finally here are the last of the shoes from my shoe wardrobe piece of furniture. I liked these a lot from the spring '08 line at Talbots, and watched for them at the outlet. The 8s were waaay too tight, and even these 8.5s pinch a wee bit on the sides, but they're definitely wearable. I bought another pair of shoes from this line at super discount the next spring.

Last week I wrote they matched a pair of pants that needed to be hemmed, and I was going to wear them, but big surprise did not get around to hemming the pants. But I really thought I had the makings of a good outfit, so gathered it all up together. Taupe pants, navy tshirt, and taupe jacket with gold thread (a 100% Talbots outfit, which I actually try not to do, but you go with what you have - oh I'd also wear gold jewelry and that's not Talbots, so whew.). But now I'm not sure, so I need fashion advice. The taupe of the shoe, the jacket, and the pant are slightly different. (Taupe is a color that bedevils me and my trying-to-surpress-matchy-matchy mindset.) I think the shoes might go with the pant (though it's a little questionable), and the shoe does go with the jacket. But not sure the jacket and pant go?

Maybe I need to hem the pants and put it all on and see? Because they're all just neutrals that cancel each other out, letting the navy and gold pop? Because if it does work it is a great outfit for Spring (hmm, Easter?). I think it might work better (though certainly more casual) with jeans. So if these pants aren't the right pants for the outfit, what would work? Slightly more khaki-colored pants? Not navy pants, then I'd need a different top? What friggin' color would the top be, then, with navy pants? (White dress shirt?)

What do you think of the outfit? And if not that outfit, how would you wear these shoes?

Bottom line: shoes are keepers, though not sure how to wear

And a big PS. I am starting to get nervous. So by the end of February, I had shown 157 pairs of shoes + 24 days so far in March = 181. The big shoe sort is scheduled for April 8, so 15 more days. Will I finish going through the shoes in 15 more days? I am not sure I will. Off the top of my head I can count at least 12 more pairs, easy, and that's not all of them! Do I have 200 PAIRS OF SHOES IN MY HOUSE??!! Gulp. Even with the 25+ already discarded, that is a freaking large amount of shoes. I half-watched an author on the Today Show this morning talk about her new book, Lost and Found: Unexpected Revelations about Food and Money. I may have to get this book (from the library!).

Ok, but when I think of this more calmly, I think of spending $600 a year on shoes, and in the grand scheme of things, that's not really all that terribly much. Not chump change, but as TSM tells me, if this is my hobby, I'm not spending more than many other people on their hobbies. And, given that I never get rid of anything, the accumulated piles should not be that surprising. But it does make me pause in that we live in a 1600 square foot house (not counting attic or basement, which pushes it up to probably close to 2800 square feet). I will get through these shoes, eventually. And then I will commit to decluttering again.

March 23 - black patent peep toes

2011-03-24T11:56:00.001-04:00

What: size 7.5 black patent peep toe slingbacks with platform and bow detail
From: Anny Taylor
Purchased: late winter '08
Cost: $30 - the box says $60, and I distinctly recall them being 50% off (unlike yesterday's which I don't think were that cheap)

You know what I really need? The iphone4, with the flash on the camera. Deep black colors are just too saturated to photo well without a flash. And yet it is so much easier to photo with the phone and email the pic and get it posted that way, so hence, crappy pics. Anyway.

Another pair from next to my dresser, and another pair never worn. The good part about pulling these shoes out and at least trying them on, if not full on wearing them, is that I usually remember what I first liked about them. I haven't had much occasion for dress shoes lately, and as I pulled out the box I thought these were very dressy shoes. But they really aren't super dressy, by which I mean too elaborate to wear for every day use. Essentially, these are functionally the same as these - nicer in many ways than the Naturalizer, but the platform means the heel isn't really high. The sides are slightly pinchy, but not terribly so - I was surprised the 7.5s fit, but I recall the 8s were just too loose.

The Naturalizer ones are really shot (they are flimsy with no support), and actually not all that comfortable (around the peep toe). These Ann Taylors should be the replacements for the Naturalizers. They really should. I've been walking around this morning wearing both and seriously I need to just discard the Naturalizers. Hmmm. OK, the Naturalizers are out. I can make that decision even without TSM's push on the 8th of April, the day of the big sort. Now I need to figure out how I want to go back and account for delayed discards..... edit the old post, link to this one, and account in this month's tally.

Bottom line: keeper! And discarding another!

March 22 - black lace

2011-03-24T11:34:00.000-04:00

What: size 7.5 black lace peep toes with bow

From: Ann Taylor

Purchased: late winter '08

Cost: $30 - the box says $40, but I definitely recall they were a percentage off, I think 25%

OK, so the shoes I own but have never, ever worn make me feel slightly ill and extraordinarily wasteful. Perhaps I should put them for sale on ebay, though I doubt I'd get much interest. But, really, I need to think of these purchases as sunk costs, as in the purchase happened, and now I own the shoes. Deal with the present, not the past.

For whatever reasons, in the early part of '08 I ended up buying a fair number of dressy clothes (major scores at post-Christmas sales). I had a new job, maybe, and a new outlook on life in general, and so I was drawn to dressier, more adult items, including these shoes. And then I was pregnant with Andrew, and the new job ended, and the Wearing Of The Pajamas period of my life began. (I have GOT to get dressed for real today! Though I should say I put these on and walked around for a good period of time, ok 15 minutes, and they are perfectly comfortable - as I recall, the 8s were just too big, my foot slipped out of them.) I do like these shoes, though, and I do have numerous things to wear with them, if I ever went out. Lace was huge this past year, and will probably be big again next, so maybe by next fall I'll have an occasion to wear these. Whatever, they are super cute.

Working through the stack next to my dresser. I think I am going to officially designate the top shelf of my closet for nicer, dressier shoes, so these will go live there. I got rid of a BUNCH of shoes (4 pairs!) from that shelf so there is plenty of space.

Bottom line: keeper

March 21 - metallic loafers!

2011-03-23T11:48:00.000-04:00

What: size 8W silver loafers
From: Talbots (outlet)
Purchased: March 19, 2011
Cost: $21.25

OK, yes, I bought three pairs of shoes over the weekend. There is no justification. But you know what? If I wasn't doing this shoe blog, I would have bought another pair - a very cool - and comfortable - pair of low heel peeptoes covered in gold sequins and glitter for $25. Now, those were completely unjustifiable, and I knew it. I liked them because they had a lower heel and were comfortable, and that's hard to find in a dress shoe. But some on, where in the world would I wear them? (dammit, I still want them, though - if they make it to the 80% off clearance you know they're mine!)

But these! I saw a bunch of mocs, ballet flats, and loafers on the clearance racks and then I noticed the tag on these were 8W = SCORE. Wides are hard to find at the clearance center, so I grabbed them first thing and tried them - totally, perfectly comfortable. Let's see, very comfy wide shoes (typically hard to find), metallic (my love of metallic is well documented), and silver/pewter/grey (my current favorite) for just over $20? Um, yeah.

Ok, well, yes, technically I have these, which are functionally quite similar. But! Silver/pewter ballet flats are great without socks, but you look like a dork wearing socks. Silver/pewter loafers? Socks, baby, plus a sturdier structure and heel put them in an ever-so-slightly different niche.

Bottom line: keeper!

March 20 - but they are soooo cool!

2011-03-22T15:47:00.000-04:00

What: size 8 reddish platform croc embossed pumps
From: Talbots (outlet)
Purchased: March 19, 2011
Cost: $26.50

Ok, see, these are actually why I traveled to the Clearance Center. I first tried these shoes on last September, as they were putting new fall merchandise out. I loved them - love the color, just in between red and plum, love the exaggerated platform, LOVE. My dad hmmphed at them, but I loved them. I tracked them throughout the sale periods, and tried them on again when they made it to the clearance center at $85. I watched the 25% off, and knew they had plenty and I could wait til the really good markdown - 60% off, plus that extra 10% off. I had to have them. Completely impractical. But I like that they're red, but not really red - I wear a lot of plum, so I think I can make these work. I was going to wear them out on the 20th, but Rich was sick and so I was on kid duty all day and they didn't get worn. But I have plans for them.

They had them in grey, too, and I almost decided on the grey as more practical, but come on these aren't remotely practical no matter the color, and I just really wanted the red.

Pair #5 for the year. Uh, and since I am doing one shoe in one shoe out, I'm counting these red ones against them. Yes, I know it doesn't really count if I'm discarding a pair I had already decided to discard, but that's just the way it is. Write you own shoe blog.

Bottom line: keeper!

March 19 - there is really no hope for me at all

2011-03-22T15:34:00.002-04:00

What: size 8 black pointy toe pumps with low heel
From: Talbots (outlet)
Purchased: March 19, 2011
Cost: $23

Uh. Yeah. So. Listen, I've been really, really good lately. I've stayed out of stores even during the end of winter clearance sales. I've studiously avoided trying on shoes. I've stalked but not purchased. I have been frugal. And, well, we all have our breaking points, and mine came with the "extra 10% off clearance prices at the outlet" e-mail. Saturday morning Rich took the kids to E's dance class and I escaped to the Talbots Clearance store. The day before, I had written about discarding a perfectly good pair of black suede pumps because they were too tight, and so I had in my head how difficult it was for me to find plain, simple black shoes at a cheap price and how I never quite have the right plain, simple black pump. And so when I saw these on the clearance rack, I grabbed them. And they also had them in grey suede, which I was of course more drawn to, but I thought, no, if I get these I am getting them in black because that is practical and I could actually use them and although no one with over 180 pairs of shoes needs any more shoes, you could almost make the argument that I needed these. Ok, that's stretch, but still - $23! (stay tuned tomorrow and the next day as I justify TWO MORE NEW PAIRS OF SHOES!)

I wore these out ot a party that same Saturday night and they are awesome! Very comfy.

Um, yes, you might remember that plain-ish black pumps started this whole shoe blogging thing. But these are different - they have a lower heel, and a pointy toe (instead of almond toe). Totally different!

Pair #4 for 2011. There is no hope for me.

Uh, I said I was going to do one shoe in one shoe out in 2011, so um, I'm counting the black suede ones I discarded last week against these! (shut up: my blog, my rules!)

Bottom line: keeper!

March 18 - dusty black blah shoes

2011-03-22T15:14:00.000-04:00

What: size 8 black loafers
From: Easy Spirit (from who knows where)
Purchased: Yowza- late 90s? maybe early 00s?
Cost: No idea - let's guess $32

Wow - so tucked in the very bottom pocket of the closet shoe organizer in my closet I found these, totally covered with dust. I had completely forgotten I had them. Uh, though now cataloging all my shoes, it seems I have a fair number of fairly boring black loafer-type shoes. These, these, and these. Know how I found those links? Searched on "boring." Whoa - and there's also this pair of black loafer style. These kind of remind me of these red ones, which I think I got at about the same time, maybe. I think I got these after the first pair I linked. Hmm. Does anyone need this many pair of vaguely unsatisfying black shoes? No, of course not. I should get rid of these, especially because the AK Anne Klein ones from '09 are nicer, though they have stitching and a buckle so not quite a simple as these. But come on, functionally they are the same shoe. Ok, I am going to discard these, but I do want to see them all lined up together on April 8th, jsut to see it all in totality!

Bottom line: discard!

March 17 - more slides

2011-03-22T14:57:00.000-04:00

What: size 8 slides
From: adidas
Purchased: late 90s
Cost: free to me!

Finishing off the hanging shoe organizer in my closet, so found the one shoe, who knows where the other shoe is. Lost in the bottom of the closet, probably. OK, so here are the shoes Rich bought for me, to replace a pair of slides I had that totally broke (and were a hand me down from my sister). These have never been really comfy, but they are fine shoes for going to the pool. Eh.

Bottom line: keeper

March 16 - black peep toes

2011-03-22T14:39:00.000-04:00

What: size 8 black peep toes
From: Talbots (outlet)
Purchased: '07-'08
Cost: Hmmm. $24 guessing

So I had a pair of black patent peep toes that I liked a lot, though they were a bit uncomfortable, and were getting a lot of wear. So then when I saw these on the clearance rack at Talbots, I snapped them up as an alternate pair of black peep toes. These are pretty cool - the pic doesn't show it too well but they also have cutouts on the sides which makes them interesting. They are getting a bit worn and the fronts rub a little on my toes, but they are fine shoes. Better for an office job, but still perfectly fine.

Bottom line: keeper

March 15 - can these shoes be saved?

2011-03-21T16:18:00.000-04:00

What: size 7.5 dark brown peeptoes with gold buckle
From: Etienne Aigner (bought online)
Purchased: '06
Cost: $40

Oh, these shoes annoy me. Once again I tried a 7.5, and they were tight, but worked fine. I really really coveted these and bought a far higher price point because I thought they'd get so much wear. So I had brown slingbacks, but for some reason I did not love the brown slingbacks. And then I fell in love with these and knew they were the answer to my problem and I constructed whole outfits around them.

But can you tell what the problem is? Is it subtle enough that it's not noticeable?

See the gold buckle? Apparently my stupid feet are so wide they busted open the gold buckle across the front!!! ARGH. I've had them in storage under my bed for a while now, and I bring them out every once in a while and wonder if they can be saved. I don't see how, but then again I am not a clever cobbler, so I need to get these to a GOOD shoe repair place and learn for sure one way or another so I can move on. And then I also wonder if it's really just subtle and no one would notice but come on, it's pretty obvious once you spot it. But maybe that means a fix could happen that would just trick the eye enough that it would work. Grrr. These really are good shoes.

Bottom line: Cobbler?

March 14 - nude slingbacks redux

2011-03-21T16:06:00.000-04:00

What: size 8 nude/taupe slingbacks
From: Talbots (outlet)
Purchased: mid-late 00s
Cost: guessing about $24 but really not sure

So, going through the shoes in my underbed thing which holds brown shoes. Nude shoes are HOT right now - I've gotten a bunch of spring e-mails/catalogs that have entire pages devoted to nude shoes, so I'm glad I'm sorting them all out. Prior to this current nude trend, I would have called these taupe-colored, and quite honestly I've never known what to really wear with them. I have a skirt that sort of matches this color, but now that nudes are everywhere, I have a lot more options. Except for the fact that I am a color person, not a nude person. (I was looking at a catalog yesterday from Restoration Hardware and I had to put it down because it was giving me a headache because every page was so bland and neutral - photo after photo of gorgeous furniture just crying out for a throw pillow or something in a color other than some shade of sand/taupe/khaki/brown).

Anyway, last week I put a different pair of older nude slingbacks into this underbed shoe thing, and looking at them today I just thought - what is the difference in these two shoes? The older ones a little bit cheesy and frumpy with the bow, so I think they are going to go. Funny how sorting shoes out by color/style/season illustrates my overlaps! Cannot wait til April 8th and the big shoe sort!

Bottom line: Keeper

March 13 - brown mules

2011-03-21T15:54:00.000-04:00

What: size 8 brown snakeskin print mules
From: Talbots (outlet)
Purchased: late 90s?
Cost: guessing $20

A total guess on price - I've had these forever. They've been living under my bed in my shoe underbed storage thing, which I've decided to get through for my next few posts. I've never worn these much - the part that goes right over the foot for some reason hurts like hell. No blister or anything, jsut hurt like hell after walking just a little in them. Not a feature you want in a shoe. These are good looking shoes, so I've held onto them, but definitely not great shoes. Oh well. Maybe I can be persuaded to part with them, but they do have a clearly defined place to live so who knows.

Bottom line: keeper, for now

March 12 - replacement #2

2011-03-21T15:04:00.000-04:00

What: size 7.5 W black espadrilles
From: Naturalizer (outlet in Florida)
Purchased: Thanksgiving '09
Cost: $15

Wrote about these on the March 11 post. So this post covers the lower box in the photo - the black replacement espadrilles!

Bottom line: keeper

March 11 - replacements

2011-03-21T15:00:00.000-04:00

What: size 7.5 W brown espadrilles with cream trim
From: Naturalizer (outlet in Florida)
Purchased: Thanksgiving '09
Cost: $15

Trying to clean out shoes at this point - I've been upfront about these. In the summer of 09, I bought two pairs of espadrilles and loved them both, though the elastic back on both stretched out unreasonably, making them slightly uncomfortable to wear. But I really liked them a lot, and when I found them on the clearance rack of the Naturalizer outlet by my parents, I snapped both of them up for $15! I showed you both during this challenge and wrote I had hoped to get another summer out of them - and since I spent the summer going through all my sandals, I did indeed get another summer from the original pair. So now I'm going to have to decide if I keep the original ones for yet another summer, or if I ditch the original ones and bust out the new ones.

So this post covers the brown ones!

Bottom line: keeper!

March 10 - another symptom of the overall problem: orange sneaks

2011-03-18T17:33:00.002-04:00

What: size 8 white slip on sneakers with orange trim
From: LOFT
Purchased: '05-'06 or thereabouts
Cost: $20

Never been worn. I know I was just complaining about my need for basic slip on sneakers, but these just aren't it. First off, white sneakers - one wear and they are trashed. Second, these aren't a great fit. Third, I really need shoes with some support, not just a flat tread.

I really coveted these when I saw them at LOFT and desperately wanted them. I thought they'd go with so much of my casual spring/summer wardrobe. And now I have no idea why, other than I do like orange things for going to UVA games, though they really would not be that comfy to walk around, given their lack of support. I guess they are cute in a preppy sort of way, so perhaps I can find a way to wear them this coming summer, and then I'll have to get rid of them. Actually, you know what, I think that is what happened - I liked them a lot, they matched a lot of my summer wear that year, but I knew they would get trashed easily, so I never wore them so they'd never get dirty so I'd never have to get rid of them. Huh. I think everyone does that to some extent - save things for special use, but then the special use never comes along.

Bottom line: keeper

Whew - so now I've covered all of the 31 shoes that were stored in my shoe wardrobe-y thing! Crap! It doesn't! I was scanning the first photo in that link and I spied a pair I have not covered in the blog yet. Guess what, they're BLUE and have never been worn. I have a real problem with blue. Hmm, they are spring-y shoes, maybe I will actually wear them one day next week, so it'll be a while before I catch up my posts to real time. Actually I have the perfect pair of pants to wear with those blue shoes but they need to be hemmed. Hmmm.

And you know what else? These are the 167th pair of shoes I've shown you (157 at end of Feb + 10) - my original guessimate of how many shoes I own. I think I have at least 15 more - hmm, more like at least 20 more (got to clean out the bottom of my closet, which is a jumble), which puts my end date as March 30, with my date with TSM set for April 8, will I make it? Will I still have shoes left to cover? Will I have to double up? Crap, will I hit 200 pairs?! Wow. OK, this has been a very long, protracted 10 month blog series, but it has been useful. For me at least!

March 9 - uh oh!

2011-03-18T17:01:00.001-04:00

What: size 8 black 2.5 inch heeled sandals
From: Nine West – I think maybe an outlet purchase?
Purchased: mid ‘90s
Cost: ~$30

So these are a match to my seafoam sandals, and I just never got around to wearing the black ones this past summer. They've been crammed in my shoe wardrobe-y thing for years. And so can you see what's happened? The toes have totally curled up.

I hate to get rid of them, but I just don't think a) they can recover from the curl and b) they are really, truly worth saving. I still have (and still love) the seafoam ones, but they've never been perfectly comfortable shoes. And they are really old, and these black ones are really beat up. I think I should ditch them.

I am really excited to lay out my entire shoe collection, though, because I think the state of my black shoes is really going to stun me - I think most of my black shoes are in really bad shape and need to go, but I've held onto them. Black shoes, as I've written before, aren't as easy to find as a super bargain. Super bargains are reserved for odder shoes that are left over. I really do feel like I need to do a major upgrade of my black sandals.

Bottom line: I want to see all my black sandals together, so I will hold onto these until April 8th, but I think they are going to go.

March 8 - too tight!

2011-03-18T16:52:00.001-04:00

What: size 7.5 black suede pumps with stitching bow detail
From: Van Eli (purchased online from SmartBargains.com)
Purchased: '04-'06
Cost: $25

Oh man. Still working on the shoe wardrobe piece of furniture. I hate admitting these failures. These are among the first shoes I cyber stalked - saw these and another couple of pairs on an online site and they were a great bargain. And so I bought them, because I am on a lifelong quest for basic black pumps. I just cannot get it right, though. Soon after Elizabeth was born, my interest in shoes began to grow exponentially - I think it definitely has something to do with not gaining weight in the feet, so shoes nearly always fit. Plus I had that co-worker who became a friend who teased me about my shoe collection, while I feigned horror at her shoe collection (well, I wasn't feigning all that much as she seriously owned the worse shoes ever).

Anyway, so there I was paying a lot of attention to shoes, found these online, and went back and forth on ordering the 7.5s or 8s. Today I'd definitely order 8s, but I really am slightly in between those sizes. So I went with 7.5s. And they really are too tight. I wore them once to work thinking, oh suede, they'll stretch just fine. But yowza, they were painful. They've been sitting in the shoe wardrobe thing-y for years and I just need to admit they are not magically going to stretch out.

Ouch!

Bottom line: Sigh. This pains me. Discard........

March 7 - more mules

2011-03-18T16:38:00.001-04:00

What: size 8 black mules with bow
From: Bandolino (Hecht's)
Purchased: '01-'02
Cost: more than I wanted them to - $36 or so

I got these shoes because I really needed a pair of black shoes to wear to some meeting. They were a classic I need X so will search them out and buy something that fits X's requirements but isn't quite perfect and costs too much money. But I actually liked these just fine - I used to wear them all the time with a black shirt and grey pencil skirt. Classic. I haven't worn them in years, and they really aren't that stylish anymore.

When did mules go so out of style? Oh well. They are still really fine.

Bottom line: keeper

March 6 - the last of the green sandals

2011-03-18T10:39:00.001-04:00

What: size 8 green sandals with bead detail
From: Talbots (outlet)
Purchased: '03-'04
Cost: $20 - dont' remember exactly but they were cheap

The last pair of green sandals! Well, I have (had!) three pairs of virtually identical light green sandals. And another pair of green wedges. And then these. I snapped them up for cheap at the Talbots outlet, and they are perfectly comfy and fit well. But, the heel on the left shoe needs to be repaired, so I haven't worn them in this challenge.

These also are not the most practical shoe - I wore these at my last office job, and they are stylish and look good. But those beads? Turns out if you walk down a quiet, carpeted hallway, all you hear with each step is chk chk chk chk chk chk. Annoying! More than once I had people leave their office to see what was making that noise. Not the right shoe for the office, then. But a great dressier sandal.

Bottom line: keeper, though they need to be repaired!

March 5 - blue strappy

2011-03-18T08:41:00.001-04:00

What: size 8 blue strappy sandals with rosette strap
From: Unisa (bought unknown)
Purchased: 2001-02
Cost: don't remember. A bargain, though - you can still see a tiny bit of red sticker on the right shoe. I kinda have this feeling I got these at a place like Nordstrom Rack, but really don't know. Let's guess $20

Love these shoes! Wore them for my friend Kdot's wedding. (Love that Kdot let us chose our own shoes, so I could wear something snazzy!)They are great. Well, they are mostly great.

Can you see, in the picture above that my pinky toe does not quite fit in the strap across my toes? It sort of almost sneaks in there, but really, it's not contained by the toe strap. Sigh. The only thing worse than wide feet is narrow feet, as my friend Elaine can confirm. I still like them, and they still work fine enough.

Bottom line: keeper

March 4 - maybe these are the best

2011-03-17T14:49:00.000-04:00

What: size 8 leopard print and suede pumps with velvet trim/bow
From: Coach (bloomingdales)
Purchased: Fall '05
Cost: $115

So, I wrote my polka dot/spotted shoes were the best, but I think these might be the best. It's a toss up. The polka dot ones are more whimsical, with the hot pink/red suede accent. These are more classic, if you will, with the leopard print and red suede, and slgihtly higher heel, though not too high. These are also more comfortable, which means they might get the nod. But for some reason, when I started this shoe challenge, I thought I only had two pairs of Coach shoes - I totally forgot about these. So, hmm, not sure what that means about my love of them.

These were in all the Coach ads in the early fall of 2005. I ripped that ad out of several magazines - I could probably find it (I have files of interesting things I rip out of magazines - clothes, jewelry, recipes, book reviews, gardening tips, craft projects, places to go, see, do, thoughtful articles, etc - really, bizarrely, it's the one of the few things I actually keep semi-organized). I coveted those shoes. So when I had my little shoe frenzy at Bloomingdales, and found these on the sale rack (despite the pre-season hype!) I had to have them. I wore them to two subsequent office parties, with fishnets, black pencil skirt, and red sweater with faux fur trim. I've only worn them maybe 2-3 times besides that (per wear cost - oh the horror!). Maybe it's the red - I used to wear a ton of red but don't really anymore. So I knew I had to wear them for my monthly mom's night out dinner with friends (though i was not satisfied with my outfit). They really are good shoes, I need to wear them more often. I do love them, but I need more ideas of how to wear them.

But it does make me think about some of my more blah shoes. It is true I have some really stylin' shoes. But really, not that many truly standout trendy shoes, and the ones I do have tend to be sandals. But like everyone else, I need shoes for walking the dog or going for a walk or hitting the playground. Hmm. I am really curious to see the whole collections laid out - I think that will be very eye opening. April 8 is the date! Take off work and come by!

Bottom line: oh is there any doubt these are keepers?

March 3 - pink slingbacks

2011-03-16T17:18:00.000-04:00

What: size 8 pink slingbacks with bow
From: Talbots (outlet)
Purchased: mid 00s, I think?
Cost: hmm, guessing around $24

I'm working my way through my shoe wardrobe (the actual physical wardrobe piece of furniture, that is) jsut trying to wrap this up before April 8 - can I do it? Will I make it before final decision day?

Anyway, these. They are fine. But I do not have many occasions to wear them. I actually have a sweater and a skirt the exact shade of pink.

Why yes, I did graduate from high school in the 80s, how did you know? There is something I do not love about the outfit though. Partly it's the matchy matchy. You could not be more matchy match if you tried. Well, only if I had the shell for the sweater set (which I do not own) - I usually wear a white shirt under the sweater. Things are supposed to go, not completely match anymore. I get that. But there is no other color in this outfit besides black - so what color goes? Green, maybe? Just stick with black since there's a lot of bright stuff already happening? In any case, these shoes are perfectly fine and heck, I just have to find a different out for which they go, not match!

Bottom line: keeper

March 2 - grey strappy sandals

2011-03-16T17:07:00.000-04:00

What: size 8 grey satin strappy sandals
From: Talbots (outlet)
Purchased: mid 00s
Cost: $20

Grey is my go-to neutral. Love it - grey and purple, grey and blue, grey and pink, grey and yellow.....do not love grey and brown, though. Anyway, when I saw these on the clearance rack at Talbots I snapped them up years ago, and sadly they have never been worn. I'm just not in a fancy party world any longer, I guess. Someday!

Bottom line: keeper - they still fit

March 1 - pink sneaks

2011-03-16T16:57:00.000-04:00

What: size 8 pink slip on sneakers
From: AK Anne Klein (Lord & Taylor)
Purchased: 2004
Cost: $40

So I have these in red, and when I wrote about the red ones I said I couldn't find the pink ones. They turned up shoved under my dresser. Oh, how I freaking wish AK Anne Klein still made them. So I had the red ones, they got totally overworn, and I bought the pinks ones, relegating red to gardening or painting. These pink ones have since become utterly and totally completely worn. But I love them and they are totally comfortable, and I've never successfully found a replacement shoe. I should ditch both the red ones and the pink ones, but the lack of replacement is holding me back. Now having a dog again I am dying for a pair of slip on sneakers for quick trips outside. Bah.

Bottom line: still on the fence, for both. I need to just trash both of them.

January/February tally

2011-03-07T16:28:00.008-05:00

Holey moley. I am officially SICK TO DEATH of my ridiculous shoe collection. SICK. TO. DEATH.

AND, I went around to all my various stash places and I think it's possible there's another full month to go! I definitely counted at least 25 more. TSM says she's coming over April 8th for the grand shoe set up (wanna come? we'll need the help!). Is it possible for me to get through them all before the 8th? I think so. I shall soldier on.

In the month of January/February, I wore/examined 30 pairs of shoes from my collection, at an estimated total cost of $1077, or average cost of $35.90. The boots killed my average this month. Of those, I am keeping 25, though I am seriously on the fence with 3 of them. 5 pairs are being discarded, with one of those pairs already in the trash.

So, I've been blogging shoes for 273 days.

I have shown you 157 pairs of my shoes. I am keeping 133 (!) (on the fence about 9 of those, though I think I gave my mom one of those 9, I need to go back and check), trashing 4, donating 20.

So keeping 133 and getting rid of 24 is a cull rate of 13%. (Damn, my cull rate dropped - my goal remains 20%, which means I have stacks to get rid of, and my fence sitting isn't helping me any).

And, I estimate that over the past 17 years or so I've spent $4,474.75 on shoes, or an average cost of $28.50 per shoe, or roughly $265/year on my little hobby.

So when I first started this and counted my shoes, I got up to 167. Turns out I was off by at least 10%! It's looking more like 180, total (do you know what 180 means? It means if I were a school teacher, I could wear a different pair of shoes for every single day school was in session for an entire academic year! Good gravy!). That is a freakishly large number of shoes. And even if I cull 20%, I'd still have at least 144 shoes! Crazy. Cray-zee. At this point, quite honestly, I'm forgetting what I've already written about and what still needs to be documented. You know what I want to do? I want to stop photographing these and just pretend I do not have all these excess shoes. But that doesn't help with the clutter. I'm going to get through this, and I'm going to have a clearer, more focused idea of what shoes I own.

Sigh. Onward!

February 28 - another black slingback

2011-03-04T11:21:00.004-05:00

What: size 8 black slingbacks with 2.5 inch heel
From: Liz Claiborne (bought at some outlet, somewhere)
Purchased: early 00s
Cost: not entirely sure. I have them in lilac, too, so couldn't have paid much for them. My memory is still fuzzy, but I kind of vaguely think they were super cheap, like $15, but let's say $20 to be more reasonable

So, just trying to wrap up February and grabbed these out of the closet. I showed the lilac ones in November. These have gotten more wear than the lilac ones, which I've never actually worn.

The heel is a little bit tight, I'm remembering is the problem with them. I have to put bandaids on my heels so the elastic doesn't cut into them. But other than that problem, which is not insignificant over a long day, but not insurmountable, either, there's nothing terribly wrong with them. Nothing great about them, either, though.

So this raises a question for me - do you think shoes need to be 100% comfortable from the get go? How much pain are you willing to endure for shoes? See, I've been e-mailing Elaine who returns shoes that might cause blisters. I used to work with a friend who insisted shoes had to be 100% comfortable from day 1. What do you think? I feel like there's a certain level of discomfort that comes with many shoes, and you mitigate as much as possible, treat injuries, (band-aids are your friend) and after a couple of wearings your foot gets used to the way that particular shoe rubs and off you go. So every fall, when I switch back to closed back shoes, I know my heels will hurt a bit for a week or so, and every spring, when I start wearing shoes that are strappier, I expect minor sore spots or blisters til I adjust again. I'm no sadist - shoes should not injure you (like the scar I still bear from June 1, the first day of this shoe experiment!), but I've always kept a box of band aids in my work desk. And I have plenty of shoes that never cause any sort of hurt (beloved grey booties, for example). But do I accept a higher level of pain than you do?

Back to these - bottom line: keeper, for now

February 27 - red loafers

2011-03-03T14:57:00.006-05:00

What: size 8 red leather tassel loafers with heel
From: Ann Taylor (outlet)
Purchased: '02-03
Cost: $30

I bought these at an Ann Taylor outlet store in Gilroy, CA! Business trip to Monterey, oh I miss those. The business trips, and the old AT outlets. Ann Taylor outlets used to carry old product from Ann Taylor (and LOFT) stores, but now they've been branded Ann Taylor Factory Stores and they carry products made specifically for the outlet store. Hate that! Where do they sell all their left over merchandise now? I used to get some good bargains, but alas no more.

Anyway, these were always a hair too tight, so I'm going to actually get rid of them. And look what I've done:
The shoe rack in Elizabeth's room is done! Totally cleaned off! Wohoo!

But look what else I've done:
The discard pile right by the door in our bedroom. Making me crazy. I've got to get this stuff donated.

You know why it's (relatively) easy to get rid of these? Because I still have these. I don't even need TSM to see the overlap here.

Bottom line: discard!

February 26 - sacrificial slide

2011-03-02T21:38:00.002-05:00

What: size 8 slides with velcro closure
From: Talbots (outlet)
Purchased: hmm - late 90s? early 00s?
Cost: $15

So, turns out our new dog Skipper is a chewer. She hides out under the bed a great deal and one night I heard some chewing. Fished around the next day and pulled this one out. The other one? Hmmm, who knows, possibly/probably buried in the closet someplace. I'm gearing up for a closet clean out so when I find it I'll pitch it, too.

I've been on a long-term search for comfy slides - I wore out a really cool pink pair with brown leathers cord tassels (from Bass Outlet) - I might have bought those shoes twice actually. Never found any as awesome since. These were really never anything more than a throwaway pair, so, well, thrown away.

My nice blue slippers also got a bit gnawed on, but they were salvageable. Now they look like crappy old blue slippers, which is the fate of all slippers eventually. Thus far Skipper has shown no inclination to shoes that are lined up neatly along the dresser, for example, or the shoes jumbled in the corner, so I might be kidding myself but I think the rest will be ok. Talk about a new way to cull, though! Too unpredictable!

Bottom line: trash

February 25 - more tall brown boots

2011-03-02T15:46:00.002-05:00

What: Size 8 tall brown boots
From: EA Flexo (an Enzo Angiolini brand of flexible sole) (Bloomingdales)
Purchased: October/November 2005
Cost: $150

Shortly after Elizabeth was born, for some reason we were all at the White Flint Mall in Bloomingdales, and I had a little shoe frenzy. I can't remember why we were there, but I decided I really wanted a pair of brown boots and I was going to get them no matter the cost. Then, I found a pair of Coach shoes I had seen featured in ads that I loved that were surprisingly still available and on sale (coming soon - I had forgotten I have them, they are fab, and I really want to actually wear them for the blog), and thus my most expensive show purchase day ever occurred. Look, I never, ever buy shoes early in the season - they're still too pricey for my extreme bargain hunting. But I had money in the bank and I just wanted those Coach shoes, and I really wanted brown boots. I've worn these a lot, and they are quite roomy so they actually can fit my freakish right calf. But for some reason, I do not love them. Which is too bad considering they are my most expensive purchase ever. It's a good price for that brand bought in early fall, though, I do have to say.

But really, what I really, really want, and still do not own, is a pair of equestrian-inspired flat brown boots. Naturalizer had some great sale boots (now sold out), but I was in no position to buy them, so it'll wait another year or five. I got time. And it's not like I need them. Anyway, that day at Bloomingdales unbelievably, I simply could not find a pair of flat brown boots, so I went with these. I feel like they're cool and hint of cowboy boots just a teeny bit. I wish they were a darker brown (which is why I bought yesterday's boots).

So, whew, I think this means I've made it through my entire boot collection. 15 pairs to start (including rain boots and the new snow/hiking boots), and I got rid of 4 of them (with another pair barely hanging on - they'll be gone in the fall, I bet). That's not a bad cull rate. But boy, they are going to kill my average cost per pair. I could probably get rid of the older short black boots, but I'll see what happens for the grand, great accounting day that will happen, with Thrift Store Mama's help, later this spring!

Bottom line: keeper

February 24 - more brown boots

2011-03-02T15:14:00.002-05:00

What: Size 8 chocolate brown leather boots
From: Talbots (outlet)
Purchased: November 2008
Cost: $42

I've written about these on AwwwTrouble - that really was a nice experience, buying these. Still makes me smile. I love the line at the talbots outlet. But guess what? They didn't fit when I was 9 months pregnant, which I chalked up to pregnancy swelling, and I was sure they'd fit post-baby, and, sigh, they don't. They almost fit, though (stupid right calf again), so I'm holding onto them. They are the perfect brown color and the leather is a soft as buttah! Boot box under the bed, re-evaluate in the fall blah blah blah.

Bottom line: keeper

February 23 - brown stretch boots

2011-03-01T10:39:00.002-05:00

What: size 8 faux brown suede high heel stretch boots
From: Lord & Taylor brand
Purchased: '02-'04
Cost: $55

And now we turn our attention to brown. These boot posts are really going to raise my average prices. Ok, so these boots have been living in the boot box under my bed. I bought these faux suede, stretch boots because they were a heck of a lot cheaper than real suede or leather. But the heel has always been a little too high for me, so I don't wear them all that much. The stretch part means I can wear them, at least (stupid right calf), but I really haven't worn them much lately. Anyway, these are fine, they have a place to live, I'll get more wear from them.

Bottom line: keeper

February 22 - boots the fourth

2011-03-01T10:28:00.003-05:00

What: size 8 tall black boots
From: AK Anne Klein (Lord & Taylor)
Purchased: Late winter '06
Cost: $65

And now, black boots pair #4! In my progression of boots, aren't they great and stylish? Nice heel, pointy toe? Real leather?! Totally great. And never worn, because they are too tight for my right calf! ARGH. These boots are the reason why I'm holding onto pair #3. Soon after Elizabeth was born, I successfully bought a cool pair of brown boots (coming soon). They were tight on the right calf, but worked. Anyway, end of winter during Elizabeth's first year, I was at L&T and they were having a fabulous sale on black boots, but I was in a huge hurry for some reason and so I snapped these up without really trying them on. I had tried on another pair of AK Anne Klein boots earlier that winter and they had fit so I think I thought these were the same pair, but once I got home, realized they were too tight. I was losing weight and getting in shape, and thought I'd hold onto them because they were such a great buy, but life yada yada yada and so they've lived under my bed in their original box for 5 years now. Dammit. Can't give up on them, and they are out of th way, so they stay. But something has got to give, and soon. I'll reevaluate in the fall.

Bottom line: keeper, for now

February 21 - boots the third

2011-03-01T10:14:00.003-05:00

What: size 8 pleather tall black boots
From: unknown - these were a no name brand purchased at a discount shoe place (famous shoes? Something like that - the store at Potomac Yards)
Purchased: '03-'05?
Cost: $50

I seriously cannot believe I would buy boots and hold onto them, not letting older pairs go. These are the third pair of black boots I've purchased (over ~10 years), after the first two had become totally worn. Pair #2 had really become unwearable, and I desperately needed a new pair but didn't want to spend a lot of money, so another pair of pleather boots. These are actually pretty worn, too - the pleather is starting to crack and peel a bit. But, they are also quite stretchy, and given my right calf problems, I need stretchier boots, so here we go again, I've stashed these in the boot box under my bed. I really should discard these, but they have an out of the way place to live, so I'll see where things are next fall (ie, what fits my calves!) when I pull out my boots.

Funny, you can see the progression of style in the boots - Pair 1, chunky heel, squared off toe. Pair 2, slightly rounded toe, less chunky heel. These, pair 3, still less chunky heel, almost point toe.

Bottom line: on the fence

February 20 - old boots

2011-03-01T10:01:00.003-05:00

What: size 8 tall black boots
From: unknown - label worn
Purchased: mid-late 90s
Cost: ?? don't remember. Guessing $60

So I wrote recently I hardly wore traditional pumps anymore. It's because in the late 90s, the tall boots and skirt look really took off. In my work career, early on, especially in the winter, I wore pumps a lot with hose. But, in the late 90s, pumps and hose went out of style, in favor of tights and tall boots. Love that look. These were the first pair of tall boots I bought. I took advantage of some free time over Presidents Day weekend to check out the boot box under my bed, and found these. I totally forgot I still had them. I wore the heck out of them over years, and then bought these, which I discarded in the summer (not really - I actually put them in the hallway, to be discarded, where they got covered with a pile of other stuff, so technically I threw them away yesterday! That is sad.). Anyway, just looking over that long ago July post (for the love of Pete! I've been blogging my shoe collection for over 6 months!!), it's clear I had forgotten about my original pair. I bought these first, then when they became worn bought the ones from July. And believe it or not, I bought my third pair of tall black boots, then my fourth (!), all while still holding onto the previous pairs! Ridiculous! So the second chronological pair have been trashed, and now the first pair have been placed in the donate pile, which is a giant stack right by the door of my bedroom that is starting to drive me crazy! CRAZY.

I have GOT to get the stuff I want out of the house actually OUT OF THE HOUSE. That would help, a lot.

Bottom line: TBD - to be donated!

February 19 - new boots

2011-02-28T23:30:00.003-05:00

What: size 8W black suede wedge tall boots
From: Naturalizer (online)
Purchased: November 28, 2010
Cost: $80

My 22nd and final purchase of 2010! Love these. In the early fall, my friend Elaine sent me an e-mail asking about some boots on the Naturalizer site, and I spied these. I cyber-stalked them for a bit - all my tall black boots are in bad shape. Also, I doubt my friend Therese remembers this, but the first time I met her (we worked at sister organizations) she was wearing a pair of black wedge boots, and I've wanted a pair ever since. I was intrigued by these because they came in a wide shaft option. I have a confession to make. My right calf has always been larger than my left calf, but since having Elizabeth, the disparity has become even more pronounced. My right calf is now a full inch wider than my left. Which means, over the next few postings, I'm about to show you a whole series of fabulous boots that don't fit me. It is infuriating. I don't know if getting into shape will help or not, but I'm not willing to give up on my boot collection.

So, anyway, I needed new tall black boots. When at my inlaws for Thanksgiving, I was able to visit an actual Naturalizer store (not an outlet), and I found these in 7.5 W, in the regular width shaft. With a 20% off coupon, they were $80. And they mostly fit. Tight, but zippable. But tight enough that I felt I should check out the extended shaft opening. They were offering free shipping, and it hit me that since there are no stores in DC, there would be no tax. So I ordered 8W extended shaft from the website (they didn't have any 7.5s). And then I dithered for a couple of weeks, which is why they weren't worn in 2010. Ultimately, I kept the extended shaft - theoretically, I could possibly even wear them with jeans tucked in. In theory. These are great, though, it's nice to have them, and I've definitely enjoyed rocking the short skirt, tights, tall boots look.

Bottom line: keeper!

February 19 - blue pumps

2011-02-28T17:36:00.003-05:00

What: size 8 navy blue pumps with lizard accent and bow
From: Ellen Tracy
Purchased: January 2009
Cost: $28

Since I wrote about my kinda crappy blue pumps, I thought I should pull out my nice new blue pumps that hav never been worn, bought in my shoe extravaganza of 2009. These are really nice, and were a great buy, even if I've never had the occasion to wear them. Maybe this spring I'll try and busy out more blue. These are too nice to remain in the box.

Bottom line: Keeper

February 18 - new boots

2011-02-28T17:20:00.003-05:00

What: size 8 snow boots in light grey, dark grey, and magenta
From: Lands End (online)
Purchased: February 14, 2011
Cost: $26.50

Well, these were supposed to be the 4th pair of shoes I bought in 2011, but thanks to my shootie
debacle (yes, I am bitter, why do you ask?), they are the third. Yep, even though I feel deprived and frugal, I am on par to match my purchases from last year. Anyway, I wrote about shoes I might have on my list for 2011, and hiking boots were high on the list. I wrote that I had missed out on Lands End shoes, but then in my daily LE e-mail, there was a special one day 30% off clearance sale. So I checked, and lo and behold the shoes I had wanted and had been sold out were suddenly available (I bet a bunch were bought in the previous 30% off sale, and then returned). So I snapped them up. These are technically, according to LE, snow boots, but they also make perfect hiking boots. They're waterproof, have good tread, and great support. And my orthotics fit perfectly. Honestly, though, I have got to remember that LE runs big, because I could have easily gotten a 7.5 and been fine. But for boots, I figured more room couldn't hurt. Love these. Hope to get lots of wear out of them this year!

Bottom line: Keeper!

February 17 - boots galore

2011-02-28T17:11:00.005-05:00

What: size 8 fabric short black boots with leather cord at ankle
From: Etienne Aigner (purchased at outlet)
Purchased: late 90s, early 00s
Cost: $40

I decided to do some cleaning and organizing of my boots, in anticipation (sob!) of new shooties arriving. I've had these forever and used to wear them a lot. The heels are a teeny bit too high for a lot of wear, but overall they are still comfy. That little band above the ankle fastens with velcro, and since this was the late 90s, I used to have lots of super long skirts. These boots once ripped out the entire hem from a skirt - the velcro would just catch on the hem and cause it to pull. Annoying. But they are fine with pants, I actually wore them with jeans.

Bottom line: still a keeper

February 16 - shootie #1, or why do the shoe gods hate me??

2011-02-25T14:40:00.004-05:00

What: size 8 grey shooties with buckle
From: Liz Claibourne (Marshalls)
Purchased: January 2011
Cost: $20 - on clearance

OK, folks, these were the second pair of shoes that I bought in 2011, and I wasn't sure about them. They are cute, but Liz Claiborne isn't a great brand, and besides, I was coveting the expensive Naya shooties. I bought these January 17th, with a 30 day return policy.

And then I found the Naya shooties on super sale. If the Naya shoes were perfect, I didn't need another pair. But if the Naya shoes were not perfect, these might be a good alternate. Sob! You see, the deadline for returning these was fast approaching, and my Naya shoes were not showing up. The last time I ordered online from Naturalizer, the shoes arrived in two days. I had taken to screaming at odd times: "where are my new shoes?!" (I've never claimed to be easy to live with). I consulted Rich, and he said, just keep these, they were cheap, they look good. So I decided to wear them on the 16th (also, still have not fixed heels of grey short boots). And they are pretty cool, and I do like them and am glad I kept them.

BECAUSE: Naturalizer broke my heart. Broke. My. Heart. On the 17th, I got an e-mail saying my order was canceled (sic) due to lack of inventory! Let's just say distraught doesn't begin to cover my disappointment. After a period of mourning what could have been, I am back to cyber stalking. I've found the Naya shoes on one site for $80, plus $10 shipping. And at this point in my non-working life I can't justify that purchase. And, I do have these. They are fine. I like them fine. And, if not for the heartbreak caused by Naturalizer, I might have been able to say I love them. But alas, they will forever be linked to second place, good enough status, which isn't really fair to them. But such is life.

Bottom line: keeper

February 15 - wow these are old

2011-02-25T13:26:00.002-05:00

What: size 7.5 black suede mary jane pumps with decorative stitching
From: Unlisted (I think I bought these in FL at the department store Parisian)
Purchased: early 90s!
Cost: $25

I had to peel these off the shoe rack in Elizabeth's room. I should have gotten rid of them years ago - I think these might be the last pair of shoes I still own from when I lived in Florida for grad school. Or it's possible I bought them my first year in DC. I loved these shoes. LOVED them. They are destroyed. I've long thought of getting rid of them but have held on for sentimental reasons. Sigh. It will be hard to part with them.

Bottom line: still on the fence, but know they have to go

February 14 - blues

2011-02-25T12:08:00.002-05:00

What: size 7.5 navy fabric pumps
From: Nina (likely Hechts or Lord and Taylor)
Purchased: hmmm. Late 90s
Cost: another guess, hope I didn't pay more than $30 for them!

Cleaning off the rack in E's room, and pulled these off. These are old - the shoes are stiff and dry and maybe don't have any life in them. But they also fit ok, and there's nothing objectively or specifically wrong with them, other than I never wear pumps anymore (and didn't even when I worked in an office, I'm just not really a pumps person anymore). I can't believe how many failed blue shoes I own (or once owned, as I've discarded many). Good lord! 4 pairs discarded! Clearly I have a problem with blue. I think I used to wear more blue, and now no longer do? Or given how many pairs I discarded that had barely been worn (if at all!), I think I think I should own blue shoes but I don't really need blue shoes. For example, I know I have a very nice pair of blue shoes still in the box purchased in my Jan '09 shoe frenzy (5 pairs in less than 30 days all from L&T - I write about this a lot because I think that was the first time I ever really thought I had a shoe problem). They are low heeled pointy toe, stylish navy blue, and I've never worn them, and quite possibly they might be the only navy shoes I would ever need, as they'll work across the seasons and with a variety of outfits, should I ever need to wear blue shoes (they are similar to these grey shoes, but not identical). I'm trying to type myself into discarding these, as my original intention was to keep them.

OK, I've come close to the discard line, but I think I'm going to put these on the fence. I think I need to look at the shoes altogether, at the end of this process, with observers, and then my bet is these will go.

Bottom line: on the fence

February 13 - another quest for casual comfort

2011-02-23T14:01:00.004-05:00

What: size 8 light tan loafers with stitching and bow
From: Jennifer Moore (a Hecht's store brand, I think)
Purchased: '02 or '03
Cost: $25

A guess on cost. But yet, after the past few shoes I've put up, it's clear I've been on a long-term quest for casual yet comfortable. Here's attempt #184, it seems. I just cannot figure out the right casual, yet comfortable and walkable, dressier than sneakers shoe.

I remember I took these on trip to visit my friend K in Virginia Beach in early spring 2003, and she suggested we go for a walk on the boardwalk. And when my friend K walks, she walks. Several miles. I hadn't brought many shoes with me, so when I came downstairs with these she suggested I try something else. I think I might have borrowed sneakers from her for our long, cold walk.

Undecided on these. They aren't super comfortable, but do fit. There is something a little interesting about them. Any thoughts?

Bottom line: keeper, for now. Am actually really starting to look forward to lining up all my shoes for an audience (of one right now - TSM), because I think that might help cull.

February 12 - fancy flats

2011-02-23T13:44:00.006-05:00

What: size 8 silver ballet flats with silvery flower
From: Talbots
Purchased: spring '09
Cost: $32.50 (edited for accuracy)

Hmmm. You know what? I might have my dates all screwed up. The very first pair of ballet flats I bought from Talbots were these, and I wrote I bought them in spring 09. But, I wore those orange-y ones enough that when I saw these in Talbots I knew I had to have them. I just loved the flower-y thing. I held out til late winter sales and finally snagged them at $35 (and I had to call around and have them held for me at a store across town to get them). So does that mean I bought them in '10? Did I miss a purchase? No, I must have the wrong year on the orange ones. Not that it matters all that much, really. Now I'm going to have to go back through some receipts to see if I've been living a lie and actually bought 22 pairs, not 21 pairs, in '10!

I wore these in January, but was so totally unmotivated in posting. But, it really was a fashion faux pas. It was a cold day, and I put on black socks! Bad, bad, bad. I don't think you can wear socks with ballet flats? So does that mean you either freeze for fashion, or hold ballet flats for spring/summer/fall only?

edited to add: OK, so I have been living a lie - I bought these on February 15, 2010, which makes them the second pair of shoes I bought in 2010, for a grand total of 22 pairs. Great, now I have to go back and edit the 2010 recap.

Bottom line: keeper

February 11 - blue loafers

2011-02-22T20:24:00.002-05:00

What: Size 7.5 blue hush puppies
From: Hush Puppies (hechts)
Purchased: 1996 or 97
Cost: $32

In the fall, I showed the red version of these, so time for the other pair. They really are a hair too tight, but they are cool, so I can't ditch them.

Like the other pair, I'll move them into long-term storage (under the bed?) and only wear them rarely - they'll be my vintage shoes.

Bottom line: keeper

February 10 - gold brocade

2011-02-22T17:38:00.003-05:00

What: size 8 gold brocade strappy sandals
From: Talbots (outlet)
Purchased: ~04
Cost: $15

Still just blowing through shoes, no real occasion to wear these. I had forgotten I had them when I bought these in 2010. They are fine, I wish I had a fancy occasion to wear them!

Bottom line: Keeper

February 9 - dressy sandals

2011-02-22T17:32:00.002-05:00

What: size 7.5W silver sandals with beading
From: Fioni (otherwise known as Payless Shoes)
Purchased: hmm. mid 00s?
Cost: $15

I bought these for a wedding, I think, but I am drawing a blank. They're pretty simple silver dressy sandals, not super comfy (payless), but not unwearable. There's nothing wrong with them, might as well keep them in case I ever need silver sandals?

I am just trying to blow through the final (40!) pairs, and had no reason to wear these, but I did try them on.

Bottom line: keeper

February 8 - brown loafers

2011-02-22T17:23:00.003-05:00

What: size 8 brown loafers
From: Karen Scott (Hecht's in-house brand)
Purchased: early 00's
Cost: $24

Guessing on cost. These are yet another pair to fill my "I need casual shoes" niche. I swear I have the hardest time with this niche, and never get it right. On What Not to Wear, they call it the mom on the go look. Well, I bought these before I was a mom, so it's been a long-term struggle. On WNTW, I think the mom on the go shoes they demonstrate are generally awesome shoes, but they would still make you look like an asshole on the playground (too fancy) and they aren't comfy enough for the urban mom on the go who walks and takes the bus. Maybe a suburban mom who drives a lot of places, but not one who might walk over a mile to the playground.

Anyway, these are kinda fine, though kinda ugh at the same time. The heel is too high for real casual wear, but they are too frumpy for dressy wear. I still don't see what's wrong with my easy spirit penny loafers (though they are frumpy too, at least they have a little bit of styling).

Bah, I guess they stay.

What do you wear for casual, comfortable shoes? Should I keep these?

Bottom line: a keeper, I guess

February 7 - old black lace-ups

2011-02-15T10:41:00.003-05:00

What: size 8 black tie shoes with chunky 2 inch heel
From: Natural SPORT (fairly certain bought at Hecht's)
Purchased: late 90s, early 00s
Cost: $25

The hardest shoe niche for me is the casual shoe. You know, you're wearing jeans, a sweater, you have a bunch of running around to do, maybe it's cold or not great weather, heels are simply not a practical choice. So what do you wear? I really struggle. I don't have many shoes in this niche, particularly ones that you can wear with thick or warm socks. In the summer, you grab a pair of sandals, but what about the fall, winter, and (most of all) early spring? Right now my go tos are short flat boots, which are great for fall and winter but spring still has me stymied.

Anyway, I wore the heck out of these in the early 00s. They are waterproofed, too, so awesome for winter - I wore them all the time for casual Fridays at my non-profit job. But, they have always been too tight - my right foot would often go numb if I laced them too tightly. Not what you want in what is supposed to be casual, easy shoes. I actually put these on to wear one day in January, but they have become simply way too tight and uncomfortable. So I went back to my short black boots. And that's another pair off the rack in Elizabeth's room!

Bottom line: discard

February 6 - another flashback

2011-02-15T10:29:00.002-05:00

What: size 8 platform slides
From: Nine West (probably Hecht's)
Purchased: mid 90s
Cost: $30

Holy smokes, these shoes are dated! Though, funny enough, everything comes around - I was reading some fashion story in some magazine that talked about how "flatforms" were coming back into style. The ridiculous words the industry pushes on us! But of course the article went on to say don't pull out your old ones, the new flatforms have a more defined heel and slimmer profile yada yada yada.

I think this is another pair my sister had first and I copied. It's funny that, at 14 years my junior, she's had far more influence on my personal style than I think I have had on hers. I still recall how, when she was 7 and I was 21, she's the one who told me I needed to start pegging my jeans (another trend that is coming back in style!) and showed me how to do it!

These shoes live in a slot in the hanging bag in my closet. If I lived in Florida I could see wearing them occasionally. They are comfortable. If they didn't have a defined place to live I'd feel more pressure ot get rid of them. For now they stay. Maybe they will be back in style and I can wear them in a retro way?

Bottom line: on the fence, probably keeping

February 5 - nude slingbacks

2011-02-15T10:22:00.003-05:00

What: size 8 nude slingbacks with bow and 2 inch heel
From: Talbots (outlet)
Purchased: late 90s
Cost: $20

Another pair I have had forever, wore the heck out of, and yet haven't worn in years. I used to wear these with a long black skirt that has gold thread flowers, plus a camel/gold-ish twinset. I think the twinset bit the dust a while ago, and I can't imagine wearing that skirt. But, suddenly, nude shoes are very, very in. These shoes border on frumpy, though. But yet, my underbed shoe thing? I store brown shoes in it, and it had a few open slots. So under the bed these go, for now.

Bottom line: keeper

February 4 - old yellow

2011-02-13T11:01:00.004-05:00

What: size 8 yellow sneakers
From: Ralph Lauren (some outlet store)
Purchased: early 00s
Cost: $20

Another pair off the rack in Elizabeth's room - I like the look of these shoes a lot, but haven't worn them in forever and the rubber has become stiff and started to crack. They were never that comfortable, so it's time to let go.

Bottom line: discard