black peep toes

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

New booties

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! 

April 8 - forgotten slingbacks

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 3 - really can't resist a bargain

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 1 - glen plaid

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 30 - t-strap replacement

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!

March 28 - frustrating black pumps

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

 

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

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.

March 23 - black patent peep toes

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

 

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 19 - there is really no hope for me at all

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

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 16 - black peep toes

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 12 - replacement #2

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 9 - uh oh!

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!

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

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

February 28 - another black slingback

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 22 - boots the fourth

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