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

April 12 - 200! The End!

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!

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 4 - sometime I have no reason - brown pumps

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

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 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 20 - but they are soooo cool!

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! 

February 6 - another flashback

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

August 1 - old timer

What: Size 8 wooden platforms
From: Candies (Bealls)
Purchased: early-mid 90s
Cost: $25

These are either my sister's shoes, or actually I think she had a pair and I liked them and went out and bought a pair for myself. Oh, so dated! Though, with the right outfit, I could make them work today. I was not wearing the right outfit on Sunday and felt self conscious wearing them. I have the right outfit, but it's slightly too small. I need to keep these around til next summer and evaluate then. The shoes themselves are also a bit tight (where are my toes?!), though they fit better than the picture reflects.

I perhaps should not have worn them all day on Sunday, though. After all my talk of no longer needing orthotics on a regular basis and no more back pain, I seem to have done something to my foot - sprained it in some way, though not in the same way as when I first discovered the need for orthotics. Somewhere between the pink heels on Friday, flip flops on Saturday, and these on Sunday I've definitely wrenched something.

Bottom line: keeper

July 19 - gold sandals

What: size 8, 2 inch heeled gold sandals
From: Sam&Libby's (I think Hecht's)
Purchased: spring '00
Cost: $25 (guessing)

I wore these shoes to my friend B's wedding in Tally. Garden wedding, fair amount of standing on grass for the wedding part. They were uncomfortable then, and are still uncomfortable, so to the discard pile they go.

It's killing me though. I love metallic shoes. And I don't have many gold pairs. OK, well, I have two gold pairs but they are super dressy (and neither have been worn - and ok, so it's three gold pairs with the gold braided thongs - I'm digging a hole here). I have great bronze sandals (including one pair as yet unworn) and a couple of pairs of silver (as yet unworn). So this is a little bit hard. But really, I haven't worn them in forever, and just trying them on for a picture was painful, so they have got to go. Plus they are really not so stylish anymore. If I want gold sandals, Talbots has a pair of wedges:
Only $32! I'm not really cyber-stalking these. If they had a slight platform, I'm snap them up in a second, but I'm hesitant. First, stupid Talbots has now instituted a final sale policy. Can you imagine? And I haven't seen these in store to try on, and I just can't buy final sale without a try on. AND, their shipping costs are ridiculous.

However, they do have a couple of other pairs that are sorely tempting me - these (in pink! a-dor-ab! but $50 for ballet flats is insane) and these (love the purple - I think I'm in a purple phase right now (1 pair bought this year already, but they are suede heels....), so have to be careful. But they are only $30! But still, shipping. Sigh). If I got all three pairs, that would be over $100, and shipping would be free. Hmmm. Well, that leaves the problem of $50 ballet flats, and that's insurmountable. For now.

OK, wow, that got off track.

Bottom line: discard! I now have a bag in my bedroom quickly filling up with the discards. So remember if anything appeals, let me know. I have one pair put aside for TSM and/or my mother, though she hates thong sandals and would never wear them.

July 3 - blah

What: size 38 (euro sizes) brown thick soled, heavy heeled sandals
From: Aldo (bought in Canada)
Purchased: '03/'04
Cost: ~$25

I had a job where I used to travel a lot, and there would be some dead time. Not enough time to get anything really done, or go sightsee, but a good amount of time to duck into stores and look around. I bought these on a trip to Vancouver - I think fall '03, but I could be off by a season or two. Yes, Vancouver is beautiful. I did this shopping in the dead time after dinner, before heading back to the hotel room. When my brother travels, he hangs out at brew pubs and closes down bars and hangs out. I think it's harder for a female traveling alone - I'm not going to go hang out at a bar by myself, as a general rule. I always liked traveling places that had vibrant downtowns with restaurants and shopping. Easier to kill evenings walking in well-lit, populated areas. And if you duck into a store or two or three, well, why not? My colleagues at this particular job also taught me another road warrior tip - pedicures. Another great time killer. Seriously, there are only so many sights you can see.

Anyway, I bought these cause I had nothing like them, and the soft leather and soft footbed (plus slight heel) would, I thought, make them good walking sandals. Eh. They are ok. Too chunky, I think. I think they might be good for fall/spring when you want a more substantial shoe with jeans. It just turns out I rarely wear them. Maybe they are too boring for me. But still fine shoes.

Bottom line: keeper

July 2 - metallics

What: size 8 graphite ankle strap platform sandals
From: Ann Taylor LOFT
Purchased: fall '06
Cost: ~$40

I love metallic shoes. Love them. Not surprisingly, I get daily e-mails from a variety of stores I frequent, and these shoes were prominently featured in that year's LOFT ad campaign, paired with a steel-blue almost turquoise wrap dress. I loved the pictures - both items are a little retro-looking, which I love, but as an extreme bargain shopper, I rarely buy featured items - those are usually snapped up by more fashionable people early on in the season. But for whatever reason, both shoes and dress were still available when things went on sale and I could not resist buying both for a work meeting. I've only worn these shoes like 4 times. When I went through my shoes last week, I did a little bit of sorting and looking into boxes and had completely forgotten about them, sad to say. So I was planning to wear something else to dinner out on Friday (I've decided my rules allow me to wear an already worn pair if I wear a different pair for an outing or a significant part of the day), but went with these instead. They're fine - a little high for regular wear, but they were great.

If there's one good thing about my fake challenge to myself, it's forcing me to actually dress up to match rarely worn shoes. I've always liked the idea of a per wear cost - so now with a 5th wearing I've gotten these to below $10/wear, which is respectable.

Bottom line: keeper