Friday, June 22, 2012

10 pairs of essential shoes?

I feel in my gut that 10 pairs might be a bit much for a traveling wardrobe but this is my first attempt at deciding what to take and what to leave behind:


1. Metallic peep-toe wedges. These are the closest thing to a nude shoe I currently own. The color description on these was 'pewter' but to my eye they look like soft rose gold. I'm pretty confident that most of the places I will be traveling to will be pretty warm, if not actually tropical.

2. Strappy woven wedge sandals. These are surprisingly comfortable for being as high as they are. Not that I would want to walk for miles in them. But if I anticipated needing to walk for miles I'd change shoes.

3. Pointy-toed business pumps. The closest thing to a classic shoe that I own. They'd work with skirt suits and A-line skirts. They would also probably look great with a great pair of wide-legged or flared trousers- neither of which I own now, but which I would like to. This particular pair was thrifted for $5.00. I am not familiar with the brand but they look a bit cheap to me (plastic heels, boring buckle decoration) so this is a pair I'd like to upgrade eventually. I'm including them here because a) I can not afford the upgrade right now and b) they are otherwise the most professional looking shoes I own.

4. Peep-toe d'orsay pumps. I love these. They have a distinctly 1950's feel to them. They work for day or evening. They look great with full skirts, which I prefer to wear in hot climates. The peep-toe is more like a peep-hole in the top of the shoe than a cut out so not a lot of toe shows. These shoes are way more me, and also much better quality shoes than the #3 pumps.

5. Chunky stacked heel pumps. These are Dr. Scholls and thus, quite comfortable. They have a kind of funky 1970's vibe and they look very nice with opaque tights. I have a couple of dresses that I prefer to wear with these shoes because the combination seems to take the feminine edge off of the dresses.


6. Black kitten heels. These are comfortable, practical, and professional. I can walk it them. They have a good heel height for wearing with pants. If it came to a choice between these and the #3 'business pumps' I'd choose these.

7. Sneakers for walking around, sight seeing, hanging out. These look kind of okay with skirts too.

8. Sliver flower flats. I've got to have a pair of ballet flats and these are incredibly comfortable and the silver metallic color goes with everything. No brainer.

9. Black hippie sandals. Chris and I each bought a pair of these hand made sandals (his are flip flops) at a Davis event we affectionately call "hippie fest." It's actually called the Whole Earth Festival  but hippie fest pretty well sums it up. Any-who, these sandals are made by hand, in California, of incredible quality and so comfortable I have worn them to walk 5 plus miles without an issue (other than being exhausted but that's another story.) I also think that they make my feet look enormously wide and ungainly but I am able to get over this because they are otherwise superb. Plus they also look very much like the 'Roman sandals' I wore as a kid with my school uniform so they have nostalgia value as well.

10. Woven top-stitched pumps with teeny tiny heels. Comfortable, sweet, almost flats. But here again in a contest between the #6 kitten heels and these I've got to go with the kitties.

Even if I eliminate #3 and #10 is that still to many? I get heart palpitations thinking about having to make due with less but I may have to. What would you cut?

7 comments:

  1. Well I am wondering if you will be taking 2 or more pieces of luggage. How will you fit all of these shoes with your clothes? If it were me I would have #6 black heels,silver flower flats, and sneaks. That is all I would pack. Id rather wear the shoes more frequently and pack more clothes.

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    1. I'm taking a garment bag and a small suitcase (really a large rolling carry-on which is too heavy for me to easily lift into the overhead when it's full so I will check it) and I'm planning to get one of those small super maneuverable rolling carry-ons that I will be able to throw in the overhead bin by myself. I'm trying very hard to imagine life without all these shoe options. I know I'm going to have to cut this number (at least) in half. I just can't quite wrap my head around that yet. I think part of my problem is that I'm very nervous about starting this job and being away for so long and I can't let myself be worried about that, so I'm worrying about shoes instead.

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  2. These are a lot of shoes to take traveling. Could you make do with just one of the silver shoes?

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    1. I know this is a lot. But I'm supposed to show up at training prepared to travel for six months without knowing to where, exactly, that travel might take me. Exciting. Scary. One of the things I'm most excited about is being liberated from my dependence on 'stuff', like my shoe collection, but making that break is turning out to be easier said than done. I probably could make do with just the three pairs Adrienne recommended. I think I'm going to have do psych myself out by doing something like eliminating one pair a day and giving myself some time to adjust to the idea of living with less.

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  3. okay I understand nervousness over a new job. I thought the trip was just for a week or two. You can always have your spouse send you shoes through the mail if you pack too light. OR you could go shopping in the new location during the down time, there might be some really great thrift store spots there.

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    1. Yeah, I have to keep reminding myself that wherever I am going it's not going to be some undeveloped frontier with no shopping. And, yes, I'm already I'm already imagining thrift shopping all over the world!

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  4. I think you know where to cut! I do get the feeling that these are an awful lot of black shoes - do you have any coloured ones? I'm a bit of a coloured shoe junkie...hee hee.

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