I’ve been focused a lot on clothing with the wardrobe makeover but a significant amount of my investment pieces to buy this year were shoes – so in May I decided I really needed to focus my next buys on that. As I was packing for the move I realized that I owned a ton of shoes – a ton of inexpensive, very specific might match a few outfits shoes. In reality I tend to have a small rotation of shoes I wear over and over again so while I don’t mind a few fun shoes I want to be able to focus on buying good quality in the shoes I wear the most.
Right before the move we vacationed on 30A and spent one day at the outlets down in Destin; I wasn’t planning on buying these but left with two pairs of crocs which are actually pretty stylish and don’t really look like crocs. Ordinarily I’d never buy these but they are great for when you want to be stylish and will be doing a lot of walking. I’ve also ruined so many shoes over the years in the rain so I like these as my rainy day shoes. Also, my office is at a warehouse so if I’m going to walk the floor I must wear closed toe shoes and these are just practical for walking around on concrete, dusty floors. But keep in mind they are rubber shoes, and one thing that is lost by gaining style are the little holes which allowed in air circulation – my feet get kinda sweaty in these this time of year – since they are rubber I just toss in the washer and dryer to clean with no issue because the little fabric sole does get a little smelly after a few wears.
On the same outlet trip I also purchased a pair of gold wedges from nine west – the outlet price was $32.50. I purchased these to try and hold me over until I find a nicer pair, which I prefer in a close toe. Gold wedges are my most worn shoe as they’re a great neutral and very comfortable. Back in March I saw a perfectly good Cole Hann pair to replace my much loved Lilly ones but at the time I didn’t want to pay the $140 price and hoped I’d find them on sale – and of course now I can’t find them anywhere. These nine west ones are comfortable enough but not the sturdy, year round work appropriate shoes I’m looking for.
My next shoes purchases are my actual “investment” shoes. I selected these black pumps because they feature a low heel, are fairly simple, leather and I like the small bow embellishment that gives them a little personality. I usually wear a regular width shoes but I found these to be a little narrow out of the box – like most leather shoes I am sure they will stretch with wear but if I still had the shipping paperwork I’d probably return them , oh the drama of shopping online.
The last pair I’ve yet to purchase but I have on my list for Shaun to buy for my birthday. Originally I was going to buy some plain nude pumps this year but I figured these would go with most outfits nude pumps would go with but are a little more in style. I really hope these work out.
Right now I feel like I still haven’t perfected this investment shoes thing – I’ve got the crocs to wear if it’s raining or I’m going to be on my feet all day which will help keep my investment shoes nice but I made a big mistake not buying shoes that would have been perfect for me when they were available and not right away returning a shoe that is less than ideal. The hunt for the perfect shoes continues but for now at least I do have decent shoes to wear.