You need to know exactly what you currently have and how it fits before you can make informed decisions about what to add to your wardrobe. No shortcuts. Keeping your assessment of all wardrobe items current is especially important for footwear because our feet work very hard.
Now is as good a time as any to edit and review your footwear collection and pass on shoes that are worn out, no longer work with your style preferences, or are uncomfortable. Do not expect footwear that was comfortable last season to be equally comfortable this season. Feet change, which is why you have to re-fit your footwear every season, or after not wearing a pair for a while.
I don’t compromise on footwear comfort because unhappy feet ruin my day. As I recently mentioned in my style goals update, I can no longer walk comfortably in heels that are higher than an inch and a half, so I’ve had to pass on many pairs of shoes this year. But I’ve happily and frequently worn most of the shoes that I’m passing on, which makes things easier.
The collection shows the exact styles that I’ve passed onto Dress for Success in 2017. All in reasonably good condition. With most of them the heels are too high or too heavy. I think my Timberland sneakers caused my toenails to tear because of the way they rubbed those exact spots after wearing them for a while. The gold oxfords are brand new but not returnable. They turned out to be half a size big, and I can’t get them to fit comfortably.
There are four pairs of less-than-comfortable shoes that I’m keeping. The two pairs of booties with two inch heels are the perfect height to wear with my bell-bottom jeans and sailor trousers. They only come out at night when I sit for most of the evening, so I’ll manage. The rose gold pumps are my only occasion shoes, and therefore a temporary placeholder. I’ll pass them on when I’ve found a suitable replacement. The wedges are a sentimental purchase from Tokyo that I can’t part with just yet. I enjoy looking at the floral pumps, so for now they’ll continue to decorate my closet.
Dressy and casual boots for Autumn and Winter are my shopping priority, and I already made great headway at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. As much as I try to make the right footwear decision upon purchase, there’s a bit of luck involved too. Sometimes footwear isn’t as comfortable as I thought it would be, which I find out only after I’ve committed to them and put them through their paces. Sometimes they can work with a little doctoring, stretching, padding, BodyGlide, and breaking in, which is good news. Or I simply make peace with the mistake and hope not to make it again.
