How many pairs of sandals? - YouLookFab Forum

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Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

How many pairs of sandals?

Sanet

I am not a very active member here so feel very guilty for asking, but your advice will be appreciated!

I live in South Africa and can wear sandals for about 8 months of the year. I currently have about 13 pairs - some new, some a bit older - but just feel that I shouldn't need so many and if I could live with less pairs I could probably buy a few new on trend and better quality pairs every season.

I am a stay at home mom and wear flat sandals only.

Which styles, colours and quantity would you suggest to see me through a season?

Thank you!

Dressing

17 replies

Latest reply was from Kiwimom

Joy

Veteran

Your climate can justify a wardrobe of sandals. I'll bet you don't have a collection of boots. Enjoy your sandals. I have nearly zero sandals for health reasons.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Your climate can absolutely justify many pairs of sandals. Make sure you love the styles you have though. A closet edit may be in order.

As for styles - perhaps go back 6 months on YLF to get inspiration as we are in the depths of Winter boots on this side. The Ozzie YLF'ers share your climate though, so perhaps they will chime in.

JAileen

Veteran

Wow! Eight months of summer.. I live in a true four season climate, and have seven or eight pairs of flat sandals that I can think of off the top of my head. If your sandals have a place in your closet, and aren't causing you any grief, then I don't see why you should feel the need to pare down.

Maneera

(website)

Veteran

I live in 8mo this of summer climate too.

In all honesty, I would say 10-15 pairs, though I have far far more. I can justify this explanation too as no matter how casual your lifestyle may be, we all have gradations of casual wear.

Sandals u wear with a pretty frock will be different from sandals u wear to walk to school or sandals u wear at home. Then, you'll also need a few basic colours. And then a couple of dressy sandals that may be flat but a touch prettier and upscale for outings.

AJ

Veteran

My dominant season is summer and since heat leaves little variety for clothing, I like to focus on sandals and bags to make me feel stylish. This past summer I rotated between three pairs for casual shorts and jeans:

black strappy flats (not pictured)

floral berk-ish

metallic nudes

For dressy casual:

silver metallic
black elastic strap wedges
black and cream t-strap
black ankle strap
orange ankle strap
tan
navy elastic wedge

I have black hair so black footwear is important to bookend. The tan and metallc nudes were nice to provide a longer legline. The silver was used with my white jeans. Navy to match my dark blue items. The floral and orange were nice pops of color.

So definitely look at your usual activities and what types of sandals would best suit those and then go with the dress level and colors that best suit your own coloring and wardrobe. Hope that helps!

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Liz

Veteran

If you're wanting fewer so you can buy higher quality, the one trick I've found most useful is to make sure that when I do buy, the sandals are not similar to a pair I already have -- they need to create a new look, not be essentially the same look already in my closet. I sat down and listed the "slots" I needed covered, and then made sure I had those slots filled before I bought any "sort of duplicate" pairs. Here are my slots:

"sneaker substitute" -- a gearish sandal that can handle heavy walking
casual trendy to wear with pants and shorts
skin-tone to wear with casual skirts
brightly colored to wear as a statement
dark colored to wear with casual skirts
metallic to wear with casual skirts

Once you start identifying your slots, you can see how far even eight to ten pairs would go -- fewer than you have now, but still good variety.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

13 doesn't seem too crazy to me if you can wear them eight months a year. This is what I had at the end of the summer here before I got rid of a couple that were long in the tooth: one pair of black flat sandals, one pair of black sandals with a bit more heel (a bit dressier), a pair of brown flat sandals, a pair of Tevas (athletic), two pairs of flip-flops, black and cream, and a pair of white Birk-knockoffs. I like having a couple pair that are casual and comfy, a couple pair that are a bit nicer and work with skirts, and at least one pair that is in a current shape/trend (kind of the sandal version of fun sneakers or flats). I wear mine nearly non-stop for two months and most of the time for a couple more, depending on how the weather goes.

minimalist

Veteran

Liz has great tips.

I, too, can wear sandals 8 months/year. I'm moderately minimalist, but never skimp on footwear because I need arch support. I wouldn't call any of my sandals on-trend, so my experience might not prove helpful to you.

2 Mephisto Helens, both black (wear in rotation)
2 Think! Soso one black with heel strap, one metallic open back
1 Stuart Weitzman black casual high heel, small platform

To be more strictly minimalist, I could live well with just one Mephisto pair and just the black Think! pair, and without the heels. But I rotate the first for hygiene and to have one while the other is being refurbished, and I use the metallic Think! sandals year-round as my houseshoes.

(Liz' post reminds me that if I were in a more outdoorsy area, I would definitely like an athletic sandal as well; I've hiked long distances in Tevas. I would also like a stylish sandal that gave Sanita-level arch support.)

What sandals do you have now? Have you calculated (approximate) CPW? (=cost per wear; some say price per wear.) What are your reasons for reducing your number of sandals?

DonnaF

Veteran

Sandals need to be rotated in order to keep them smelling sweet or at least not smelling at all! Thirteen pairs doesn't seem excessive if you wear them 2/3 of the year. For what it's worth, I agree with AJ and Liz in terms of thinking about your functional and style needs.

Adela

In my book, there is no such thing as too many shoes :-). I have many pairs of sandals myself despite being able to wear them only 3-4 months per year. Maybe we could make better suggestions about the new styles if we could see a photo/photos of what you have now?

rachylou

Veteran

I agree, that seems a reasonable number, unless you don't mind buying more often. Also, I'm in trouble because I only wear sandals for three months out of the year and have maybe 10 pairs, lol. Can you wear slides? Or do you prefer a strap?

Sanet

Thank you everyone. I got many great ideas from your posts.

I think my next step is a shoe edit and then making sure any new sandals don't look similar to what I already have.

anne

Veteran

Minimally speaking, I think, you could get by with four
1. One dressy pair
2 One smart casual
3 One everyday casual
4 One beach/ swimming pool appropriate.

But they might need replacing during a season if they wear out, so you might want more to spread the wear.

That doesn't allow anything for different colours etc, which is a legitimate reason to have more.

I"m from Australia, wear them around 5 months of the year (though not always to work, which cuts down on wear somewhat)
I have 7 pairs - some are heels.

Glory

Veteran

I have a very short sandal wearing season and yet I have about 15 pair. They are small and don't take much room. They range from flip flops, birks, to nicer going out sandals.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I have about the same amount and a 6-month wearing period, so I don't think this is unreasonable. I like that my shoes tend to last because I'm not wearing 2-3 pairs into the ground and I'm rotating them more. It's nice to have a range of flats vs heels and dressy vs casual.

Elizabeth P

Veteran

I'm kind of laughing here, as I have half as many summer months, and probably twice as many pairs of sandals. Hey, I love shoes, and in particular summer shoes - so many pretty colours

So no help whatsoever.

Kiwimom

I don't think you've got too many sandals. As others have pointed out, in a warm climate you need to rotate your sandals to avoid stinky feet

If you want to start buying better quality footwear, my strategy is to buy one good quality pair of leather sandals a season instead of several cheap pairs. Over time you will be able to remove the cheaper sandals as they get tatty and you'll find the more expensive ones will last longer.

I always spend more on my shoes than clothes - I find my shoes will still be going strong and I'll still be getting compliments on them after 5+ years.