In the winter, I get so tired of boots. My feet get tired of wearing them, even if I rotate from one pair to the next. The rest of me gets tired of the time and care necessary to wear them. I love my boots, but enough is enough.

I’ve been looking for flat slip-ons for some time now. The slip-on factor is especially crucial. I have no physical problems leaning over or using my hands to put shoes on or anything. I just don’t want to sometimes, and I’ve never been impressed with the idea of breaking the backs of my shoes to make mules of them.

I recently made one more assault on shoe stores online, came up dry, so hit up zalando again. I think I’ve ordered a dozen pairs of shoes from them this year, easily. I’ve learned that Tamaris’ last is apparently shaped differently than my feet, and that shoes that look spunky and “different” in a good way online might look just the opposite irl. I’ve mostly been looking at browns, burgundies, and the likes, but I haven’t restricted colors in my searches. It’s a good thing I haven’t, because I’ve come across one or maybe two winners, and neither of them is a shade of brown or black.

#1 is deep navy kiltie loafers from Reiker. They fit just right—I forgot to take them off a couple times while doing outfit pix this morning. That is very unusual for me. I’m glad they aren’t black, and I like the classic details and shiny finish. I think they ride that line between classic and unassuming and “HEY; LOOK AT ME” that I like so much.

#2 is a little more “iffy”. Good thing Zalando has a 100 day return policy! They are that thing I said I’d never do again—fashion sneakers! The horror. I clicked on by at my first whim to look closer, but then realized that I’ve talked about green shoes, whether it’s Old Skool Vans 2+ years ago or otk boots this past fall, for a long time, so I decided to give them a try. They fit well and seem to have enough padding. I expect to wear them with jeans and shorts, also maybe with some of my short summer dresses. We will see. One thing I don’t like about them is the name embroidered on the side. I may take a seam ripper to that. I also think I’ll get vanity laces, even though not needing to tie them is one of the things I like about the shoes.