How did I never think of this? Reading Refinery 29 tip on closet design and this hit me over the head:

"If you have deep shoe shelves, then I like to organize/style with one shoe of the pair behind the other; that way, at first glance, you see every pair of shoe you have."

Whooooooa! I have a bunch of second-string shoes that may now see the (artificial) daylight! They don't have to be tucked behind first-stringers.