I've been on YLF 3 months this week. I've especially liked feeling more confident about my choices. Progress includes a haircut, no need for specs, bras are next (it's a long way to Nordies). I thrilled my DH by replacing all my gear t-shirts with women's cuts. Had no idea how much he didn't like the t-shirts from all the national parks.
Observations: 1) I really don't go anywhere. I have been out of the county three times in three months. I gave a talk, went to a funeral, a business association meeting and a dinner. 90 days, 9-12 outfits that aren't based on hunting pants. (Why yes, I'm wearing them now, in the Open Country pattern. Don't shame me. They are nearly indestructible and have pockets that I need on photo shoots and for chores.) So my first impression that what I really need are small, tightly edited capsules seems right. Summer urban travel, fall/winter urban travel, funeral and wedding/black-tie event/party.
2) the bunion surgery worked, but I'm still not wearing heels. 1" for anything I want to actually walk in is my limit. I could go a little higher for an event shoe, but even then, at most of those things I end up standing for hours. Orthotics at least 50% of the time.
3) My current shoe options are very few. So I reject outfit possibilities because I haven't got the right shoes I am willing to wear. Plus side: a few more well-chosen shoe options and I will have more than enough outfits.
4) I realized that one reason I love my Ed Hardy sneaks so much is that they are colorful and fab up my solid clothes. I want more fun and color in my shoes, fewer "practical because they are neutral" boring shoes.
5) My four season climate has a really short summer. If I wore non-gear sandals to every summer event, I'd wear them 8-10 times a year. I need to concentrate on closed toe shoes.
6) My summer "city uniform" starts with one of my dyed denim jackets, jeans and a white blouse. Swap bottoms for a skirt or blouse for tees. My winter uniform starts with sweaters or wool blazers over jeans. I discovered I do have a couple LBDs. My winter capsule includes some more tailored work-wear separates, but I have no idea where I would wear such a thing anymore.
7) My closet holds 12 pairs of shoes. I can store a couple pairs of boots elsewhere. That may not seem like a lot, but I've never in life had more than 6 pair of shoes in rotation even when I worked 8-5. Subtract out the 2 slots for my gear shoes (really gross ones stay outside) and that's still 10 pair of shoes to wear with 40 outfits a year. I probably could get by with just Angie's recommendations modified to accommodate my low-heel requirements and a few other needs, like travel shoes for tagging along on DH's conferences. I want to dump all the current under-performers (like four make-do pairs black dressy shoes I've accumulated) to build my PPP shoe wardrobe with a reasonable CPW potential.
What I want in the 12 slots (bold means keep what I have):
2: gear Keen sandals (no pic)
3: purple Ed Hardy sneakers (#2)
4: blue-grey Naot travel/walking shoes (#3)
5: green sandals upgrade (ones I have are #4)
6: ?black not too casual shoe?
7: ?coral/tomato red slipper/loafer (I want to adopt Angie's fatigue/red combo)?
8:?something like a Bass suede oxford? a cobalt shoe? more green?
9: ?snow-worthy black bootie (this is probably a need)?
10: ?neutral dressy sandal/shoe for the black-tie events?
11: ?
12: ?
I threw in my palette (#1) for spring/summer (upper) and fall/winter. If you got this far, here are some questions: What am I missing? more booties? What dressy sandals/shoes neutral shoes for someone with silver jewelry? A snakeskin loafer like the Petty boot only lower? Bright yellow? more purple? Do you wear perforated shoes in the fall? What should I shop for first? Am I overthinking the whole thing? I've never worn tall boots except cowboy boots, and they don't count against the 12. Is that something I should budget for? Yeah, pretty much clueless.
Seven new pairs of shoes that pass PPP muster seems like a dream, not a goal. It isn't going to happen overnight. But I would be very happy to get your feedback and help to develop a plan for the long haul. Thank you for reading this very long post.
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