buy new shoes

I bought two pairs of really cute shoes at Charlotte Russe, which is a store I’d never bothered to shop in before because the merchandise looked a bit “young”... oh, what I’ve been missing out on! The clothes didn’t do anything for me, but the shoes are fun, and oh so affordable. So… three pairs to go before I complete this goal.

So when I last left this goal, I had bought five pairs and planned to buy five more. Well, it’s been months and months, so I’m sure I’ve bought five since then, but I think I will leave my buying goal at five since I could still use some more style. I recently had some great shoe luck at Goodwill, finding a pair of barely-worn Ralph Lauren boots for $4, and also a pretty pair of ballet flats with Asian-style sequined embroidery (unfortunately they gave me heel blisters, but hopefully the shoes will break in well). I’m not counting those, though… the goal resumes today!

Still mad about the adorable pair I couldn’t buy at Kohl’s this week… really funky leopard-print wedges with peep toes. Not my style at all, but for some reason I worshiped them. There were two pairs left on the clearance rack, but in each shoebox, the left shoe was a size 9 and the right shoe was a size 8. How the hell does that work?

So my mother gave me some stuff she’d bought that she wanted to return to the store, since she was going out of town for a month and didn’t have a chance to go to the store before she left. And she told me I could use the store credit from the returns for myself, because she knows I’m broke right now! Moms can be so useful sometimes. ;) So I found some nice Nike running shoes on a really good sale, and the very last pair left just happened to be my size (which is the most common women’s size, so that almost never happens). Hooray! Now I’ve got decent shoes to wear to the gym instead of my cheapo discount-store sneakers.

So with that… five down, five to go!

So I was out shopping for Christmas gifts and wandered into the shoe section at Value City, which is a discount store that I’d never been to until a friend took me there last week. Boy, have I EVER been missing out! I saw a gorgeous pair of black knee-high Nine West boots for $70 (retail $150) but couldn’t quite talk myself into buying them because they were impractical for everyday wear. Called my mom to ask her opinion, though, and she offered to make them a Christmas gift… hooray! I also found a great pair of black calf-high Anne Klein boots, which wound up only being $25 (retail also $150) after a 2nd-pair-half-price discount. Then I spotted an adorable pair of ballet slipper-style shoes with a funky small heel, but was slightly bummed to see that only pink was available in my size (as I said in my last entry, I’ve already got a fun pair of pink shoes). When I saw they were marked down to only $10, though, into my cart the pinkies went!

Problems with this shopping trip: still only bought colors I already had. I needed the Anne Klein boots, but could really have done without the Nine West boots in favor of some more practical everyday pairs. They are just too HOT, though! Is that bad? The next thing I need is some brown boots or shoes… but that’ll have to wait until after the holidays unless Santa brings my ass a winning lottery ticket! I am officially broke (and just found out that our company’s holiday bonuses aren’t coming out until sometime in January… fat lot of good that does us)!

Well, that means I’m one pair away from the original goal I set of five new pairs. I’m thinking, though, that maybe I should bump it up to ten before I cross this off… still need to add more variety to my shoe wardrobe before I’ll be satisfied. So: four down, six to go! Bring on the after-Christmas sales.

Oh, how I need new shoes! I have a lovely bunch of summer sandals and a decent selection of dressy shoes, but I am SEVERELY lacking in the “casual winter shoes” department. I’ve never been one of those chicks who has a pair of shoes for every outfit, but my shoe wardrobe is a nightmare right now.

I just started my shoe-buying by picking up a pair of sneakers for $10 at Kmart to replace the ones I’ve been wearing for the last couple of years. The old ones were in BAD shape: nearly falling apart, and frankly, needing a spray of deodorizer every time I wore them or they’d be smelling pretty funky at the end of the day. I shouldn’t have worn them as long as I did, really, but I was very attached to them because they were so comfortable. Now, alas, they will meet the trash can!

I still need to invest in a really good pair of high-quality running shoes, but I am too broke for that right now, and not really exercising anyway because it’s too cold and I can’t afford a gym membership. These can wait for a bit; the cheapo ones will do for everyday wear.

The other thing I really need ASAP is a nice pair of high-heeled black boots. Like my old sneakers (but not quite so bad) I’ve worn my favorite black boots out because I have a very hard time finding ones that I like: calf-high, skinny heel, pointy toe that DOESN’T wind up flipping upward like an elf shoe, not crazy expensive. Should be easy to find, but it really isn’t.

Eventually I’d like to pick up some inexpensive but fun heels in colors other than black (well, and pink… got that covered) as well as some stylish flats. I’ve never really gotten into flats… always worn heels, even though I’m already 5’9” in my bare feet. There’s no reason I should wear high heels all the time, though; I need to make flats more of a habit!

I think I will check this goal off when I have accumulated five new pairs of winter shoes. One down, four to go!