Do I have too many shoes!

According to my husband, I have too many shoes;  my new 10 shoe hanging rack has only 6 spaces filled – with the exception of a pair of boots which don’t fit in there (these I have hanging on a coat hanger) and joggers which stay in my gym bag when not being worn.  Is that too many pairs of shoes?

What he probably doesn’t realise is that most woman own on average 20 pairs of shoes each and only regularly wear at least 5 of them!  The top 5 reasons why shoes are unworn are as follows:

 

  1. Too uncomfortable
  2. Have an impractical heel 
  3. They don’t match any outfits
  4. They were expensive so they can’t be damaged 
  5. They were an unwanted gift

Of course I would have more shoes (I guess) if I could find shoes that are comfortable and able to fit the orthotics which I need to wear in all of my footwear.   A friend of mine the other day was shocked when she realised my problem (she thought I was just being fussy when it came to purchasing footwear), this may explain it a little better with answering the 5 points above…

 
  • Almost every shoe I try on is uncomfortable and when trying on shoes, it can take hours to find just one pair that suits and fits my feet.
  • Heels are a big no no for me and near impossible; my foot can not physically bend and anything higher than 2½ inches is definitely not worth looking at or even trying on.
  • As for matching my outfits; I have one pair of heels and these are black
  • As for too expensive, what exactly is that? All my shoes are expensive due to having to buy orthotic friendly footwear.  I MUST wear them, therefore they are NOT cheap.
  • I have had only one pair of shoes “gifted, and they were (and still are) brilliant for my feet.

So now that I have explained my predicament when it comes to the amount of shoes in my wardrobe, perhaps I should show you the shoes I DO own.  As I have mentioned in the past, I am No “Imelda Marcos” and some of my older styled shoes can be seen here too.  

All my shoes were around the $200 and above mark (except for the Rivers below).  

The Kumfs are at least 5 years old (Kumfs is now Zeira Shoes).

Munro – over 10yrs old.

Bared – about 3 – 4 years old.

 

FRANKiE4 – see here.

Zeira ~ IDAHO & Zeira ~ DOXIE (both about 6 – 12 months old)

Finding the above sandals was hard work.  I had to go all the way to Tassie to find the IDAHO pair.  The DOXIE I literally spent ALL day trying on at least 20 pairs of shoes before buying the above.  

As one can see, I do wear ALL my shoes; none are left idle or unworn (except during the different seasons of the year).   When it comes to a choice of heels to wear with that perfect outfit, I only have one pair and everything goes with the colour black right?  

Just before Christmas last year, I thought to treat myself with another pair of heels from Bared (a Christmas and birthday present), however I was VERY disappointed and close to tears when I found out they don’t make this particular style any more (I am lucky I didn’t make the long trip into the store and phoned them first).  
 
One issue with orthotics is that they make the foot and heel rise slightly out of back of the shoe when walking . The foot can also slide forward due to the orthotics and the only way to avoid this is to wear lace up shoes (very tightly) or shoes with a buckles as these can be fastened tightly to hold the foot in the shoe.  Most orthotic shoes made today have a Velcro strap, which does not support or enable the shoe to be tightened enough around the foot. Fortunately the DOXIE above seems to have enough support and I CAN tighten them accordingly.
 

Heels on the other hand are hard to come by, and if you look at most orthotic friendly footwear stores their is not a great variety or many ‘pretty’ looking  high heels.   I need heels with a “Mary Jane” strap and it must be a buckle, those ‘pretend‘ velcro buckles are no good or strong enough to hold my left foot in place.

Shoe shopping is very depressing for those of us that need quality, comfortable and PRETTY orthotic friendly footwear.  I am however determined to find something and I just hope it is sooner rather than later, as my black heel straps are starting to wear out.  

Therefore only time will tell and any new pair of shoes just might change my life!

 

 

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