My Shoe Collection

A few weeks ago, NGS wrote a fascinating post detailing her shoe collection. I thought it was really fun to learn all about her collection and what she wears during different seasons. I couldn’t help copying her!

Obviously, my shoe collection is going to look very different than NGS who lives in the Midwest and must have weather-appropriate shoes for those Midwest winters. I live in Florida and, as you’ll see, I have exactly one pair of shoes to wear in the “winter” and last winter, I didn’t wear them a single time.

Another thing to know about my shoe collection is that I have very high-maintenance feet, although my collection doesn’t necessarily reflect that fact. I have high arches (so high that when I do those feet analyses to figure out your arch style, it looks like the heels of my feet and the balls of my feet are on two separate islands with nothing connecting them). I have very weak ankles so I never wear flip-flops or sandals if I’m going to be walking a lot. I have a plantar fibroma under the arch of my left foot (a benign mass that can sometimes hurt when I press on it). And sometimes, if I walk too much in a certain kind of shoe (often sandals or flip-flops), I get this weird stinging pain on the balls of my feet. (I have not been able to figure out why!) In any event, walking isn’t always a fun activity for me, especially if I’m not wearing the right kind of footwear.

I keep my shoes in different areas of my home. I live in an apartment so I don’t have any sort of mudroom or anything like that. (And mudrooms aren’t that common in Florida anyway.) Instead, I have a basket of shoes by the door, a bin in one of my cube bookshelves, a pair of boots in my closet, and house slippers next to my desk.

Let’s first discuss the basket of shoes by the door:

This basket holds all of the shoes I wear most regularly and I like being able to easily find what I need when I’m running out the door.

This first set are all of my flip-flops and sandals, and this is probably a sad collection for most Floridians! I just don’t need to have multiple flip-flops, honestly.

• Fake Birkenstocks – I bought these at Target sometime in 2019 and I very rarely wear them. The problem with these sandals is that the back of the sandal is very, very hard. So, if my foot slips out of the sandal and my heel presses into the back of the sandal, it feels like a thousand knives are stabbing my heel. UNPLEASANT. Would this happen with real Birks? You tell me, you Birkenstocks fanatics.
• Target flip-flops – Y’all, I bought these flip-flops in 2018. !!! And they are still going strong today. They are starting to fray at the edges, but are otherwise in solid condition. While these flip-flops have been good to me, they also don’t have any support so I don’t wear them if I’m going to be walking a lot.
• Target sandals – Can you tell where I do all of my shoe shopping? Ha. I bought these gladiator sandals from Target years ago and again, still holding strong! I only wear these sandals if I’m not going to be walking much. They have zero support and they sometimes make the bottoms of my feet sting if I walk too much in them.

Next up, we have the closed-toe shoe collection!

• Black ballet flats – I can’t remember the last time I wore these flats. They’re from Target (are you surprised?) and they are as comfortable as flats can be for someone with high-maintenance feet. I probably should give them away.
• Leopard-print TOMs – I got these leopard-print TOMs for my birthday last year and I love them! I still haven’t quite broken them in, but I always get lots of compliments when I wear them.
• Dark gray TOMs – My older pair of TOMs that are fully broken in and incredibly comfortable. TOMs are one of the few pairs of shoes that my high-maintenance feet can handle. I can walk for miles and miles in them! However, I don’t wear my TOMs if I’m going to be walking a ton because once my feet swell up from all the walking, my TOMs start to feel tight and the lack of airflow makes my feet start to sweat, and things just get real stinky from there.
• Sneakers – These sneakers are my go-to when I know I’m going to be walking a ton. I also wear them for all of my workouts—spin, long walks, and strength classes. I should probably have them replaced soon, but I’ll do that after my Canada trip since I’m going to need a comfortable, broken-in pair of sneaks to carry me through that trip! This pair is the Asics Gel-Nimbus (with added specialty insoles for high arches), and I think I’ll go for the same brand/type when I replace them because these shoes have been so good to me!

Now, let’s move on to the shoes in one of the bins on my cube bookshelf. These are more “fashion” shoes (I say that with an eyeroll because I am not fashionable, especially about shoes) that I wear infrequently.

First, we have the closed-toe collection:

• White adidas sneakers – I got these sneakers for Christmas and I’ve only worn them twice since then, but I really love them. They’re a great option when I need to wear something more supportive because I’ll be walking a lot, but still want to look a little fashionable.
• Skechers sneakers – I bought these sneakers to wear during a mud race I did in early 2020. I didn’t want to wear my usual sneakers just in case I got too muddy. But I was able to wash off the mud so they look nearly unworn. However, I haven’t worn them once since that race. I should probably add them to my Goodwill bag to donate.
• Sperry’s boat shoes – I got these shoes in a recent Stitch Fix order and liked them enough to keep them. I’ve only worn them once in the five months I’ve had them, so they haven’t gotten a lot of wear. I can’t see myself wearing them during the summer months (which, in Florida, lasts until November) so I’m not sure how much use these shoes will get. I’ll keep them around for now.

Next, there are my fancy shoes!

• “Nude” ballet flats – I used to wear these ballet flats to work all the time, but I don’t think I’ve worn them once in the last few years. I probably should give them away. I like them, but they are a little loose on me so they aren’t super comfortable. Plus, they have a shiny look to them that makes them feel a little too fancy to wear in everyday life.
• “Nude” heels – I bought these for some event years and years ago. Maybe it was my brother’s wedding in 2012?! If so, that’s crazy I’ve had these heels for a decade now. They’re my go-to when I need something fancy to wear, but they aren’t very comfortable for me since I’m not used to wearing heels.
• Brown wedges – I bought these wedges last summer for my cousin’s wedding. I’ve wanted a pair of wedges for a long time because I’ve always heard they’re more comfortable than heels. I’ve only worn them once (to the wedding) and they were fine. Nothing I’d wear regularly, but good enough if I need something dressy.

NOTE: “Nude” is the best term I can come up with for the flats and heels, but I know it’s not the best language because the color nude is different for everyone based on their skin tone.

In a high shelf in my walk-in closet, I have my one pair of “winter” shoes, which are my brown boots. My boots always have to have a wide calf because otherwise, they won’t fit. I bought these boots a few years ago and I try to only wear them if the weather dips below 50 degrees (it’s okay, you can laugh at that). I love these boots, though. They’re comfortable, I can walk around in them for miles, and they make me feel snazzy.

Lastly, there are my house slippers! These are the most recent addition to my shoe collection, as I just got them last week. I bought them to wear when I’m standing at my desk since standing barefoot on a hardwood floor does not feel good. Some of you suggested Birkenstocks for this purpose, but I went with a simple house slipper because I think it will be more comfortable for me. I didn’t want something too fuzzy/cozy, since it can get warm in my apartment during the day, and these slippers have great support (including arch support!)

So that’s my shoe collection! There are a few additions/substitutions I want to make to it; namely, it’s time to throw away those Target flip-flops and sandals and invest money into something that offers better support. In NGS’ post, she talked about her Vionic flip-flops, saying that they are the “Best flip flops I’ve ever owned. If you have bad feet, Vionic is the way to go for your flip flop needs.” SIGN ME UP. I have a few Vionic flip-flops/sandals in my Zappos cart; I just need to bite the bullet and order them! (And if you have any other suggestions for good flip-flop/sandal brands that offer good support for someone with weak ankles and high arches, I’m all ears.)

Do you have high-maintenance feet or are you one of those people that can walk for miles in flip-flops?