April Edits: Shoe Purge

Last month's edits were only a few clothing items, but lots and lots of shoes. Aiiiieeeeeee!!!

(Isn't it weird how attached we can get to our shoes? I have no problem ditching a blouse that doesn't work anymore or is torn or stained, but to let go of a pair of scuffed or tight shoes feels like abandoning my pets. My babies, noooooo!)

There were a couple of worn/stained items that got edited out:



This Gap tee made it a couple of summers, but the white is dingy now and it's looking pretty beat up. Thanks for the memories, t-shirt!



The Bobeau open cardigan in teal has been worn many, many, many times since its purchase a few years ago from Nordstrom. The blue is pretty faded and starting to pill. Its purple twin lives on, however.

Onto the shoes! I went through all the winter shoes, editing out those with the following criteria:
-too scuffed to repair
-unworn because the style no longer works with my outfits
-unworn because they just don't fit right
-too dated



I always loved these Clarks wedge heels, although my husband and Shopping Friend never did. But I had to concede that my feet slid forward too much in them as the day progressed and by the end my toes were always sore and smushed. I need a good beige/chestnut wedge work-appropriate heel, but I can do better in comfort than this. Getting rid of these will force me to find a new pair.



Please God, let these be the last Target shoes I EVER BUY. Target shoes are uncomfortable, no matter how cute they are. I wore these once, and then tried and rejected them every time after. Stop, Kristen. Just stop.



And another pair of Target shoes that have outlived their usefulness. Okay, these are actually sort of comfortable -- but I also have them in red and they don't look as worn and dingy as the yellows. I wore those yesterday and they worked out very well!

Still, I am not buying any more Target shoes. Ever.



The cruelest cut of them all. My amazingly perfect Sam Edelman leopard-print embellished flats. I tried so hard to ignore how worn out they were, but I couldn't turn a blind eye forever. See what I mean?





Farewell, my lovelies! Thank you for the years of comfort and easy style!



I wasted a long time trying to make this pewter Anne Klein metallic loafers work, but the long toe just looked dowdy on my foot every time I put them on. These are another I had to get rid of to allow myself to find another silver-y metallic flat that works better.



Worn out and crowding out the possibility of finding new black flats, these ribbon-candy leather flats from DSW also needed to go. The tips were tipping up on themselves. But boy they were cute!





These blue Sofft mary jane suede heels were so lovely, but a little tight around the toes, and they worked far better when I wore dresses all the time. I could never quite get them to work with my pants. Someone at Goodwill is going to score when they see these.



These were also from my dress era; they seem like they should have transitioned with me to the pants era, but they always looked too chunky. Also the heels were kind of cheap and would spread out when I walked -- and as I got heavier, it felt more and more like the heel might actually go flying off. Time to go!

Shopping Friend might remember this next pair; they were the very first "heel" shoes she convinced me to buy. A whole inch of kitten heel, hahahaha!





The ultra-pointy-toe is much too dated, and the tips are way too scuffed for repair. But they were my gateway shoe into heels, and I will always remember them fondly for that.



It was really, really hard to part with these Nicole Blessed shoes. The heel height was perfection, and they were crazy comfortable. Plus the colors never failed to make me smile. But I scuffed the hell out of the toes early on, and despite multiple trips to the shoe cobbler to try to buff back to shape, they were just ruined.



I may try to find this brand and style again. I remember they came in other great color combos, even a neutral!




Hahahahaha, RIGHT!! Did you think I would get rid of any of these Franco Sarto Deers? Not gonna happen for a few more seasons, my friends. If ever.

Anyway, this is what I am left with for three-season work-appropriate shoes. I did not include winter booties, which are put away until the fall, or my still-awesome summer sandal collection. My new job forbids wearing sandals to work, so it's the sad little shoe collection below that needs attention.

Wow, getting rid of all the ones above really makes me see how I have let my shoe collection get so boring and unmaintained these last few years. I went from Deers to sandals last year, and didn't replenish any of the basics. Now it shows...



(George was helping out during this.)



Wow. These are all ugly and dated.



Better, but still needs some punching up.

Needs:
non-black heels
colorful flats
metallic flats
wedges for summer
nude pumps

So that's where my shopping efforts will lie in May and June. I did a number of summer/spring clothing purchases in April, so I am all set there. (That's the next post tomorrow._

When was the last time you took an honest inspection of your shoes?

March Edits and Purchases

Edits this month:






This purple top did not survive the Color Project: Red initiative. I am slowly purging as many wide-neck tops as I can; I hate, hate, hate that neckline so prevalent in plus-size shirts.



This LOTF Outlet tee is a triplet; I kept the white one after much dithering after the White Project, and the version I have in light purple is going nowhere. This one has gotten a lot of wear, especially last summer, but it's the last unworn item of Color Project: Red and it's been hanging in my closet for weeks.  I could not find anything to wear with it! I finally tried it on the other day, and realized the short hem is what has been bugging me about it. So out it goes.



My broken circle necklace! Sob.





This melon cardigan had a nice run, but in the end the cheap fabric got too sprung out.





This coral shortsleeve faux-wrap from Forth & Towne had a long, long run. I'm going to miss it, but it's too faded, stretched out, and pilly.



Nothing wrong with this pretty lilac cardigan except it is too small for me.



Ditto this Gap Outlet purple cardigan with grey stripes.




This Target tank suffered the same fate. Pity, because the ruffled edging made it look great for a layering top for work.

Purchases were a few solid pieces: the birthday gifts, of course, and a few pullover sweaters in various weights and styles.



I've pretty much worn everything on the blog already.












Still on the hunt for some new pants: I have orders being returned and/or exchanged from Eddie Bauer, Lands End and Gap. I am striking out all over! Sigh.

Next month *gulp* I am considering reviewing and editing my shoe collection. I don't want to, but it's time. I have quite a few pairs that I haven't worn in years, and it's time to acknowledge I probably won't wear them again. Think good thoughts for me!

What did you buy this month?

February Edits and Purchases

I culled out of my closet in February...



Just one of the Color Project: White tops. For now.



This canteloupe colored long Gap cardigan is one of TWO canteloupe/coral long cardigans I somehow owned, and this one was too small in the shoulders. Time to go.



I did not even wait until the end of the Color Project: Red to get rid of this. I tried multiple times to find an outfit for this, and hated every attempt. Too boxy on its own, and the tones were not right under any of my sweaters, even the black and grey ones. See ya!



This edit hurt, mainly because I just bought both of these jeans a few months ago. I got dazzled by a recommendation from another blogger and loved the idea of these jeans without any fasteners at the waistline. No worrying about muffin top or my zipper poking out! It was weird, but it seemed like it would work.



Unfortunately they stretched out so much so fast I ended up looking like I had a guy's junk in the front of my pants. I even bought another smaller pair to see if that helped, but they stretched out too much too. As much as it kills me to have wasted the money on these, I have to cut my losses and get rid of them. They just frustrate and upset me when I see them in my jeans drawer. So they are gone, and I will be more careful in my denim choices in the future.

One of my friends suggested cleaning out makeup drawers. As I think we have to replace our bathroom vanity fairly soon, I may do that in March. It's not just clothes that need editing!

+++++

My purchases for February:

Nada. Zilch. Nothing.

Don't be too impressed: I already have several things on order this month. Unless I can go other months this year without buying anything, I have to assume February was a fluke. I am killing the impulse shopping urge, not the need for shopping completely.

Still, I'm kind of impressed I managed to go one month, at least. :)

January Edits and Purchases

*waves to Lorena* See, I did keep up with this during my hiatus!

We had our first real cold temperatures of the winter in January, so I reached into the sweater section of my closet to bundle up. Turns out there were several items in there that ended up in the edit bag.



Cream Gap long grandpa cardigan. The color always washed me out, and now it is too small in the shoulders to boot.



Blue marled extra-thick long open cardigan with tie, from Old Navy. The fit isn't right anymore, and it looked terrible as loungewear.



One of my very first boyfriend cardigans from LOFT. I still love the look, but this is too small in the shoulders. I couldn't completely let it go, so it went downstairs to my plastic clothes bin.



Grey cocoon cardigan from Gap. This was a fairly recent purchase from this fall, but I realize I should have gotten it a size up (I did so for the same sweater in black), and I already have a grey sweater that I wear much more often. A regretted purchase, for sure.



My sister and I traded these super-soft Target hoodies back and forth between us for years, but they are way too stretched out to keep anymore. This one was in white.




This one was in pale pink. It was so pill-y and worn out!



Last item that got kicked out was a grey LOFT tee. I actually loved this top; it sat well on me and the neckline was just right.




Too bad the grease stains ruined it.



January total: 7 pieces edited out.

On the purchase front, it was even less.



The first three came from an outlet mall trip with Jessie and Kate; I was far more restrained in my purchases than either of them were. (For once.)

Ooooh, that was the trip where one of my readers secretly spotted me in the LOFT store! Hello, Mary, hope you are still reading, and that you are doing well. :)

I also picked up a couple of pullover sweaters, as going through the sweater section of my closet revealed that I did not own a single one. Isn't that crazy? I love both of the ones I got and have been getting quite a bit of wear out of them.

Cozy, thick cotton. I especially love the tight knit of the weave; too many sweaters these days are too thin and baggy. This one is much better quality than that. On sale at Gap in purple, green or black stripe for $35.

This is also a chunky knit, but it is Old Navy and is a looser, cheaper weave. Which is okay, because I've owned and worn heavy woolen fisherman's knit sweaters before, and that is just too much. I only wanted a facsimile of that, which this delivers. :) Now on sale at Old Navy in a number of colors for $15.

So that was what I bought and got rid of in January. How did you do?