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?

Layering to good effect

I did some layering of two of my favorite pieces, a sheer Target patterned bowtie top and an older Halogen sparkly-purple cardigan. Then black everything else: layering tee, skinny belt, bootcut pants, pointy shoes. I wasn't sure about the two tops pieces together, but I think in the end it worked well.



That poor sweater has a number of snags. This might be its last season.

Day/Night #2 of the Night Shower Experiment also turned out well.







The only problem is that it turns out my hair has 22 hours exactly before the roots get oily, dark and flat. So if I shower at 7 the night before, by 4 or 5pm, it does not look good at all. This is a problem on days when I am going out after work! Since I am doing so on Friday -- Phillip's last day, you guys! Noooooo!!! -- I had to scrap the Night Shower experiment for today.

But it looked good yesterday, at least!



Happy Friday! Any interesting weekend plans?

My hair is bouncin' and behavin'

I dub Day/Night 1 of the Night-Shower Experiment a success.



All I had to do was brush it in the morning. !! Apparently bed head is a good look for me. I did make one mistake in letting it air dry the first night; it was a little flat on the top of my head, which a good volumizer and a quick blow would have fixed. I will work on that.

I also liked the outfit; the pants are a grey pinstripe, so it's not as all-black as the photo would indicate. You guys know me, I'm not a all-black person so it feels like when I do wear it, it packs a punch. The turquoise Blogger Necklace helps soften it up around my face, too, which I need.

The shoes are Circa Joan & David kitten heels from several years back. Shopping Friend will remember them; they're the first "heels" she convinced me to buy! When the pointy-toe look faded the last few years, I tucked them into the back of my closet, but now that it is making a comeback -- and frankly I needed the kitten heel height for the pants, and these were all I had -- I pulled them back out. They've held up well; guess spending a few extra dollars on quality shoes instead of Target/Payless cheapies pays off.

Speaking of spending, this is now following me around the internet.



The two-tone brown booties are the ones I was talking about the other day, and the wedge casual booties on the left are a fabulous find from Angie at YLF. Now that I can wear jeans a few other days besides the weekend, and I do have a good number of said jeans with long hems for heels, I think I can justify a fun bootie like that.

I may scrap the fall/winter purse idea for another year -- since none are jumping out at me as The One -- and go for some solid bootie additions instead.  And maybe a smart daytime clutch -- it's very on-trend, and the only clutches I have are summer woven ones.

Dammit, the ads win again.

More Exciting Updates: Shopping!

1. After many weeks of dithering (and drooling over Sarah's cheetah version) I took the plunge and bought myself a new purse for spring. It is a Rebecca Minkoff; the medium size is just perfect, and I am in love with the chain strap. It came in many colors -- the coral-red one was especially attractive, and I do really love the cheetah one Sarah has -- but because my spring trench is bright red I thought a neutral was a more functional choice.

Here is what it looks like in real life.








LOVE IT.

2. I am also in need of a new sturdy tote for my work laptop. Since I mostly use it to take to meetings, it has to be a nice bag so it goes with my suits and good purses. I have a great Halogen tote from a couple of years ago that is getting worn out at the straps, but they changed their style so it is vertical and I don't think I like the patent/leather combo.

This Cole Haan one is stunning, but crazy expensive.

What I really want, of course, is a Longchamp. I keep eyeballing them and drooling over the ones I see on other women, but I haven't yet taken the plunge. I thought I had ordered one a few months in this great deep purple color, but methinks the Nordstrom salesperson messed up because I never received it and never paid for it. Of course that color is long gone now, and I just can't decide what color to order from the current selection. One of the neutrals, or one of the colors like this deep red? It would match my trench...

Or should I play it safer with this navy?

3. After a long dry spell of shopping, I went on an online spree from Old Navy, Target, Lands End, even Coldwater Creek (I KNOW). I was desperate to find some tasteful tops for work. Sadly, just about everything I ordered went back; either it was too boxy, or all navy. Navy is fine, but not as a top, especially since most of my pants are black or grey. I ended up with a hot pink blouse and a striped tee from Old Navy (neither of which I can show you because their website is acting funky). But I desperately need some others for the summer; any suggestion?

4. I ended up returning the nude pumps because of sizing issues, so I am still on the hunt for a nice neutral light-colored shoe for spring and summer. The Cole Haans are really enticing me...

5. Barking Dog Shoes did a great post about pretty Naya sandals for summer, and I have to confess, these are also in my Zappo's shopping cart.

Barking Dog Shoes is a FABULOUS blog to follow if you have foot issues or, like me, just want to know about the comfortable shoes out there. So often that means those ugly orthoepdic looking ones, but Kirsten also manages to find the cute ones too. I've purchased many recommendations from her over the years, and never been sorry.


That's it for all my shopping news! :)

Ginger Rogers

One of my favorite quotes of all time is, "Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did except backwards, and in high heels." For me, it's not even about men getting the acclaim when often our job is even harder (although I have had that situation with male co-workers in the past), it's about remembering that often the work we do is even more complicated because of where we are standing in the dance, and how we are required to present ourselves. So when we succeed at work despite being hobbled by those restrictions, I think we deserve extra praise.

For example, a waitress required to wear heels ends up often working physically harder than one who is allowed to wear practical shoes, or a female middle manager who does not have staff to help with a project but produces the same results as someone leading a team. I have extra empathy for women in those situations, and I confess I cheer them on harder when they kick ass.

Anyway, this week I have felt like Ginger Rogers; it's been the first week of a new company-wide software, and I have been fighting an uphill battle to get my issues resolved in a sea of issues, and worse, getting people to pay attention when I have found serious issues in the new system. Because I work on a smaller software, my position in the dance is definitely "backwards". But I cajole, and I make jokes and get people to relax, and I have been onsite all week as a presence, going to the Command Center personally to follow up on open problems and talking to people face-to-face. The first couple of days I even brought home-baked cookies. Slowly but surely, I have been succeeding at getting my voice heard and the problems noticed and fixed. Slowly.

I realized last night that I have done all this in high heels.

In fact, by mid-week my high heels became the tool in which I got people to pay attention to my issues and work with me on problems; they helped me in the dance. I would go upstairs and the first thing the other women in the room would do was smile and check out which ones I had on, then with the ice broken and having given them a minute to not think about the frazzled, overwhelming number of things they were dealing with, they could concentrate on the issue we were working on together, and they helped me get my thing fixed. Then we would smile at each other, and they would dive back into the chaos. (Truly, I do not envy them; as hard as I was working, they had it much worse.)

My outfits themselves have been remixes of ones you have already seen or I discussed:

Source: polyvore.com via LowFatDressing on Pinterest

I do have pictures of all the shoes!

Sunday, the olive suede Clark Vermont Vistas (available online still):



Monday, the burgundy Franco Sarto Deers:



Tuesday, the Payless leopard wedges with red bows:



Wednesday, the Nicole Blessed heels with red, purple and brown colorblocking:



I got these last year from a tip from Barking Dog Shoes. Super comfy and strikingly different.



Thursday, the Franco Sarto Deers in grey:



Oh, Thursday's outfit was worth taking the time for photos. It's a new dress I got at the Half-Yearly Sale at Nordstrom. I love it beyond reason.



Get used to seeing it a lot -- it's a fabulous heavy knit material and will layer so well with everything. This time I did my old trick of a long-sleeved layering top underneath and a short-sleeved cardigan on top.

Best of all -- it's not actually lace. It's a lace print on the knit. Flipping gorgeous.



Did I mention it was also on sale??



It's a faux-wrap, but it is actually a teensy bit too big right at the wrap part. I am going to take it into Nordstrom and have them take it in; they did a great job with my other dress, so I trust them with the trickier tailoring. My dry cleaners can do my hems, but this I want to go to someone I trust. Plus, I bought it from them so if they ruin it, hopefully they would replace it. They are Nordstrom, after all!

Today I finally get to work back in my own office, mopping up various problems and catching up with my boss and co-workers on other ongoing projects. To complete the Ginger Rogers metaphor, I get to dance facing forward, in flats, today. I earned it! ;-D