I have some major shoes dilemmas going on, people.
In my later 20's I have developed a simple style, I am comfortable with my kind of repetitive wardrobe of jeans and t shirts, dressed up with accessories. Bags, jewelry, scarves, jackets, and my favorite, vintage heels. I don't care if I have 12 hour days, most of it is sitting, I will rock that shit. The problem is that last year Ben Left and I ditched our second car. We share one, and he often rides his bycicle to work [as I do in the summer when I don't have to go to school, which is at the bottom of a terrifyingly large hill that I don't care to conquer at the end of said 12 hour day with a bag full of laptop, books, empty lunch tupperware, etc], and I ususally ride my motorcycle. You didn't know I ride a motorcycle? Yes, I am fierce. You want to see it? Yes, you do.
Cute, no? It is from 1969. I love it so. But obv.you can't wear heals riding this baby. Which is fine in the winter. I looove me some boots. All day every day. It is the warmer weather that presents problems. I don't have any "shoes". Not teensy and petite flats, not heels, not boots, but shoes. In the past I have just carried a pair to switch into in my bag, and wore a pair of chucks while in transit. But I am really tired of that. There just isn't room in my bag, and it is just too high maintenance.
So, what I want to know is, do you wear "shoes"? What are they? What do they look like? Seriously. I stumbled on these vintage nine west oxfords [Which to Ben, who is old enough to remember the eighties more clearly than I, are a *little* scary] which might fit the bill, so I have been scanning etsy and ebay constantly for months now looking for some in my size, but no luck.
I figured that it was a matter of time before some new oxfords starting popping up, and sure enough here are some Sam Edelman's [images from UO]. But, they are 110 bucks. Which, I think is an ok price to pay for a a pair of shoes, but not when I really need a whole collection of them. You know what I mean?
I did find these little guys at a thrift store last summer. They are great for kicking around the neighborhood on my bicycle and stuff, but a little too junky to wear to work.
Have any good shoes style secrets?
I wish I could help you out, but I have no shoe creativity at all. The only real shoes I own are my Converse (oh, plus a couple pairs of old school Pumas), which I am still holding onto from high school (not the exact shoes, just the style). Even though you might think that I would want to update that look, seeing as I am not hitting my late twenties, I haven't come up with anything better.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of some of those leather shoes, but I can see why it would be hard to track some down.
Do you have Nordstrom Rack where you live? I find cute shoes there fairly frequently. And while they aren't super cheap (around $50), it might be slightly better for wardrobe building.
ReplyDeleteI never find anything at nordstrom rack. :(
ReplyDeleteI have the same dilemma. Somewhere there is a shoe between a heel and my Chucks. But I haven't found it. And ballet flats are just too flimsy for, say, such outdoorsy treks as walking down the street to my mailbox (we have lots of snow). Good luck with the oxfords!
ReplyDeleteThis is not helpful at all, but I just found these and thought of you.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.shoefly.com/detail.aspx?ID=3297
Aren't they sweet? Um, but not cheap AT ALL. Even on sale.
Wow. We don't know each other, but my girlfriend and I subscribe to your blog and really love it. So, we all seem to share the same music tastes (Calexico is an absolute favorite of ours), we all love Tucson (I used to live in AZ and can't wait to move back) and we seem to share a similar general outlook on the world...
ReplyDelete...but I think this just is the icing on the cake:
This is my bike:
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/
f23/bck2earth/HondaCB100.jpg
Yep.
I can't really get with the oxfords either. My answer (perhaps this is obvious from my blog) is cooler sneakers.
ReplyDeleteBUT with jeans + sneakers you do need to shake it up a little bit. I'm a fan of a sheer-ish blouse with a black bra underneath. Or cut-up tee and a sparkly sweater.
I'm blowing you away with my style, aren't I? I'm sure this is *very* helpful.
What the f*?
ReplyDeleteYou have better style than me anyway.
lauren: awesome! isn't that weird? I am always surprised that people in blog world seem to have better taste than the ones I meet in real life....
ReplyDeleteesb: i have tried blouses. i just can't ever seem to buy ones i end up loving. it's a problem. and sneakers? thanks but no. [no offense.]
hmmm...i would recommend frye shoes to you. they of course have killer boots, but have also made some fantastic shoes as well. www.thefryecompany.com
ReplyDeletewhoa i have those exact same thrifted shoes, scored on etsy...but when they arrived i swear they'd never ever been worn. they were most likely owned by some adorable old lady who had multiple pairs of practical dexters! see my twin shoes...http://aftonian.blogspot.com/2009/02/likes.html
ReplyDelete