This morning article that I've stumbled into is about shoemaking. I love shoes that I often have to be conscious of how often I buy one. That isn't exactly because I follow any or anything like that but simply because I always like my footwear to be comfortable. There are comfy shoes that I would see and think that it might be comfortable than what I am currently using so I will hunt it down. Then there are also days when I really need this kind of shoes, because of an occasion or weather and I just have to buy something available even if it wasn't really what I was looking for. Those are like sad stories for me. I try to avoid buying stuff that I really don't like. Then there are ones that I buy coz I like only to find out some not so good part after I've used it. Ah! Alas! Buyer's remorse.
Right now, I have a few doubles. No, they are not expensive ones, just regular or cheap actually. I hardly buy expensive ones because I cannot afford it, I find it ridiculously priced when I am not even sure if I will wear it to the soles. Too much risk for the price of a pair.
Let me have some sort of inventory of the ones I currently have.
A pair of hiking sandals that I bought with my first paycheck when I was in my mid-teens. This was pretty expensive at that time. It has been to many places, endured river treks and mountains, beach dates, city walks just to name a few. It has seen it's time. I've felt some discomforts like when my sweaty feet slip off. But I love this dearly. It's still sturdy even if I had to put some rugby in between the soles but the band that holds the feet are still intact. I use it a pair of slippers when I go on trips, either to use outdoors or someplace where it can get wet. It dries pretty well anyway. Because of moving a lot, that is the only one that has stayed with me everywhere I live. Other pairs of sneakers gave out after two or three years on average. And those are not exactly the cheap ones. The cheap ones would only last a few months, lucky if it reaches at least a year.
Since moving back here in Korea, I have already gone through quite a handful of shoes. I have two summer sneakers, one is something that my husband just pushed me to buy just for the sake of using a gift card without him really looking at how comfy it is or what not. I had been thinking of throwing that thing for a while now. I'm just waiting for the tipping point.
The other one is something that I really searched and bought for myself online, much to my husband dismay coz he thinks that I buy shoes too often. Anyway, this one has been the most comfy one that I have so far. Sadly, it's only for the summer. I am still looking for something like this comfy that I can wear for every season.
That brings me to the latest suede pair that I got early this year. Gray and red Reebok classic. Color-wise, and season-wise, it's good. But as I found out, there's something off about it. The shape, the fit, I cannot pinpoint exactly.
Then there's another non-winter shoes that I picked up because it was bottom priced and Vans. Don't get me wrong here, I hardly ever shop for branded ones per se but I this one was really out of curiosity. It's black, also with a bit of red, a bit heavy but actually pretty comfy EXCEPT for the annoying tongue that would always go under EVERY TIME I put it on. There is nothing to hold it up.
Next category, flat moccasin shoes. Why this? It's a slip on, no shoelace, doesn't shout girly, can be work shoes or simply casual. It's pretty flexible. I have decided in my late 20's that this is the kind of shoes that fit my needs and personality. No more loafers for me except for that last buy for a dear cousin's wedding. I have 2 summer ones, and 2 winter ones. Not exactly the best brands but it comes as it goes. The first summer one was bought out of need. I was only wearing sneakers for work until I got this one. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for. I wanted a black 1 cm heel (flat) but can only find blue green 2 cm one which I was willing to pay for. The other one, which is black, was something that really caught my eye and looked like what I had been looking for in terms of color, design and heel height. Sadly, after the impulse buy, the width doesn't seem to fit my wide feet so I just use it when I really need to, not as I planned as using from casual to a bit formal places.
The other winter pairs that I got online, was for a buy one take one. Yeah..I'm that cheap. I got a brown and black pair. Since I realized in my early twenties that I don't like brown, the brown shoes were used more often as casual one from running errands to elevator runs to wear it out. Go figure my logic. I try to save the black one on slightly more different circumstances. Even with that strategy, I already had to fix the black one. Oh well...that was the take 1 free. Nonetheless, I think they will still last for two more winter seasons at least.
For other winter footwear, I got two pairs of boots. One for light winter use and one Sorel for heavy snowy days when I have to clean off the snow from the car. That's about it for the ones I bought. I almost forgot another winter shoes that my dear SIL got for me about two years ago. I might not buy that for myself coz I am not sure if it will be warm enough for me. It's a pair gray padded slip-on shoes. I think it's warm enough on most winter days except on really cold days. I would always dream of wearing the bulky Sorel where my feet are still toasty and warm even in the layers of snow.
To round it off:
summer : 6
winter: 5
year round: 1
Wow. How did I end up with a dozen pairs? Of those 12, only two that I really didn't get for myself. One was a gift, and another one was a summer pair that I bought for my son but he didn't like it. That and many other stuff are reminders that I should make sure that I also like or can also use it for myself whenever I buy stuff for him in case he doesn't like it and I cannot return it anymore. Our size will not be the same for long. His shoes are now as big as his father so not much for me anymore. ^^
Conclusion for this post: I am not going to buy any shoes for the next year or two. My aim is to wear down the stuff that I don't like right now and save for a year-round pair to bring the numbers down to less than ten at least. That is still a long way for a minimalist to keep.
Next possible stop, clothes. Well not everything but generally speaking.
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