They’re not 80s, but they sure do look retro. And they make me wish I had more pink in my wardrobe so that I’d wear them more often. Especially now that I’ve worn them in so much after that impromptu shopping trip.

Okay, so there you have ‘em. They aren’t all my wackiest or all my faves, but they’re a fair representation of what I have to work with and my collection grows every year. These pics were all taken last year. Since then, I’ve added some like totally awesome 80s pumps that I would’ve died for back in the day as well as various other great pairs vintage and modern…including jellies!

There have been a few times where I’ve found the same pair of shoes twice at thrift stores. Once, while I was wearing them! Yeah, what was funny is that I saw them on the shelf and thought, “Ohhhh…those are awesome…Wait. Don’t I already have ones like them?” Then looked down and there they were on my feet! I bought the pair on the rack and donated the ones on my feet. (The rack pair was less worn than the ones I was wearing! The cashier got a kick out of it, too.)

I don’t need to spend a lot of money in order to really enjoy the shoes I find. I think that’s one of the best things about my collection. It’s comprised almost entirely of shoes I found without actively searching. Sure, there are a few that I needed to get for certain applications, but the rest just happened. I know what I like, so I buy them when I see them…as long as they’re less than about $10. Most, I get for $5 or less. If I’m spending more than $5, they’ve gotta be truly stellar and something I don’t already have. That’s pretty hard to do these days, but it does still happen.

A few months ago, I picked up another pair of vintage silver shoes like the ones I posted earlier. They’re a slightly different style, but the same toe shape. I wasn’t gonna get them since I already have a similar pair, but for $2, I just couldn’t pass them up. They’d never been worn. The bottoms are still smooth!

Yeah, these came into my collection because I couldn’t find what I needed at thrift stores and I just didn’t have a pair of killer black spike heels. Even I was shocked when I discovered that I’d have to actually go out and buy a pair of new shoes. It happens so infrequently for me.

In fact, I don’t even remember the last time I had to actually go shoe shopping. Most of the time, I just check the racks at thrift stores to see if there’s anything I like. Then, it all comes together when I either look through my wardrobe and discover the perfect outfit or when I store the shoes until the perfect outfit comes along second hand…or I make the perfect outfit. (That’s what I’ll be doing soon for a pair of silver boots I acquired a few years back.)

I generally wear them with some of my fancy vintage stuff, but they’re silly enough to wear with just about everything else in my wardrobe. They’re silver. That’s easy to work with.

They’re not the most comfy, but if the funny-factor is in order, they’re perfect. I got them at a thrift store almost 10 years ago now. That was one of the few times where I actually found what I was actively looking for rather than just buying something because it was silly. I’d needed a pair of vintage shoes to go with one of my old dresses. I’d doubted I’d find the right shade of mint green, so I focused on silver or white. Lo and behold there they were at the second store on my rounds.

They’re a little too high and a little too small, but they do peg my weird-o-meter pretty well. I definitely don’t wear them much, but when I do, it’s always memorable… Last time, I got some pretty wicked blisters, but strangely, when I wore other shoes, the blisters weren’t irritated. That’s like both having and not having blisters all at the same time. I suppose I’m a glutton for punishment, but the experience was worth it to me.

I picked them up at a thrift store and some of the rhinestones had fallen out of the buckles. One day while I was downtown in the garment district, I happened to remember that I needed some pointed-back stones. I had the clerk pull out a few sizes and then just guessed which ones would work.

I’m still amazed that I somehow guessed correctly when I hadn’t actually looked at the shoes for months before I bought the stones.

Yeah, little boys section. Had they been in the adult section, they probably would’ve been twice the price. They’re Doc Martens, too. I got them about 12 years ago now and they’re finally broken in. Docs always take awhile to wear in, but when they do, they’re some of the most comfortable boots on the planet.

And most durable, too. Well, the ones made in England at least. My husband got a pair of Docs that were made in China and they fell apart within a few months of hard wearing.

Over the years, I’ve collected eight pairs (2 pairs of shoes, 6 pairs of boots) from thrift stores and two pairs that were purchased new. Look for “Made in England”. They’ll last a lifetime.

Another of the few pairs I bought new. They’re sort of nostalgic for the 80s and go with one of my favorite skirts. Oddly, I’d painted silver diamonds on the skirt to hide a few stains. The next week, I went to my favorite shoe store in Chinatown, and there these were on an end cap.

Yeah, as soon as I saw them, I knew they were leaving with me. My husband just rolled his eyes. He knew it to. In fact, he saw them before I did and then scolded himself for pointing them out to me. He’ll likely never learn not to point out silly shoes to me and I’m so glad!

In fact, when I was in high school, I even marched in a few parades in these shoes. Depending what year, I played flute, piccolo or bells. When we weren’t in full uniform, we wore our band shirts, white pants and whatever shoes we wanted. Well, these were those. I’ve marched many a mile in them.

They’re not the best quality and I don’t know that they can sustain a lot of wearing, but they’re definitely strange and that was the main reason why I bought them. It doesn’t hurt that they’re one of my favorite colors, too. Weird, loud and colorful. My ideal pair of shoes.

I got these at the same store in Chinatown where I got those simple olive green leather shoes, too. These aren’t as well made, but what they don’t have in durability, they make up for in strangeness. Plus, its not like I plan on wearing them every day. Believe it or not, I don’t have that many outfits I can wear with them.

They definitely have that witchy thing going on. It’s too bad the other shoes in the picture are for display only because they’re in such bad shape after losing a heel and then someone brutally hammering it back on.

My black ones seem to have hardly been worn at all. What amazes me most about shoes from this time period is the sheer amount of time required to lace them up. Like, I seriously have to allow a good fifteen minutes or so because they have so many holes. Once they’re on, they’re on and I don’t take them off unless I’m sure I’m not going out again. And if I do go out, I rarely put these back on. Yes, they’re that annoying to lace and unlace, but they fit like gloves.

And they look great. People stop me now and then, asking if they’re real. Because they’re so old, I only wear them maybe once a year on sunny days only. I keep telling myself that I’m going to display with some of my antique dolls, but I never quite get them set up. Oh well. Maybe someday soon.

They’re similar to the black and white striped ones I posted about last month, but the big difference is that they’re so comfy and worn in that I can run a marathon in them. I’ve had these about fifteen years now and I try not to wear them as much because they’re really starting to show the wear, but I still love ‘em. They go with just about everything in my wardrobe…and that’s hard to do!

They’re just a simple pair of flats with laces, but they’re weird and thus suit me fine.

Back in the day, so many girls had similar pairs, but I couldn’t afford them. So, of course, when I saw them in my size at a thrift store, I was practically doing cartwheels down the aisle. They were worth the wait.

Except since this picture was taken, something got spilled on them that I can’t seem to get out. I was on my way to an extra gig that day and not particularly paying attention to where I was walking in the garage. We had my ’68 Mustang Convertible apart and I bet I stepped in oil or some unfortunate concoction of oil, antifreeze, power steering fluid and transmission fluid.

I’m gonna see if OxyClean can help me out. Otherwise, I’m seriously going to make a copy of them. They really are my favorite sandals ever.

I got them in the mid 90s, but they’re definitely from the late 80s. I have a blazer from that time period that goes with them, but seriously, wearing that much red and black…I gotta get up the guts because they attract a lot of attention. They’re more silly than they are sexy, but whatever.

About ten years ago, I wore them to a car show and the wife of one of the guys showing his car stopped me and regaled me with a story about her pair…except hers were electric blue and black. Since then, I’ve been on the lookout at every thrift store, but haven’t seen a blue pair.

Maybe I’ll start checking online because not only are they strange, they’re comfy, too…and warm because all that suede goes above the knee. Now, if I find a blue and black blazer that goes with them, I swear I’ll faint right then and there.

Sometimes I forget I have these. I don’t have a lot of outfits that really go with them, but of course that doesn’t stop me from wearing them. They sat innocently on a rack at a thrift store I’ve long since forgotten. Along with all the usual second hand shoes, these were easy to spot.

My husband jokes that the easiest way to figure out what to get for me is to find the ugliest thing in the store and buy it because I’ll love it. In fact, my brother just used that principle when deciding which slipper socks to get me for Christmas. As he stood there in front of all the choices, he said he picked the most boring ones for my mom and the loudest, silliest ones for me. Score!

When I first saw them at at Goodwill while on vacation in my hometown, I almost didn’t buy them. They were almost a little too strange. Yeah, that’s strange in itself: the fact that I wouldn’t get a pair of shoes because they were too weird. But that’s one of the reasons I knew I had to get them. They were my size, weird and $10 or less, therefore I must own them.

And, y’know, they’re just right for spunking up a boring outfit. The picture doesn’t really do them justice. I’ve never seen another pair quite like them. I get stopped by complete strangers asking where in the world I got them. I have no idea what year they are from, either. I suppose they’re timeless!