My Shoe Chronicles — Pink Ankle Boots

Pointy, shiny, pink leather… How can a girl go wrong with these? Okay, so they’re not real comfy to wear, but I did survive an unplanned three-hour shopping trip in them, so they became one of my favorites.

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!

My Shoe Chronicles — Sexy Black Heels

I bought these shoes to go with an equally killer dress. I’m not sure what turned more heads, the shoes or the dress, but wearing these shoes makes me feel unstoppable. These are certainly one of my most attitudinal pairs of shoes.

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.)

My Shoe Chronicles — Vintage Silver

These shoes reminded me of my grandmother. Not the conservative, straight-laced one, the other, bizarre character who would’ve worn these with just about anything…including a polyester pantsuit…

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.

My Shoe Chronicles — Gold Holographic Heels

I call these my disco shoes even though they’re painful to really dance in. I dunno, something about the fact they’re gold and holographic just makes them fun to wear out for fun.

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.

My Shoe Chronicles — Vintage Gold Buckles

Not much of a story for these. They’re gold. They sparkle. They’re vintage. They’re perfect.

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.

My Shoe Chronicles — Flower Boots

I saw these in the little boys department and saved a fortune on a great pair of boots. Who says only kids can have fun boots?

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.

My Shoe Chronicles — Aqua Dots

I love these shoes because they’re funky. I saw them and had to have them. They’ve even got stars and chains on them.

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!

My Shoe Chronicles — Red Keds

I’ve had these shoes for about twenty years and it really shows. I used to wear them almost every day. They’re much loved and I’ll probably wear them until they fall off my feet completely.

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.

My Shoe Chronicles — Peacocks

I call these my peacock shoes. I don’t know what possessed me to buy them, but they sure are fun to wear.

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.

My Shoe Chronicles — Antique Boots

They really are Victorian shoes. I collect antiques and I couldn’t resist these shoes being in a wearable condition after all these years.

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.

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