Where My Shoes Have Taken Me

This is a new idea I came up with, a series called “Where My Shoes Have Taken Me.”  Imagine a makeup empties video or blog post, but with shoes.  One of my favorite parts of reading fashion blogs or watching fashion videos is seeing how other people in the world utilize their wardrobe.  When, where, and how do people wear flats, heels, boots, sandals?  How do they incorporate different types of shoes into their daily life?  So I thought that going forward, I’d gather up my shoes that are ready to be tossed, and do an empties type post with them.  Hope you enjoy!

This past fall/winter has been the season of wearing out my boots until they were broken!

Heeled, knee-high, brown leather boots

These boots have been with me since my second year of college (7 years ago!), and I have worn them every single year since.  While I was in school, which included winter 2011-winter 2015, I wore these practically every day either with skinny jeans or black leggings.  Once I started working, I couldn’t wear them every day, but I wore them quite often when I was in casual attire. 

I bought these boots in one size too large, since ALDO only carries down to a size 5 and I am a size 4, but I tucked some thin insoles in there and they fit just fine.  They have about a 2.5″ heel with a 12″ shaft height – perfect for my petite 4’11” frame. 

I’ve worn these all day to school, worn them shopping for hours on end, ran in them to catch trains because I am chronically late, and never felt any pain.  After 7 years, I finally had to call it quits with these boots when the base of the heel got caught in a crack on the sidewalk, ripping it away from the heel, and was impossible to push back into place, even with a hammer!

Flat, knee-high, black rain boots

I bought these boots sometime in the past couple years, and I’ve gotten so much use out of them every fall/winter.  I bought these boots in a size 2 from Zara kids, believe it or not!  From the ankle down, the boot is all rubber. From the ankle up, it’s a very thick, sturdy material that feels like rubber in the way it bends, but it’s all fabric on the outside. 

I have a pair of mid-calf Tretorn rain/snow boots with fur lining that I wear in snow storms, but I wanted a pair of rain boots that was a bit lighter and that would be appropriate to wear even when it’s not freezing cold or snowing out.  The knee-high height cuts me at a more flattering point on my legs than the mid-calf Tretorns. The simple all-black design makes it so they go with everything. 

Lately it felt like my feet were getting slightly wet in the rain when wearing these. At first I thought it was my imagination, but then I realized there was a giant tear at the back of the heel that cuts through the rubber and the thick fabric layer.  Bye bye rain boots.

Flat, knee-high, faux suede black boots

This isn’t actually the pair that I am about to throw out.  The actual pair that I wore to pieces bears a 99.9% resemblance to this pair. I have so much use for them that I had to make an immediate replacement purchase when I tossed out the first pair last year. 

I purchased my first pair when I started having to wear work attire (to internships for school and to my paid job). I needed shoes that I could commute in that would also go with my work outfits.  My go-to winter work outfit to this day is a blouse, skirt, black tights, and these boots.  Sometimes I will bring a pair of ballet flats to change into once I arrive at work. 

I can’t remember what the brand of the first pair was, but the pair pictured above is a size 2 from Steve Madden kids.  This is not a pair of shoes I’ve ever thought to splurge on, just because I go through them so quickly.  I wore my first pair until it literally had a hole under the heel of the foot.

That’s all for my shoe empties for now.  I hope you enjoyed the start of my new series.  If you have similar stories to share, please leave them in the comments down below!

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Thanks for reading!