Tag Archives: shoes

One In, One Out

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A few weeks ago I decided to list these boots for sale on Facebook Marketplace. They are about 28 years old but have not had a lot of wear and the elastic side panels have been replaced. The boots no longer suit my footwear needs and had been gathering dust.

I had several enquiries but they were not the required size and I had planned to relist them another time. Then I received a message from someone who lives a few hours drive from me who simply said she would pay postage and offered $110 rather than the $150 I had originally listed them for. I was very happy to see them go to someone who clearly wants them and will wear them.

These RM Williams ladies boots are top quality high-end footwear and currently retail for around $750. That is considerably more than I paid for them.

Regardless of the price I paid or the current value they were of no benefit to me so I was pleased to be able to move them on.

Meanwhile, my summer footwear is somewhat depleted after having not bought any for at least 3 years. Op shopping sometimes yields so excellent footwear bargains but it is definitely rather hit and miss.

So, last week I decided to bite the bullet and buy something new. I was unsure of exactly what I needed but I was leaning towards white which would be versatile enough to wear with pretty well all of my clothes. I also wanted to be able to wear it with dresses, skirts or trousers.

This is what I found.

These shoes are very lightweight and comfortable with the adjustable crossover strap. They are a bit more substantial than completely open sandals and I am confident that I will get lots of opportunities to wear them as the weather warms up.

The Old and The New

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Today I bought a new pair of walking shoes. This in in preparation for our overseas trip in December/January when we will be in Europe in the winter.

I have this pair which I bought 6 years ago. They are waterproof and extremely comfortable.

I was keen to get another pair so that I could alternate them when we are travelling. So, I went into the Kathmandu store in Bendigo today and discovered that they had an identical pair in my size and there was a 40% off sale.

I am very happy with my new purchase.

They are a slightly different colour but the same great fit and comfort. I gave them a test run on our walk today.

New Shoes

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Yesterday we headed off to Melbourne bright and early. Our assignment was very specific. We were helping our daughter move some packed boxes out of her unit in order for some renovations to commence.

On way way home we decided to stop at Kyneton for lunch. I know from previous experience that the Salvos op shop there often has some top quality items so we decided to take a quick look. I did not have anything specific in mind as I recently decided that I probably had more than enough clothes unless I happened to stumble upon something that was absolutely amazing.

I always cast my eyes over any shoes on offer but tend to be fairly discerning in this regard. I was in luck yesterday. I found this pair of dark burgundy Mary Jane style shoes. They have leather uppers and lining, fit perfectly and are brand new. The original price tags were still attached. $190 reduced to $130 were now in the op shop for $25. They will be a perfect winter shoe to wear with trousers or dresses.

Refurbished

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There are many things that we can repair, mend or upcycle ourselves but some are just beyond our range.

What do you do with shoes that are no longer wearable? This was GMan’s dilemma recently. The first step is to examine them and understand why they can no longer be worn. A pair of casual leather shoes looked to be in perfectly good nick at first glance but the soles had worn to the stage where there was no remaining grip on the soles and they were positively dangerous. So, a full retread was in order.

We have had this sort of work done on a couple of other pairs of shoes previously, however, we have moved interstate since then so it was a matter of finding a quality bootmaker/cobbler in Melbourne who could do the work. GMan was fortunate to find The Cobbler’s Last. They have turned these shoes that were only good for the bin into wearable footwear with a long life ahead of it.

The cost of this work was $95 which is not insignificant, however, that is about half of the price of a replacing them with a similar shoe. Additionally, the savings created by not seeing these end up in landfill is immeasurable.

Some New Additions

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Today we headed to Bendigo which is about 30 minutes from home. My mission was to collect a portable hanging rack that I had found on Marketplace. I wanted one that would be suitable for taking to the weekly LETS market that I could use to display bags and other items for sale. This one is perfect as it is telescopic and the height can be about 800mm when collapsed or extended to hold full-length garments if required. It is also easy to transport without disassembling it entirely.

While we were out and about and with no time constraints I checked out a few op shops that I had not been to previously.

I was fortunate to find a pair of black canvas casual shoes which appear to be unworn. They have a decent sole and are well-padded so a good buy at just $7. Whilst they are not required right now in the summer, I can see plenty of wear for them with jeans once autumn arrives.

I found this pretty blue linen top which is significantly oversized despite being marked as ‘Small’. There is a lot of fabric in it and I am planning to refashion it to a different style.

We also went to a native plant nursery where we bought 9 shrubs and groundcovers. I think tomorrow might be a day in the garden. More about those once they are planted.

Matching Accessories

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You probably remember my recent post from a couple of weeks ago where I showed you the shoes I bought to wear to a family wedding later this month.

Well, I decided I also needed a handbag and thought a matching bag would be good, however, my younger daughter pointed out that it may be difficult to match the colour so I was prepared to compromise with a metallic finish of some colour.

Anyway, earlier this week we were in a suburban shopping precinct in Melbourne as we were stocking up on a number of pantry items. Once that was done, I wandered into a couple of op shops in the area. The first two didn’t yield anything much at all in the way of bags. The third one was a different story. I had rather optimistically taken the shoes with me so that I could check the colour if I happened to find something suitable.

This was the result. A bag in perfect condition with no marks or signs of wear which matches my shoes perfectly. It was $7. I am beyond thrilled.

More Bargains

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We have been rather occupied with our guests for the past five days so no time for blog posts.

Yesterday I took my granddaughters to Bendigo. I bought more fruit and vegetables, we enjoyed the Australian Women’s Weekly exhibition at the art gallery and we found time to check out a couple of op shops.

I found a summer dress for Liv – no mean feat as she is 15 and liable to change her mind at a moment’s notice. Also, a warm fleecy black top for Izz as well as a skirt, long sleeve knit top and scarf for myself.

However, the standout purchases were a pair of shoes and a chair.

These shoes caught my eye but did not appear to have any size, brand or country of origin markings. In fact, I think they may be handmade. I tried them on and they fitted perfectly. They have barely been worn and were priced at $8. Lucky me!

I actually saw the chair outside the shop as we approached the door. You may remember that I bought a dining setting with 4 chairs from Marketplace some weeks ago. You can read about it here. I was prepared to have one or two extra chairs and was not too worried about whether they were an exact match. I figured that this one would be suitable so I handed over $5 and it was mine.

I brought it home and here is the recent purchase (on the left) beside one of the existing set. Can you pick the difference? The whole chair is marginally (about 1cm) lower, the curve at the top is not quite as pronounced and the top of the sides are rounded rather than flat.

I am absolutely chuffed with my finds.

Accessories

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Last week in this post I showed you my ‘new’ formal dress.  I decided against black accessories and was tossing up on what to wear with it.

I decided to go with silver and here are my new sandals I bought yesterday.

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I bought them at our local independent shoe shop.  They are really comfortable and as well as being able to be worn with my long frock they will be great for next summer with a variety of outfits.

This is what they look like on me.

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The next step is to find or make a suitable bag or clutch and finally, something to keep me warm as the event is at night in June.  At least (as far as I can ascertain) it is indoors this year unlike the past couple of years.

Project 333 – Shoes

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Today I decluttered my shoes – again!  I am now down to 15 pairs.  This includes my thongs and slippers which live in my wardrobe but excludes the gumboots and old gardening sneakers which are downstairs.

This is the least number of pairs of footwear that I have owned anytime in my adult life.  I do like shoes but in recent years my fascination has not been about falling in love with totally impractical styles and colours but rather about the pursuit of the ‘perfect’ shoes.

It is interesting that the more I streamline the selection of clothes that I wear the easier it is to let go of shoes.  If I tend to wear lots of a similar style or colour it stands to reason that the same shoe will work with many different outfits.

2015-07-25 01Here are the shoes that are in my cupboard today.

On the floor (from left to right)

Hiking boots – rarely worn but still make the cut
RM Williams dress boots – worn with jeans in cold weather
Short boots (red) – bought last year overseas when I needed some to replace a pair of shoes that wore out
Red lace-up shoes – Ecco brand – worn with jeans or trousers
Sneakers – for walking and exercise
Australian Geographic slippers – lightweight, great with socks
Purple thongs – summer casual wear

Top shelf

Bronze Mary Janes – super lightweight and comfortable, can be worn with dresses or trousers
Red Mary Janes – as above
Black patent kitten heel – dress shoe for after-five wear
Red walking sandals – Ecco brand – very comfortable

Lower shelf

Black low-heeled sandal – Taos brand – flexible sole, comfortable but quite dressy
Black low heeled ankle strap shoes – dressy winter shoe
Pink summer sandals – very comfortable
Red summer sandals – as above

Comfort and ease of wearing are my main criteria when buying shoes and they also need to be able to be worn with a variety of outfits.

Here are a couple more that I would like to add to my collection.

2015-07-25 02These are identical to my red and bronze Mary Janes and are available here.

2015-07-25 03I love red shoes and this pair look perfect.  I don’t know that I can justify them at the moment but I do love them.  They are from Frankie4.  I have not bought any shoes from this range but a friend has and she recommended them.  I like the selection of summer sandals that are both stylish and look comfortable.

2015-07-25 04I will be keeping an eye out for their spring/summer catalogue as I will definitely need some new summer sandals.  The pink and red ones that I have are just about at the end of their lives after a couple of long, hot summers.

What do you look for in shoes?  Have your criteria changed over time?

Project 333 – Clearing the Cupboard

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While this post is not strictly about Project 333, it is about decluttering my clothes so I have kept the Project 333 tag for ease of locating the post in the future. Today I decided to empty the entire contents of my wardrobe and dresser.  Here is the empty wardrobe. 2015-05-16 01The first category that I chose to scrutinise was shoes.  Here they all are. 2015-05-16 02Yes, all 21 pairs.  Now, I don’t really know how that compares with what other people have but it does seem like a lot for someone who supposedly tries to keep things to a minimum. I sorted them and these are the ones I have worn in the past week. 2015-05-16 03An additional 3 pairs in the past couple of months. 2015-05-16 04Winter footwear that has been worn in the last 12 months. 2015-05-16 05Three special-purpose ones that have not been worn in the last year but still get to stay.  In fact, while typing this I remembered that the patent heels have been worn in the past year.

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This brings the total to 18 pairs which have made the grade and will return to the wardrobe.

Here are the three pairs that are moving out.

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Black heels which I had replaced but not got rid of them.  They have not been worn since the new ones were purchased.

Red flats which are nearly 3 years old.  The heels are worn and they are not overly comfortable.

Pewter sandals which were a mistake as they are really a half-size too small.  Hopefully someone else will get a really good pair of sandals that fit them well.

I did not cull a great number of my shoes as most of them do get worn on a regular basis.  This was a useful exercise as it made me consider each pair and the value of keeping them.  I have also identified the next pairs which will go over time and I will be giving more thought to the shoes I buy in future.

Over the next week I will be sharing some of the other discoveries and decisions I made when I emptied my wardrobe.

Meanwhile, I would love to hear about your shoes – what sort?  how many?