Sat: Christian Louboutin ‘Nooka’ wedges (outfit post here) | Fri: Asics trainers c/o Spartoo [buy them]) and Carvela ‘Australia’ peep toes c/o Sarenza [buy them] | Mon: Topshop ‘Gwenda’ pumps | Thur: Vivienne Westwood x Melissa Lady Dragon Cherries shoes
It’s been almost six months now since the end of my third and final Shoe Challenge and Call Me M’s excellent post on what she learned from taking part in the challenge got me thinking about what I’ve learned from it, six months on.
I wrote a wrap-up post back in January, right after the Challenge ended, but since then I’ve not made any concerted effort to document my shoe choices and acquisitions. I definitely don’t want to start a new challenge, but I thought it might be fun to get back into the habit of posting some of my shoe shots here, just for fun. It could also be a good way to see what kind of effect the shoe challenge has actually had on me: as I mentioned in my comment to M, I do feel that I get much more use out of my shoe collection these days, mostly as a result of the habits which became engrained in me because of the Challenge. At the same time, though, I have to admit that I’ve bought a few pairs of totally impractical shoes since the challenge ended, and I do have a tendency to gravitate towards a few favourite pairs which I wear over and over, so this could be an interesting way to see which shoes I REALLY wear all week, when I don’t have the “use ’em or lose ’em” rule hanging over me.
From this week, then, I’ll be taking a daily (or as near-daily as I can manage!) shoe shot and rounding them up here every so often. This first roundup isn’t quite a full week, but it does give you an idea of what I’ve been wearing recently, right down to my brand new running shoes! (I don’t normally take photos of sneakers, but these were fresh out of the box that day!) My aim with this project is to be totally honest, even if it means photographing the same pair of shoes every day for a week. Hopefully it’ll help motivate me to be a bit more creative, though, and keep the principles of the shoe challenge going, even although I’m no longer under any pressure to “save” my shoes!
I’ll be posting a lot (although not all) of my shoe shots on Instagram, so feel free to follow me there too!
I never finished the shoe challenge (life got in the way) but I certainly make a more concerted effort to wear a wider range of shoes everyday than I did before the challenge. So that’s one positive. I just wish I could wear my more awesome shoes (Louboutins, Jimmy Choos, etc) to more places. I simply cannot stagger around at work in such high heels all day. Even if I would have the best dressed feet in my office.
The challenge really helped me change my habits too, and while I’m not in any rush to jump back into it again, I think I’ll continue to take a step back every now and then an re-assess my collection. My obsession hasn’t lessened any, I’m still buying new shoes on a fairly regular basis and I don’t think my collection will ever stop growing! But I do genuinely make far better purchasing decisions these days. I have found myself being far more sensible about what I buy, asking myself how likely it is that I’ll really wear them and with what outfits, or telling myself ‘Stop! You already own a pair in that exact colour!’ It was definitely a valuable experience for me.
OMG I just now saw your post. Thank you sooo much for mentioning me. I couldn’t read it sooner because I’m still having PC problems.
The Challenge definitely helped a lot with my shopping habits, even though I bought around 10 more pairs when I was still doing it. But it could have been worse if it wasn’t for the challenge.
I love that you’re starting this weekly roundoup of your shoes. I missed seeing shoe shots from you. You have an amazing collection! The first and the last pair of this post are definitely favorites!