Before Yesterday, I Had 50+ Pairs of Shoes—11 Styles I Got Rid of and 13 I Kept
Shoes have always been my thing. I'm constantly on the lookout for them—far more than I am for handbags, jewelry, or even clothes—and rarely am I strong-willed enough to deny myself a pair I rate highly. Because of this and the size of my New York City closet, it can often feel like my shoes are closing in on me, falling off a crowded top shelf in the middle of the night or peeking out from underneath a dresser or chair. They're everywhere. While I wish with every fiber in my being that I could have a storage system as impressive as Carrie Bradshaw's in my uptown apartment, I don't, which is how I ended up taking out every single one of my 50+ pairs of shoes last night and finally confronting my footwear problem head-on.
Deciding to purge my shoe collection and actually doing it are two very different things. By the time I'd removed every pair of boots, sneakers, flats, and heels out of its designated box and laid it out on the floor of my living room, I had no space to walk around let alone analyze and properly organize. Instead, I set about making cuts. Similar styles were lined up next to each other so I could see just how many pairs of black knee-high boots I've acquired (a lot) and what sneakers have remained in their original boxes unworn for months or even years. Slowly but surely, I was able to make those hard calls, placing one box and then another into my "no" pile.
My Living Room During My Shoe-Closet Clean-Out
About two hours and one TV break later, 20 pairs—40% of my entire collection—were packed up and set aside to be shipped out to various resale outlets, from The RealReal to Crossroads. Perhaps I haven't fully accepted that they're gone quite yet, but now that I've made the final decision to part ways with them, I feel lighter. I've probably said the words "there's no such thing as too many pairs of shoes" on many occasions throughout my 28 years, but maybe I was wrong. Holding on to them all wasn't doing me or my boyfriend, who constantly tripped over rogue pairs in the middle of the night, any good. On the off chance that you're in the same shoe-collecting boat that I was in just yesterday, I thought I'd dole out some advice that I learned in the last 24 hours by sharing which styles I decided to part ways with and which ones still felt current and cool enough to stay where they're at. Find out what made the cut below.
Heels I'm Parting Ways With: Platforms, Chunky Heels, PVC
Heels I'm Keeping: Timeless Styles, Almond Toes, Satin
Flats I'm Parting Ways With: Flatforms, Sporty Sandals, Gladiator Sandals
Flats I'm Keeping: Net and Mesh, Point-Toe Styles, Minimalist Sandals
Sneakers I'm Parting Ways With: Chunky Soles, Neon Details
Sneakers I'm Keeping: Retro Styles, Logo-less Options, Metallics
Boots I'm Parting Ways With: Block Heels, Platforms, Rubber Styles
Boots I'm Keeping: Stiletto Heels, Sock-Like Fits, Western-Inspired Styles
Like I said, I'm very much into sleek, low-key iterations of the Westerncore trend, so yes, these are staying.
This post was published at an earlier date and has since been updated.
Eliza Huber is an NYC-based senior fashion editor who specializes in trend reporting, brand discovery, and the intersection of sports and fashion. She joinedBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing in 2021 from Refinery29, the job she took after graduating with a business degree from the University of Iowa. She's launched two columns, Let's Get a Room and Ways to Wear; profiled Dakota Fanning, Diane Kruger, Katie Holmes, Gracie Abrams, and Sabrina Carpenter; and reported on everything from the relationship between Formula One and fashion to the top runway trends each season. Eliza lives on the Upper West Side and spends her free time researching F1 fashion imagery for her side Instagram accounts @thepinnacleoffashion and @f1paddockfits, watching WNBA games, and scouring The RealReal for discounted Prada.
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