Sale PSA: Braided leather slides from Chloe, now 40% off, a ribbed cashmere scarf from Nordstrom, now 70% off, pretty slides from Loeffler Randall, now $210, knit pants from Everlane, now 50% off, and bow slingback flats from By Far, now under $200.
I hope you’re all having a good Memorial Day weekend (for those in the US). I’m sitting here now trying to psych myself up for cleaning…I said I was going to clean the whole weekend, and then it became well I’m going to clean Sunday, and now it’s the middle of Monday and I really have to start. I’m looking to do the pantry and the attic and all these other places. It’s a struggle. I also took a quick go at my shoe closet. Which begs the question: how many shoes do you have?
This is a real question! I want to know real answers! I was actually really surprised by how many shoes I have. I guess I thought I was rather a shoe minimalist…I haven’t bought a pair of fancy heels for example, for a long time. But in the past years I’ve purchased quite a few comfortable pairs…or pairs that I thought would be comfortable. And there’s been quite an accumulation. It’s embarrassing and shameful especially as I left I am still missing some shoes I’d want in the closet and meanwhile I have all these unused pairs.
So far I’ve thrown out some dirty/beat up pairs…as well as a treasured pair of espadrilles that I’ve been keeping out of sentimentality but the leather has actually begun to split. But I need to get rid of more. I’d like to aim to have a total number of shoes…a rough number….but I don’t know what that number to be. Hence, I’m looking for answers! And I’ll plan on updating what I buy in the coming year and how my shoe closet hopefully evolves.
How many shoes do you have? What is an “ideal” number for you?
19 Comments
Jeannine520
May 30, 2022 at 6:09 pmJust my opinion of course but I don’t think aiming for a number is the way to go. A person who only goes to work or works from home, a person who does a lot of sports, goes to formal events, etc. all have different needs in shoes. A reasonable number for one person could be either a hardship or excessive for another. Have I talked myself out of having to give you a number yet? 🙂
Truth is I have no idea but a ballpark guess is about 90. I tend to get rid of shoes pretty quickly that aren’t serving their purpose so I don’t accumulate too many. I usually only have one pair of athletic/gym shoes at a time, three pair of snow/after ski boots, one pair of hiking boots, 3 to 4 pair of flip flops, about 8-10 pair of loafers, about 10 pair of sandals (2 or 3 are casual, the rest more dressy) and all the rest are heels of some sort, almost all being 3″ or under because I wear them every day and they need to be comfortable enough to do everything without pain. I have a few pair that I need to get rid of that I never wear; a sling back wine colored patent leather that despite having a pretty low heel are like torture devices and a couple pair of calf-hair leopard that I don’t wear because they’re redundant. Currently looking for a pair of black sandals that aren’t as big/clunky as the Prada ones I’ve been wearing that will go with a sundress that’s a little less casual that the ones I’ve been wearing with the Prada.
S in the US
May 30, 2022 at 6:18 pmI have a frightening amount spear over multiple places (hello, under the office desk which I haven’t been to in while). Collected so many pretty Manolos or less-than-comfortable pairs of flats on the belief that I’d just wear them in a carpeted office. I’m going to say I easily have 40-50 pairs of shoes. I can’t even count because they’re not all in one place!
Now, life has shifted a lot. Working from home and taking on more outdoors activities with my son means I am really biased towards one or two pairs of comfy shoes (yikes). That most worn pair is my white Birkenstock Gizehs. (As an aside, I’d say it’s been the same for my clothes – gravitating towards things in ‘performance’ fabrics which are way more comfortable for my life – gone are the weekly Zara runs!)
Anonymous
May 30, 2022 at 6:19 pm** “spread over multiple places…”
Nina
May 30, 2022 at 7:08 pmI started adopting minimalism and decluttered a lot of shoes from my closet little by little 3 years ago. I can proudly say that I am down to less than 10 pairs of shoes and handbags (each). I know shoes are hard to get rid of since it’s not worth much on the resale market. I’ve painfully sold shoes at 10% of what I purchased for. However, it’s so nice to only keep the shoes you actually wear in your closet. Right now, I own a pair of Gucci loafers, 2 espadrilles, Cole Haan Oxford shoes, Roger Vivier strappy heel sandals, Roger Vivier low heel pumps, Dior sling backs, Everlane Day boots, and a pair of Birkenstock. This fits my lifestyle and outfits for every occasion ☺️
Elaine
May 30, 2022 at 8:24 pmI don’t really consider myself a shoe gal and don’t really collect them. And yet, I have at 19 pairs which still seems like a lot to me. But after reading some of the comments here, maybe not lol.
Bee
May 31, 2022 at 4:19 am28. 3 pairs of boots, 5 sandals, 6 flats, 4 heels/wedges (got rid of almost all my heels halfway through the pandemic because they just weren’t bringing me joy and I couldn’t imagine wanting to wear them post-pandemic. Haven’t missed them yet!), 7 loafers/mocs, 3 athletic.
Diane W
May 31, 2022 at 10:07 am42. Both too many & not enough. Lots of Robert Zur driving shoes and Timberland boots. Lots of Espadrilles, and on it goes. Still, I sometimes have too many choices and at other times, don’t seem to have the “right” pair.
I think I have so many because I don’t have the right mix of styles. On the other hand, I’m not currently doing anything about it. I’m sure there’s a remedy somewhere… probably at Nina’s house since she’s edited down to 10.👍 Hopefully, I’ll become inspired to thin things out here soon.
V
May 31, 2022 at 11:02 amI have 36 pairs of shoes, but only wear 9 of them regularly. My lifestyle is so different now because I don’t work anymore. There’s not as much of a need for cute shoes to be on heavy rotation when I am mostly running errands, playing tennis, or shuttling my son to his activities. I have 11 pairs of athletic shoes and they get the most use. The other shoes I wear regularly are a basic pair of AGL flats, Cole Haan and Paul Green booties in fall/winter, and Cole Haan sandals in summer. Thanks for this post— now I need to do some closet cleaning!
J
May 31, 2022 at 2:38 pmNot even going to count them. Every pair has had a different memory and they’re just so pretty! I say don’t worry about how many and love each pair separately.
Sara
May 31, 2022 at 7:00 pmI have around 70 pairs of shoes packed into a small NYC closet. I could easily pick 10 favorites and donate the rest. Maybe I will!
greengage
May 31, 2022 at 7:46 pm63. Many, many boots and booties because.. Northeast (brown, black, lizard, leopard, grey at different shaft heights). And I do take care of my shoes and go to the cobbler so they just last and last (one pair of Ferragamo going strong in year 12). I wear mostly stacked heels or flats to work so I rotate thru those a lot. 1 running sneaker and 4 that are cute.
Kristy
May 31, 2022 at 8:37 pm31: 7 boots, 2 sandals, 9 flats, 5 heels, 8 sneakers. I purged all my pretty-but-not-comfortable heels a few years ago after moving back from NYC to SF, and it felt so good! Now I’m torn on my flats – a few are for the office, but now that we’re WFH I don’t wear them as much. I should really re-home them, but there is always that “what if” in my mind.
Elizabeth
June 1, 2022 at 6:45 amI feel like the Imelda here, but it’s around 130 pairs, including both boots and shoes (and quite a few Birkenstocks!) but not including trainers, hiking boots, and flip flops. This is after a serious mid-pandemic cleanup and this year’s spring cleaning. That said there are shoes, especially boots, I have had for ten years or more (I still have my wedding shoes 11 years later, and have a pair of Dries van Noten combat boots that will soon turn 20!). I take good care of them all. All of them truly do get some wear (they are all fairly classic, not super trendy) or they would have been cleared out, but “post”-pandemic the heels mainly come out at night. The boots in winter and Birks in summer get the most wear as I live in walking cities now.
Archana
June 2, 2022 at 7:55 am25 pairs. Given the environmental harm from shoes, guilty as charged. Trying to clamp the number there.
Melissa at Welcome Objects
June 2, 2022 at 11:19 am25. I used to own 50+ pairs, easily. I love shoes! But in these last few years I’ve been making a conscious effort to declutter and downsize. And after having some foot pain, I became ruthless about what shoes to keep. I try not to think about the amount of money I’ve spent on ones that didn’t work out. (Thousands, probably). But there’s no point in keeping a shoe that doesn’t fit well. If it’s uncomfortable, it goes away, no matter how cute.
Anna
June 3, 2022 at 5:55 amOh, well over 100. I’ve been collecting (and wearing!) designer shoes for over a decade now. What can I say, it’s my vice.
Kat
June 3, 2022 at 8:11 amI love reading all of these – thank you everyone for sharing! I think this is a really interesting topic and am going to try to write more posts as I try and whittle down my shoe closet.
Maria
June 4, 2022 at 8:10 amI have hard-to-fit feet (narrow heels, but wide feet) so that will influence the number I own and hence wear. Still, I have two pairs of winter boot (tough weather boots yet fashionable here in Canada, nicer boots for dressier events but still okay out in the snow), two pair of riding boots. A pair of black rain boots. Do boots count?
– ballet flats
– two pair of mocassins. A winter pair and a lighter summer pair.
– evening shoes that match my black evening gown
– casual heeled sandals that I can walk in
– strappy nice leather sandals
– black classic suede mid heels
That’s it. Oh and a pair of shealing slippers that are indoor only!
pret a porter p
June 23, 2022 at 5:53 am28