New Year Resolution: The Shoe Diet

[shoesense]

Wow, what an endÂ*to what aÂ*year! It's a wonder my good jeans still fit me after all this holiday indulgence, shared with many dearÂ*friends and familyÂ*(I'm talking, literally, twelve days of Christmas packed withÂ*tenderÂ*turkeys with sides of exotic sausages and rich gravy, potatoes Dauphinoise, grape leaves stuffed with beef and spices, decadent veggie and cheese tarts, sumptuous English trifles soaked in sherry and layered with home-made custard and whipped cream, potato and kasha knishes--doesn't the alliteration alone make you mouth water?--brisket fragrant with coriander and bay leaves, warm pastrami on rye, epicÂ*chocolate cakes, sweet strawberries with creme fraiche, pomegranate martinis with a dash of lemon and high-end champagne, and oh, all those shortbread and ginger cookies dipped in chocolate...)...ok, where was I?

Ah, of course, as always, all roads lead to one destination: my shoe closet! The point I was trying to make is...it's a wonder my shoe closet isn't itself bursting with all the delicious foods I stuffed it with over the course of the past two years, time during which I proceeded to "fatten it" by adding a slew of wonderful and healthful ingredients. I can remember it like it was yesterday: first my diagnosis (that pesky heel spur-plantar fasciitis pair, waltzing on knives inside my heels), then the momentous discovery of Zappos, then a slow startÂ*with sensible Anne Klein "interview" shoes with "iFlex" soles and then the patient perusing of those formidable Saturday sales of yesteryear on Zappos, through which I amassed quite an impressive shoe wardrobe at a fraction of the price...what can I say, I got hooked, and Zappos truly fed my addiction. Still, I never regretted it! I accumulated brands with the avidity of the collector: Clergerie, Louboutin, Etro, Miu Miu, Marc Jacobs, Taryn Rose, Icon, Casadei, Arche, Coach, Espace, Anna Sui, Hollywould, Dries van Noten, Roger Vivier, Thierry Rabotin, Anyi Lu, Sonia Rykiel,Â*Cordani, Claudia Ciuti, Donald J. Pliner, Ferragamo, Maloles, Kate Spade, Loeffler Randall, Delman, Jill Sander,Â*Frye, Cole Haan, Isaac Mizrahi, and many others. All the time, I went for flat, low heels,Â*or generous platforms or wedges. All the time, I looked for the generous discounts--of at least 50% off or more, persistently trolling the sales on Zappos, Yoox, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, Jildor, Shoes.com, Endless, Piperlime, eBay, and many others.

My shoe closet, spacious as it was, was starting to show signs of fatigue. Cubicles were cramped and slightly distorted by my attempts to stick more than one pair in each. Boots were stuffed into every available corner, on the floor. Months passed with me forgetting I had one or another pair of shoes available, as they were stuck in obscure corners,Â*deflated in their shoe-bag. Anyone glancing at the picture below (which is just a partial view of the carnage) would be liable to call ASPCS (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty against Shoes):

http://<br /> [IMG]http://www.s...<br /> <br />My point is, a certain sense of bloat started to overcome me, not unlike the same feeling you get from overeating throughout the holidays. Sure, it's all delicious and high quality, but do you really need to eat that much?

One can, of course,Â*make the case that as long as one's diet is comprised of healthful foods, one should be relatively safe. Similarly, I have learned (painfully, one hobble at a time!) to get rid of my painful, ill-fitting, or ridiculously high-heeled shoes and never regretted it. I may have given away as many shoes as I bought this year, to break even--though, evidently, it appears I have not gotten rid of enough pairs. And still, not all the shoes I have (though the powers that be know that I tried!) are as comfortable as I would like them to be.

So, here's my New Year's Diet Resolution, in Two Parts:

I.Â*Â* Resume a diet of apples, celery sticks, and whatever else they tell us is healthy, to eliminate post-holiday sugar and fat bloat;
II. Resume a diet of shoes-on-a-strictly-need-basis-and-only-if-they-are-super-comfortable-and-super-cute, to eliminate shoe closet bloat.

How about you? Any shoe-related New Year's resolutions? At which point in building your shoe-closet are you--and what are you going to do about it in the New Year?

[graymnnce]

Boy, DO I have resolutions!
#1: Try before buying! (Or, in web mode, make sure they're returnable.) In fact, walk around the shoe store in them a while, especially if I'm buying from a sale rack with tons of shoppers clamoring for the same thing and trying to make me hurry.

#2 (corollary of #1): Remember that 60 percent off does NOT mean a size smaller will fit. I have Goodwilled more pairs of sale-rack shoes than I care to count.

#3: Shop often. No, I don't mean stuff the closet full to bursting, I mean keep in touch with shoes in general. If I go Cold Turkey on even browse-type shopping for a long time, I'm liable to buy something absolutely coo-coo the first time I give in, just to have Something New. As a guy, I can find lots of great heels that actually do not look out of place with a suit or jeans, provided I choose carefully - oxfords, boots, even some high-heeled loafers, as long as they aren't stilettos. But if I go out shopping after months of ignoring shoes entirely, I'm just as likely to come home with some gorgeous open-toed spectator pumps that look great on the shelf but unbelievably stupid on me.