selling my sole.

*AKA, a review of leather shoes. AKA, vegetarian problems. AKA, bad shoe puns.

I have kinda weird self-imposed rules when it comes to buying shoes. A) They need to be of man-made materials whenever possible. And B) If they are over $40 or so, I have to prove to myself that I can make them work in at least three every day situations before I can buy them, to ensure I will actually wear them. Due to these rules, I own probably too many cheap, uncomfortable pairs of shoes that are ruining my feet. It’s taken pretty much all of my 20s to come to terms with the fact that I simply can’t do that to myself anymore if I want to maintain my mobility in my older years. Wisdom and all that. Due to years of coming home and limping around. LIMPING!

Last weekend I boxed up about 10 pairs of shoes I’ve been wearing, and suffering through, for months or years. They are being donated. In their place I ordered five pairs of comfy/cute clogs from Zappos (knowing all but two would be going back after picking my favorites). I settled on two black pairs, one practical goes-with-everything pair by Frye and one these-are-so-ridiculous-I-hafta pair by Alegria. And sadly both surviving pairs are made of leather.

Let the justifying begin.

I wish this were a review of awesome vegan clogs. The other pairs I ordered were man-made, Vegan-friendly options made by Dansko and Doc Martin in a similar price range, and I was really pulling for them to win. Sadly, they didn’t make the cut because they felt far too cheap (especially for the price)/weren’t that comfortable. I hate that I bought leather shoes, but I feel like at the very least the leather items in my life get worn out far past their aesthetically-pleasing lifespan. For a super casual shoe I will always pick a leather-free Sanuk, TOMs or Saucony shoe, and until now have been buying some very cheap, very uncomfortable man made shoes to wear to the office. If anyone knows of a nice-looking, professional non-leather shoe, please let me know!

I sheepishly admit I am in love with my new shoes, and in my guilt at least proved I will appreciate and wear them down. Here are a few of my style boards:

1. Spring Picnic. Cargo pants, a chambray shirt, and cute accessories are a good alternative to jeans and cardigans in the spring. (In my imaginary picnic I pack cute Bento-style meals and we drink Shiraz – it’s highly specific, but it’s my well-styled fake life.)

2. Weekend City Explorer. For a shoe with a heel, these clogs are seriously comfy. I could walk around all day in them on a city vacation without wearing my usual dork tourist hemp Saucony sneakers.

3. At the Office. Cuz, duh, I spend most of my waking life there (sob). I actually recreated this outfit this week and felt really put together. These look amazing with long, flare leg black pants.

As for the Alegria’s, they are beyond comfortable and even with a floral pattern are surprisingly versatile. I have been wearing them most evenings around the house and twice this week to work (once with gauchos and tights, and today with wide-leg trouser jeans for casual Friday). I’ve found them to be extremely polarizing at the office, which I sort of liked. Meaning, I got both compliments and strange looks and that entertained me. I’m secure with my weird style, I suppose.