April and May Purchases: Progess!

April Purchases:

Flats: BP/ $4 / Value Village
Boots: $10 / Value Village

May Purchases:

Heels: $2.50/ Value Village
Sweater: Old Navy/ $2 / Value Village 
Cropped Pants: Express/ $5 / Value Village
Ankle Boots: $4/ Value Village
Blouse: H&M/ $2/Value Village
Flats: ShoeMint/$0 (not pictured, discussed here)
Total = $15.50

You can't beat holiday sales! Value Village was 50% off store-wide for Memorial Day.

As much as a love trips to the outlet store, returning with a giant bag or two of clothes for $15, I am completely out of space and am forbidding myself to indulge any more. For the time being, my only purchases are those that fulfill a need and/or replace something old and worn out.

In even more productive news, I joined my mom and sis in a neighborhood garage sale in May, which finally gave me the motivation to go through my closet and drawers and purge unworn items. Unable to get a fire under my butt to do this for years, I gathered numerous bags of clothes and collected an entire row of hanging items that I am ready to part with -- for potential cash, of course. I made about $65 in the garage sale and will try taking the unsold items to Buffalo Exchange or Crossroads.

Brand New Shoes... For Free!

Like most people, I get a lot of "junk" emails. Newsletters, promos, daily deals, LinkedIn network updates, etc etc. I usually scroll through them half-heartedly, occasionally clicking a link if I see something I like - but am usually turned off by the price, even when on sale.

I'm not sure how I got on the ShoeMint email list -- most likely from entering a giveaway, as is the case with most of my subscriptions. In a recent email from them, I clicked on a pair of flats that I liked, and was happy to find them also available in nude, as nude flats are at the very top of my list. Unfortunately, the $80 price tag made them a no deal.

Then I remembered I'd been getting emails from the same company regarding "credit about to expire" and figured I'd see how much of this credit I actually had. Turns out, I somehow had credit that equaled the exact price of these shoes, and shipping was free! I didn't even have to input my card information, and I got a gorgeous pair of brand new shoes for free.

Classic Pointed Flat $79.98

Puma Wynne Ballet Flats

A few days after I posted about commuter footwear, one of the pairs of shoes I had my eyes on came back in stock in my size. I don't usually buy items brand new, but this type of shoe is not something I will likely come across on the secondhand shelves, and it's a very worthwhile investment. Being on sale, with free shipping and free returns, I had no excuse to pass them up.

When they arrived, I was pleased to find that they looked just like the photo, and not at all like "orthopedic old lady shoes" as one reviewer had described. The sizing felt just right, and wearing them around the office for the rest of the day, they were comfortable. I decided to keep them, and wore them for real the next day. I did notice a couple things about the fit, however, that I unfortunately hadn't been able to gauge when I wore them inside.

- The inner "bunion" area rubs a bit, and I got a blister/torn skin the first day I wore them. I have been wearing them quite a bit, though, and as I break the shoes in, this issue has gone away.
- The soles, though sneaker-like, can be slippery on wet cement.

I also thought the packaging was noteworthy. Rather than a standard shoebox with a lid, the shoes were in a half box (for structure/protection) inside a narrow cloth bag - like the re-useable bags we use for grocery shopping up here in the Pacific Northwest! A little bonus mini tote for a pair of shoes- or a wine bottle, perhaps?
While I'm not sure that these complete resolve my commuter footwear issues, they have been a drastic improvement over my regular Payless flats.

Footwear

With thrifting, most people draw the line somewhere.

Underwear is certainly one item that even I, the queen of free, must buy new. (Though I have found some wickedly awesome unique European and Chinese bras at Goodwill.)

Many people won't wear used shoes, but I've found some great boots, heels and flats secondhand. As long as they are in good condition (read: don't look like there were questionable feet inside), then I don't really have a problem with it.

However, I'm having some issues with footwear that unfortunately thrifting may not be able to solve.

I'm a commuter. I ride the bus to work, and I walk a little over half a mile from my stop to the office, and again in the evening from the office to the bus. It's not a long distance, but it forces me to think about the practicality of my shoes over their cuteness. And lets face it, I spend all day at a desk, so who even looks at my feet?

I typically wear sandals or flats to work. I'll wear Converse or Toms with certain pants, and of course boots in the fall/winter, but for the most part I wear flats. Well, I've noticed that my flats are becoming misshapen - the toe area seems to be curving inward like the shoes themselves are pigeon-toed. This must be from the walking. On top of this, and more importantly, the lack of support cannot be good for my feet.

I've tried the classic commuter method of wearing sneakers and switching to other shoes at work. It's a little better for the walk, but I cant stand the frumpy look - even for the commute. And once I'm at work and my rear is parked for 8 straight, why bother swapping the shoes?

What I'm looking for is a slim profile, supportive shoe, somewhere in between a pair of flats and an athletic sneaker. In fact... it looks like Zappos has several options:

 
       Puma Wynne Ballet                         Lacoste Minzoni                  New Balance WW115
           $60.00 $47.99                                $75.00 $59.99                                $54.95
 
Unfortunately, the first two are sold out in my size, but I've signed up for the "in stock" alert, and I'll keep browsing. My few previous experiences buying shoes online have resulted in sizing/fit issues, but with free shipping and free returns, I just might throw down and buy a pair. New.

I'm sure my feet will thank me.