The Continuing Problem with Shoes

I met a dear friend recently and we talked about the power of blogs. She had bought a Behind the Seams gift card for a friend as a Christmas present. So this week, I would like to introduce Isabella, a London professional who will be guest writing for us at MSL, mostly from the comfort of her commute. Isabella has a fondness for figures, food and fashion and will be writing about her life in fashion. – Maggie 

The Continuing Problem with Shoes

In my fantasy world (where I am always organised, on time, and the definition of chic) I have an immaculately laid out walk in wardrobe, together with the perfect shoe collection arranged in neat rows. Which I then wear.

In Reality, ignoring activity shoes (a whole separate topic), I have ‘Too Precious/Painful to Wear Shoes’, carefully stored away in their boxes. The shoes I ‘Should Wear More Often’ are in a rack in the wardrobe. ‘Daily Shoes’ are where I last took them off in the house and finally, there is the jumbled mess of ‘Emergency Shoe Purchases’ – which for me includes the ‘Holiday Shoe’.

Over the years I have left the house to head into work sporting a wide array of footwear: ranging from slippers (called to urgent meeting on day off with outrageous hangover); to Manolo’s (a brief period where I honestly thought the budget could take it). Then only this morning I genuinely sent the following email: “Sounds a brilliant idea. I have just realised I haven’t packed my flip flops. Emergency trip to Accessorize needed”. I am now sat on the jubilee line, in said flip flops, getting very strange looks (I am also wearing a winter overcoat).

Yet another shoes debacle happened to me recently, I’m at a meeting and I smell something funny. I look down and a dog has left something unfortunate on my suede shoe. Meeting conducted in my tights, shoes washed under the tap before being thrown in the bin at Victoria station following the hasty purchase of emergency footwear. By the way, you do not ever want to find yourself in this situation at Victoria (if anywhere) as you have to chase the bin cart around the station. Not cool. This emergency footwear then automatically replaced the current ‘Daily Shoe’ and is now being worn to the office most days, despite the fact I don’t actually like it.

‘Emergency Shoe’ incidents happen to me more frequently than I would like. Example. I’m on the train at stupid o’clock in the morning wearing a yellow and black striped tiger trainer, and my suit. I have remembered to put the work heels in my handbag to change before meeting the customer. The train journey is a couple of hours long, so I have a snooze. I wake up to find my shoes have vanished. I scrabble on the floor, no shoes. Someone appears to have stolen them. Not my laptop or my wallet, my shoes. There is no shoe shop at the arrival train station. Cue a day in a suit and yellow striped trainers trying to be taken seriously. It’s never going to happen.

So how to solve this problem. Lengthy debate over a pedicure concluded that the problem lies with organisation. (1) a suitable shoe collection should be developed; (2) shoe planning is needed.

So I am now off, in my flip flops, to write my ‘must have’ shoe list and will be planning my diary with shoe forethought from now on. Wish me luck!

Isabella