Two Things

Shoe thoughts, winter is coming (derogatory)

Welcome to my occasional, when-I-feel-like-it bonus content about secondhand shopping and selling, minor fascinations, passing fancies, and old stuff! This is the same subscription as Just Some Lady and you are (obviously!) free to skip it.

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I recently fell victim (haha, just kidding, I do this to myself) to a Substack recommendation and bought some new sneakers. I’ve been eyeing brightly colored sneakers for a while now; first it was the green Adidas I mentioned a while ago, and most recently a pair of pink and green Nikes that were incredibly tempting. Each time I would look longingly at these candy-colored shoes and sometimes even put them into my cart. And each time, I would simply not be able to complete the purchase. I just didn’t want them that bad. And I couldn’t imagine what I’d wear them with.

I love the pop of green on the ‘boks I bought ahead of our trip earlier this spring. It works out really well when the green picks up something else in my outfit, like this green Old Navy t-shirt dress I wore to walk up the street for dinner a couple weeks ago:

Could the lighting be any worse? you ask. No, it literally could not

But they also go with anything at all, partly because I don’t wear a lot of colors outside of black, white, and navy, and partly because there is just not that much green:

This is me and my Reeboks at the vet last week

And I know that everyone is supposed to be embracing the Wrong Shoe Theory, and that under the Wrong Shoe Theory one ought to be able to wear whatever color shoes one wants. But on me, the wrong shoes often just look like the wrong shoes.

Then I realized I already have a shoe theory of my own: wearing red shoes as if they were neutral. It more or less started with these Rag & Bone Colby sneaker/loafers that I have bought on eBay three times now:

This particular pair is a mere $38 on Poshmark, if you feel like cleaning them up

These are getting harder to find (though they do come in colors other than this red-orange), but for a while they were quite readily available. I think the reason is that they run a full size to a size-and-a-half small, and therefore many of them ended up in the resale market. I loved wearing these shoes with jeans, all black, black and camel, or black and white, and I wore them in casual and more dressy situations alike. My most recent pair is starting to look a little worse for wear, and I am not sure if I will try and find another pair, but I have loved them very much for years.

Last summer, when it came to buying a pair of flats-but-not-ballet flats, I got these almost berry-red Tony Bianco flats. If I had to buy them again, I’d go down half a size, but they have been quite versatile and are often just the thing (in my opinion, anyway) to perk up your lil outfit.

For instance, we met friends for drinks recently, and I wore my secondhand Levi’s and vintage Polo button-down. Initially I put on my black Quince loafers, which made me >=(, so I changed them for the red flats, which made me :-).

Sorry this is just the mirror by the door where I often remember to do a ‘fit check, I am aware it is not “ideal”

I’ve worn them with my re-bought Old Navy jacquard dress:

And with this old Gap blouse and jeans. (This is pretty much what I look like every day.)

Sometimes I wear them with the same grey jeans and a black t-shirt and white (fake) Wayfarers.

I also have my very much impulse-bought Nomasei slingbacks, which I’ve managed to wear quite a lot; I showed them last week vis-à-vis my Jordache jeans. Let’s hear it for cost-per-wear!

Anyway, this is all a big digression to tell you that, when it comes to fun sneakers, I actually want red ones, so I bought these SeaVees after seeing them in a GOACA roundup.

You know what’s hard is taking pictures of your own feet. Also, yes, I wear my jeans as if I were auditioning for a reboot of Sha Na Na

They come in quite a few colors; if you’re in the market, take their advice about sizing up for the narrow toe box (unless of course you have a narrow foot, in which case you should take your usual size).

And because I always like to window-shop, here is a pair of vintage Bottega Venetta slingbacks you could have for a relative song if you wear a size 10 shoe and act quickly:

And here are a pair of Bally colorblock pumps for practically nothin’:

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It’s funny that last week I mentioned not making any secondhand sales at all this month; that very day, I sold a blouse, and not long after, I finally moved a Universal Standard dress that I’m surprised didn’t sell faster. I marked almost everything down to $5 or $12, and I am sure this will help shake a few things loose.

I always say stuff like this and then don’t really live up to it, but I think it is time to pause my wandering, opportunistic-purchase eye and set aside my secondhand winnings and spare dollars for cooler weather. I know this strikes at the heart of many, because we like warm weather and dread the winter, but I have more than enough stuff to wrap myself in until it is once again time to sit ‘round the firepit (my favorite season is firepit). I even bought a wool coat back in May, so I’m good there, too. (Also now is the time to buy a big warm coat, if you need one and haven’t already.)

I’m sure this newfound resolve will not entirely withstand fall fashion content, which is already starting to trickle into my Substack and Instagram feeds. I saw a “summer is over, time to go back to school” ad a full couple of weeks ago, and all I could think was YUCK and I’m not even going back to school or sending anyone back to school.

It’s a bummer that Christmas creep has infected every aspect of our lives, or at least, every aspect that can be monetized, and it feels more gross with each passing year. It’s a strange way for someone who likes shopping to feel, I’ll admit! If you have already started thinking about cooler weather, please tell me what you are buying. Or, if you plan on living in Season Denial as long as possible, tell me that, too.