6 Essential Shoe Choices for the Well Heeled Woman

What’s a great outfit without an equally great pair of shoes?

That point was made clear in a comment on my post about coordinating the essential core pieces for a wardrobe.

There are also core ingredients to a shoe wardrobe as well!  I LOVE shoes, and wouldn’t dream of telling anyone to limit their shoe choices, but when you are just starting out building your quality wardrobe, money is also going to stretch so far.  Give yourself good bang for your buck with these essentials, and then add on from there.

1. Black pumps.  As Dexie said in her comment, “A girl’s gotta have at least 1 pair of black pumps. It’ll go with anything.”  Darn right she does!  Start with a basic mid-height pair that is comfortable enough to be worn for business or pleasure.  Choose quality, and learn how to take care of them.
2. A second pair of pumps.  Wearing the same pair of shoes every day is very hard on your shoes, and compromises how long they’ll last.  Feel free to choose a different color, but still keep it neutral and make sure that you can wear it with everything in your wardrobe.
3. Athletic shoes.  If you run, play tennis, or whatever, you need whatever athletic shoe best supports that activity.
4. Specialized shoes.  Boots if you live in snow, flip flops if you live on the beach, clogs in you’re a gardener, golf shoes if you golf.  You get the idea.
5. Walking shoes.  My preference would be that these NOT be a white athletic shoe, because in many places that attire screams TOURIST!  Get a good pair of dark colored walking shoes.  There are lots of good brands and styles out there, from Privo’s to Dansko’s to Hush Puppies to any number of other choices.  Make sure they are very comfortable, have good support, and that you can walk for miles in them.
6. Dressy shoes.  These are for fun.  Depending on your fashion style and sense of taste they can be sexy, strappy high heels or simple ballet flats.  These are the pair you’ll wear to dress up that little black dress for date night.  Or that you’ll use to dress up your slack or move your suit from business to cocktails.

Since I’m a shoe lover, I’d never be content with just these in my closet.  But this is where to start, and then build from here as money and wardrobe permits.

Did I miss anything?  What are the must have shoes on your list of essentials?

Photo credit: SXC