year-end purge

Yesterday being the last possible day to make donations to get the tax deduction for 2010, I completed a purge on my closet. I usually do it every other year, though really, I could do it even more often. This past year, being my rookie derby year, my body changed a lot. Not only am I stronger, faster & fitter than I have been in years, but all that power came with some additional inches most everywhere. Basically, the only size that hasn't drastically changed is my shoe size. So when it came time to clean out my closet, I realized that I had to tackle my shoe collection as well.

Now, when I say shoe collection, I mean it. It's extremely well-though out, curated & maintained. Mr. Fleshwound, during our wedding last year, vowed "to support our aggressive and diverse shoe investment portfolio." Did I mention I was holding shoes as my bouquet? Yeah. I'm aware of my addiction. I don't care. I really do see them as investments. If my feet aren't happy, the rest of me follows & nobody wants to see that.

I don't buy cheap shoes. I stopped looking in the windows of Payless about 5 years ago. I don't know what took me so long. Cheap shoes have always hurt my feet. So now my base level is a Steve Madden, Aerosoles or Aldo. I won't buy anything less well-made than those. But the more I explore high-end designers, the more I likey.

Needless to say, when Mr. Fleshwound & I rolled up at Goodwill last night with 5 heavy bags of clothes & shoes to donate, there were several pairs of shoes that no longer lived up to my standards. In all, I parted with 12 pairs. The high & lowlights:

• Dr. Martens black & white oxfords that were always about a size too big, but the smaller size don't fit me either
• Aerosoles wine & black peep-toe pumps (the loved to death stretched ones)
• Steve Madden cow print horse hair mid-calf boots (a gift from a former teacher)
• Mossimo black pleather croc-print knee-high boots (a bad idea byproduct of online shopping)
• Clarks dark brown sandals (ditto--blech, that product photographer worked magic, 'cause they were hideous in real life)
• Dolcis bone pointy-toe heels with ankle straps (I loved that store, but my husband said these were "way too 80s")
• Steve Madden 2-tone blue denim platform slides (what the what was I thinking that day?)
• some Italian tan high-heeled slides with a separate toe ring (the 1st time I tried to wear them, I permanently scarred my big toe pits)

Now that all those slackers are gone--along with every piece of clothing that no longer fit my body or style--there are several vacancies in my closet.

What designer will be my 1st choice of 2011? Suggestions are welcome.