Sueb, If I hadn't sworn off black sandals, those would be great transitional shoes for me. I am very tempted by those. I have such a shoe problem after boots (Oct-April) before sandals. Ms thrify, You name is accurate, what great shoes and such bargains. Mitch, Your new pairs are both very nice *and* practical, a hard combo to find. I am enjoying this thread and all the ideas. I'm trying to decide if I need anything new for my trip this summer. I test drove my old Naot sandals at the golf tournie last week - hours of standing and walking in warm-ish temperatures - and they did very well. So do I need new sandals? No. Do I want new sandals? Of course. Should I send the money on unnecessary sandals when I'll already be spending so much on my travels? Ahhh, there's the big question.

LOL - thanks for all the nice comments and deepest apologies for those of you still suffering from this intense winter! In July and August when I'm sick of the heat and still have 2-3 months of it left, you can take your revenge. I planned to have a book pocket on the outside, but using mesh for that and then adding the big mesh pouch inside just happened as I was making it. Both pieces of mesh were pulled from old luggage that was being tossed because of broken zippers or handles (or both). I knew they might come in handy!

Love your boot rack, where did you get it? It's funny to me how, even though our shoe size largely doesn't change, our footwear habits do. I ALWAYS wore heels, usually kitten heels and high heels were a rare occurrence. I could never really understand why others felt heels were painful...UNTIL I went through a long period of not wearing them. I wore heels of some sort on a daily basis since I was 15 or so. Then I got pregnant with my first and my feet and ankles swelled up so much that I had to resort to flip flops; sorry, I still can't call them thongs because thongs are a type of underwear (one I also wore daily until pregnant.) Since having her 8 years ago, heels are impractical on a daily basis and when I do wear them, I find that my feet hurt after awhile. A lawyer friend of mine confirmed that you do indeed have to become adjusted to them or they hurt (she has to wear heels on a regular basis for court) I counted my shoes and I've got around 55 pairs!!! The breakdown is as follows 2 pair of cowboy boots 2 pair of black boots, one flat and one with a slight heel 2 pair of brown boots, one flat and one with a slight heel 8 pairs of tennis shoes, one is for hiking, one for exercising, and the rest are what I would call fashionable lace up flats 8 pair of ballet flats in assorted colors/styles; comfy slip on shoes with enough variety to match to almost any outfit The rest are equally divided between heels, wedges, flip flops and house shoes. Most of the heels are either kitten heels or wedges, I only have maybe 5 pairs of true high heels. A large portion of the flip flops have a raised heel, I truly find it to be the most comfortable for me. The house shoes are failed attempts at replacing THE pair I had years ago. Sometimes I feel bad about how many shoes I own, then I look at my bestie who owns such a large quantity that they won't all fit in her closet and she had to buy a floor to ceiling shoe rack that sits in her room to house the rest and I don't feel so bad. Every time I think about culling the heels (the only ones I don't wear on a frequent basis) I'm reminded of the special events that have occurred over the past year, weddings,funerals, special luncheons for my husband's work, etc, and...since they don't take up much room, I figure it is better for me to store my variety of heels for the special occasions then it is to have to rush out and find a new pair. I already paid for the ones I own, some of them over 15 years old, but I have enough variety that I haven't needed to buy shoes for an occasion in over 15 years. So, to recap, I haven't purchased heels in years but I maintain my current stock for its (albeit rare )usefulness. Since I had kids, my daily footwear has been flip flops, ballet flats, house shoes at home and boots when its really cold. Those (except for house shoes) have been regularly maintained/updated so that I still have shoes to match every outfit. I also still own about 8 formal dresses and the shoes that match them are carefully stored with them. I don't count those in my shoe stock though.

I thought I'd drop back in and post an update re: my foot issues & quest for sandals. The custom orthotic inserts I had made have been a bust so far. IMO, they are far to aggressive / rigid. I feel like I'm walking over a golf ball in my shoe.... imagine a teeter-totter.... that's what it feels like, my foot is rolling up and over. Hard to explain. I'm planning to go back to see if they can be adjusted but between my vacation schedule and the pedorthist's, I don't have an appointment until next Monday. Because I've been unsuccessful so far with the custom orthotics I did not buy the pair of sandals that we talked about at the beginning of the thread. I've ordered / bought 7 pairs of sandals. I'm having great luck with the Vionic sandals (3 pairs) which, if anyone is wondering, I find run very large. I wear a 1/2 size to a full size smaller than usual in the Vionics. All three are very casual, basically an updated structured flip-flop. I have one pair of Spenco that I like but they're not as comfortable as the Vionics for me. Not quite enough support. I also find the pair I ordered very, very casual looking, more so than the Vionics. I've mainly been wearing the Spencos around the house and out in the yard with the dog, etc. I'd wear them to the beach. They seem to be okay for that but I don't think I could wear them to walk any distance. (edited to add: I also find the Spenco pair I bought run a bit small). I'm also having good luck with this pair of Naot sandals. I ordered a pair from Walking Cradles that I sent back - I found them unattractive and awkward and they were too small. I also bought a pair of Wolky sandals, a brand I had never heard tell of before. They were recommended to me by a clerk in a shoe store. I'm a bit torn on these ones. I like them, and I find them comfortable to walk in as far as my particular foot issue goes. But it seems by feet are also swelling a bit, from walking a lot and the heat I suppose, and the strap across the top of my foot digs in after a bit. The straps are adjustable but even at their loosest they end up too tight. I'm hoping they'll stretch a bit with wear. In hindsight, I wish I had tried them on in a 1/2 size or even a size bigger. The orthotic insoles that are sold at Costco have also been recommended to me by several people so I may try them in my sneakers. I'm still working to find something to wear specifically for walking - - I often walk the dog 2 - 5 km and I still don't have anything that is great for that. At least with Costco I can return them if they don't work out. I've also been going to massage and physio, working to strengthen by foot. All in all, it hasn't been too bad so long as I'm careful regarding my footwear. Some days I even manage to forget about it. :)