Nerd Pride Radio

I own two pairs of dress shoes and one set of tennis shoes. I have six or so pairs of black and brown dress socks; eight pairs of long athletic socks and then a half dozen foot socks.

This seems very minimal to me-- I envision that other people horde shoes and choose different ones to go with outfits every day. But then I realized that I've probably got about what everyone else does.

I have a pair of 5.11 Coyote tactical boots, a pair of slip-on canvas loafers with superman on them, a pair of old shower shoes, and a pair of dress shoes. I only have a couple pairs of dress socks hiding around the house somewhere. And somewhere along the lines of two dozen crew socks. I try to add more crew socks all the time, because they get abused.

Oh right. I forgot I have a pair of strap on sandals that the soles are falling off of.

lol

I'm Imelda Marcos compared to you guys.

I have:
1 pair of boots for winter, that come up to mid-calf, helpful when walking through snow drifts with the dog or shoveling the driveway.
1 pair of lace-up shoes for out and about. These are brown leather, like hiking shoes.
1 pair of slip-on shoes I use for quick trips outside, like walking the dog in the morning or getting the mail.
1 pair of hiking sandals for outdoors in the summer.
1 pair of driving shoes that I wear as slippers around the house to keep from getting holes in my socks, and for quick trips where I don't feel like changing into something else.
1 pair of black dress shoes.
1+ pair of running shoes for when I go for a jog. Since I need to replace these fairly frequently when I actually run, in order to keep the proper support for my feet and avoid injuries, I'll frequently have a pair or two that are too worn for running, but are still good for casual wear.
1 pair of Vibram five-finger shoes that I wear during my workouts, which I like because it helps strengthen my feet for running.

As for socks, I have quite a few, and several different kinds. I have 10 or so pairs of dress socks, a dozen or so pairs of anklet athletic socks for summers and when running, and a dozen or so pairs of "casual" socks for everyday use during cooler months. We tend to not do laundry very often, so I have a decent supply of socks and underwear to help ensure I always have a clean pair available.

What I hear you saying, T, is that you're Satan, regardless of whether wearing those things strengthens your hooves, but also way, way cooler than everyone else because you have special driving slippers.

Winter boots: Timberland Thinsulate steel toe boots
Work shoes: One pair of Danskos, one pair heels
Casual shoes: Three pairs of Converse in Red canvas, black canvas, and white leather
Exercise shoes: One pair of Brooks running shoes that I replace every 6 months or so

Socks:
10 pairs of thin cotton ankle socks they happen to have at Goodwill or in odd sock bins at other stores. I never match them so they are all the same basic cotton ankle style so I can just grab and go
3 pairs of running socks, moisture wicking

Six pairs of foot gear: Old Sneakers, New Sneakers, Dress Shoes, Doc Martens, Sandals, Winter Boots

I don't know how many pairs of socks I own, probably three dozen between cotton crew socks and woollies.

1 pair of dress shoes
1 pair of casual shoes
1 pair of sneakers
1 pair of sandals

When one of these starts to wear out, I buy a replacement pair.

I have maybe a dozen pairs of dress socks in black. I borrow white socks from my kids on the rare occasions that I need them.

While I have several old pairs of shoes, I have only one pair that I actively wear. It is a pair of black walking shoes that I pretend is sufficient to be dress shoes on the rare occasions that I am in need of such things. (I have been getting dressed up to go to the theater with my daughter on occasion lately, but she doesn't really care what's on my feet. I do have a pair of dress shoes that fits, but I've only worn them once in the past ten years or so I think.)

A large part of the reason for this is my back. I need comfortable shoes in order to not have excess pain.

The only other footwear that I have is a pair of Minnetonka moccasins that I bought several years ago that I switch to when I get home and a pair of work boots (women's size 9 because it is easier to find my size that way, and cheaper) that I wear if I have the unfortunate need to go somewhere with snow or mud. I avoid such things like the plague. Actually, I avoid them more fervently than I avoid the plague. I get sick a lot, I don't like to put my feet on unsteady surfaces at ALL. Slipping on ice could mean serious pain for an extended period of time with my arthritis...

I used to have a pair of slip on sandals, but I'm pretty sure they were actually my son's and he took them to college. (We share a lot of things in the family. I doubt that they actually fit him since his feet are a good three sizes bigger than mine. I expect that he took them for his, now ex, girlfriend.)

As for socks, I never seem to have enough, but that may be due to how often we manage to get laundry done... I have absolutely no clue how many pairs I have. All I know is that I am perfectly capable of getting to the bottom of a basket of laundry and having six different black socks that DON'T MATCH EACH OTHER! WTF?!?!

I have a pair of boots, and a pair of red Chucks (which very much look like clown shoes, as I have gigantic feet for someone of my short stature). I have yet to find a pair of dress shoes that I can comfortably wear for more than an hour. So generally, I'm just gauche and wear my boots.

I've got some dress socks that I probably last wore to maybe a wedding? Or a funeral? Maybe once in the last decade. Five or so pairs of high white socks for the boots, five or so pairs of low white socks for the Chucks.

I keep one pair of old boots for when I mow the lawn. I've got a pair of 15 year old sandals that I tend to wear around the house (when warm), and what was once a pair of dress shoes about a dozen years ago that have become the equivalent of my winter sandals.

I like Clarks myself for wide shoes, among the brands shared with men, and ECCO has pretty comfy men's shoes for those with big feet (my husband wears a 13, wide where possible, and he likes those) though I don't think they usually have a selection of Wide widths.

(they're down to just a few but there are lots of these on 6pm rolling through like the tides).

Shoes are a sexual thing, except, you know, when they're not. I guess if they're not, they're not. My sexual orientation is: shoes.

I'm pretty sure I could make a whole 20 minutes in those shoes from Clark's.

They look like torture devices, not footwear.