A Footwear Dilemma: Keep or Return
A Footwear Dilemma: Keep or Return

A Footwear Dilemma: Keep or Return

I’ve wanted a pair of gold sandal booties for several seasons, but battled to find a pair that comfortably fit my low-volume feet and didn’t look hard-edged. Styles were too high-heeled, stiff, unstable, and wide – until I found Bella Vita’s Fonda. These sandals are soft, stable, pretty, and fit like a dream in a narrow width. I was awfully happy to have found them three months ago, and love the way they look.

Unfortunately, these sandal booties have two strikes against them:

  • A two inch heel, which has turned out to be a little high for me these days, unless I wear them for short periods of time, or as Summer “sitting” shoes. 
  • I do wear sandals, but generally prefer to wear closed-toe shoes in the Summer because I like the look of covered toes and need the insulation for a less-than-hot Seattle weather. 

As a result, I haven’t worn them yet. 

Instead, I reach for my three new pairs of loafers and an old pair of gold loafers most of the time. They work with just about all my Spring and Summer outfits, look sufficiently dressy for client meetings — and most importantly — go the distance. A new pair of sparkly navy pointy toe flats from Paul Green — a birthday gift — are also going to become workhorses. 

For dressier outfits, I reach for a new pair of dainty white Modern Retro slingbacks because they have a lower heel, and are closed-toed. My old snakeskin round square toed ankle strap pumps have come out to play too. And when it’s been hot enough to wear sandals, I reached for my older two pairs because they have lower heels. 

Here are the exact Summer shoes from my wardrobe that are competing with the gold sandal booties:

Sale

This brings me to my dilemma: Should I keep or return the oh-so-hard to find narrow gold sandal booties?

Keep them, and they might be orphaned if I don’t wear them over the next two months. Return them, and I might regret that I let them go after finally finding fabulous Summer sitting shoes that fit my low-volume feet.

Should I hold out for a pair with a one and a half inch heel? Should I keep these as fun sitting shoes to wear on special Summer occasions? After all, we can’t expect every item that we purchase to be a wardrobe workhorse. That’s unrealistic and for me, takes some of the fun out of my style. 

I’m undecided. What do you think I should do?  Keep or Return? And let me know why.