I love shoes, and at one point in my life i had over 50 pairs in my colections. but in my bid have only what i need and use, i have dramatically reduced my collection to 13 pairs. Some are for every day, some for when i dress up and some are for the love of my life dancing. ( I have left out a pair of shoes for running and my point shoes)
You may have noticed that of the 11 shoes pictured above 5 are by the same brand, I love Balboa Zin, they make to order dance shoes and work with you to find the best fit. \They are my go to cobblers for shoes in general, and they even have a customisation options (my silver sandals are really one of a kind, and the red/brown lace ups, are a customisation of one of there newest designs )
Of the 5 pairs i own keep 2 pairs solely for dancing, the red and the pink, The rest are part of my everyday wardrobe (the 2 brown at the back being my newest additions). I have been using them for almost 5 years I don't think Iwill ever stray. Having shoes that fit is really important to having healthy feet, we only get one pair in like so we should look after them.
As i have very small feet (uk2.5, EU35, US5) I struggle to find shoes that fit me well and are comfortable , especially dance shoes, as well often the smallest size available is too big, and as most people know having shoes that are too small can cause damage to your feet, but so can having shoes which are too big.
Balboa Zin spent a few weeks going back and forth, checking my best fitting shoes and measurements of my feet to find the last that is best for me
I also own 3 beautiful pairs of true vintage shoes, two pairs 1950's sandals and a pair of 1940 CC42 ladies heeled brogues, which I sourced via Facebook Vintage Sell, Buy and Swap groups. I think the Gold sandals are my favorite shoes, even if the are a little big .The silver T bar's are an old pair of leather soled dance shoes, purchased from a lovely lady from California. Unfortunately these are wounded birds, made worse by me breaking straps in both shoes on the only occasion I wore them, so I keep them more for decoration than
One of the down side of true vintage shoes is they may not be completely water proof, as I found out while in Berlin in my vintage Brogues, so I keep these for summer and less wet climates as to repair could cause the shoes to fall apart as they where unused until I started wearing them.
The Black T bar character dance shoes (capezio), are a pair which I have been wear for years, my first pair i bought as a teenager for Ballroom dance classes and they died about 2 years ago, after 12 years of service to my dancing, so i replaced them with this black pair, and i hope i get just as long out of these as well
The last 2 pairs in are more more modern every day shoes, My leather heeled boots, I live in these, and cannot remember how many times they have been re-soled since purchased in December 2018, I have only one pair of flat shoes( other than my running shoes), some DC leather plimsolls, which I keep for traveling, but rarely use. I personally find flats extremely uncomfortable so don't tend to wear them often. I'm general in bare feet or heels
So that is a run down off all my shoes in my collection, I hope you enjoyed
NB Balboa Zin did not sponsor this post in any way, this is my own personal opinion of there shoes an customer service. I just love them
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