I have always been a shoe person if you will.
A quite picky shoe person to ensure that I didn’t buy plastic moulds for my feet or ones that were like having concrete slabs wrapped to my feet. I like to invest in a pair that would last me years.
Of course, these then all start piling up and all of a sudden I’m looking at my many many pairs that are now all lasting me years and some even reaching a decade of service.
But if you know a thing or two about shoes, it’s that the more you wear them, the sooner you should be swapping them out. Once the shoe structures, padding and layers start getting worn into and worn down, it starts become a disservice to your feet, alignment and posture.
It’s also no surprise that I sometimes buy shoes when travelling. Some a great designs that I have never seen back at home and others are needed during the trip or for the next few months. I get so attached to these shoes that I have purchased on my travel, tying these shoes not to my feet but also a memory of this trip.
I have such a hard time letting go of these shoes. It’s as if I would also be letting go of the memory of my trip yet I know deep down that this is not the case.
During this most recent lockdown, I bid farewell to a pair of shoes that I’ve had for about a decade which I had bought on my travels. One pair of black ankle boots that I bought in Copenhagen. I still remember trying them on in the store and was amazed at how comfortable they were immediately. These have served me through many winters and well, it’s embarassing the state that they were in when I said goodbye.
The other pair that are next to go are bright orange and pink Converses which were a collaboration with Marimekko. I also remember seeing these one night in a store in Helsinki and thought that they were so funky and my first ever ‘loud’ shoes. Despite owning these for such a long time, I wanted to ‘save’ these for occasional wear only so that I could keep them forever. A decade later, I’ve learnt that many things aren’t made to last forever and especially not shoes. I’m hoping to have a last few wears until bidding farewell.
I guess this has now turned into a blog post dedicated to these two pairs of shoes.
Let’s not talk about the other 4 pairs of travel shoe purchases that I am too emotionally attached to.
Do you have items that you have a travel attachment to that you haven’t been able to part with easily?
Lingo in Transit 
We have the travel shoe shopping in common! I had a pair of black suede loafers and green suede knee high boots I bought in Spain that I kept around for a long time. I still have patented leather boots I bought in Paris in 2003 and leather ankle boots I bought in Argentina in 2002. The boots, as you say, are only for special occasions. The ankle boots need their third resole. I buy earrings on trips as mementos. They take up less space and last longer (in general, until I lose one).
Haha! I love how you also remember very specifically which pairs you got where. You’re the 2nd person who has said earrings in the comments! Earrings or jewellery are definitely more space friendly compared to shoes!
When in a shoe capital like Buenos Aires, why get a fridge magnet? 😉 Yes, earrings are the lighter option!
Back packs and T shirts for me. I use/wear them until the are in a quite indecent state. The thing is I create memories around things, especially if I scroll through photos and see I wore this top on this trip or that bag got me round that place. I think it’s nice when things become part of our stories…we just need to know when to retire them!
So true! It’s always a trip down memory lane looking at travel photos and also remembering our old belongings!
I really don’t like shopping for shoes as I usually have a very hard time trying to find some that I really like – I generally stick to basic, good quality ones and only wear those so I don’t really relate to the “shoe shopping part”! However, whenever I travel I do really like to buy earrings in cute places (not necessarily souvenir shops), so that whenever I wear the earrings, I am reminded of that specific trip! 😊
I’ve only ever bought my shoes on European travels and no-where else! Earrings are such a lovely souvenir and take up less room!
I don’t shop for shoes while traveling, but I get you on wearing them until they’re just about falling apart– it’s especially apparent when I travel, as I walk a lot while visiting places. I have a small handful of shoes that I regularly wear, and I definitely go for comfort over style…although in recent years, I’ve gotten better at finding shoes which satisfy both criteria!
I sometimes get so torn on whether to take the those walking shoes on their last legs because they are not flashy and I won’t be a tourist target or to go with newer pairs. Brands have gotten better at now having both stylish and comfortable shoes!
I don’t carry fountain pens on my travels anymore (in fact, I haven’t even travelled for such a long time), but every time I use certain pens, I trigger certain memories I’ve had from using said pens. I have two main pens that used to travel with me, and they do remind me of my adventures when I use them now. Anyway, thanks for this post!
That’s a nice memory to have attached to fountain pens!