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Traveling in style: Part II, Shoes up

By Meg | June 13, 2007

Other posts in the Traveling in Style series:

• Part I, Why comfort shouldn’t be the only consideration
• Part III, The traveler’s wardrobe
• Part IV, Accessories
• Part V, Makeup and grooming
• Part VI, Packing it all

The hardest part of packing for me is starting. I always wait until the last minute, after I have washed all the laundry and am in my pajamas the night before or the morning of my trip. Normally, I stare at all my clothes and usually pick out three times as many outfits as I need and then grab shoes to match the outfits. Some of the outfits look better with black shoes, some look better with brown shoes or some other color. Then I wonder what shoes I need to bring if I need to dress the outfit up or down or just be more comfortable. In the end, I try to whittle down the selection, but end up with way more clothes than I need and hoping that I can both get everything in the suitcase and then not go over the weight limit.

However, I now have a new technique that has helped me. I start with my shoes. As I mentioned in Shoes to Dress Up or Down an Outfit, shoes have a powerful impact on an outfit. Most people, I assume, are like me and tend to match shoes to an outfit. However, you can also match outfits to shoes. By picking out your shoes first, you can create a simple, visible outline of your trip in terms of colors, comfort, formality, and overall style. You can also use the shoes to limit the scope of your travel wardrobe into something reasonable and efficient. If you have six pairs of shoes for a weekend trip, you probably need to make some cuts and maybe choose more versatile shoes. That is not to say that your travel shoe wardrobe should be bland and boring. The great part of this technique is that you can bring some really great, colorful shoes if you want and still get plenty of use out of them because you can consciously look for more outfits that go with the same pair of shoes.

Of course, an important consideration when choosing shoes is comfort. This is especially important when you don’t necessarily know how much walking you will be doing. You might need to walk around all day then wear same outfit for a fancy dinner. Packing is much easier if you can bring outfits that can be dressed up or down by simply changing your shoes or other small accessories. Sneakers are usually very comfortable, but they don’t dress up well. They are also bulky. That’s why I try to bring comfortable flats that do dress up well, such as ballet flats or nice sandals, or at least bring comfortable shoes like flip flops that don’t take up much room and therefore leave more room for an extra pair of heels.

There is also the issue of color. If you want to get the most out of your outfits and shoes, pay attention to color. You don’t have to bring all blue shirts, but if all the outfits you bring look good with brown shoes of some sort, then you’re going to need fewer shoes than if you need black shoes for one outfit, brown shoes for another, and white shoes for another. As mentioned above, you can bring just about any color shoes if you choose your outfits carefully, but you’ll likely have the best luck if you choose shoes that are closer to your skin color. For example, I have very pale skin and can wear beige shoes with just about any outfit because the shoes blend in visually with my legs. This weekend I wore them with a white dress, a cream-colored dress with a white design, and even a black dress that had some brown and beige in the design. Having trouble matching shoes to an outfit? You don’t need to match your shoes to your outfit if you add jewelry or other accessories that match the color in your shoes (just so long as the colors don’t actually clash).

Does anyone else start packing by choosing their shoes first? If not, what technique do you use? Do you have a favorite pair of travel shoes?

Tags: Fashion, Organization & Decluttering, Shoes, Travel

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