The four pairs of shoes I bought this weekend.
While trends can be fleeting, there is nothing wrong with adding a few each season to update your existing wardrobe. The best way to shop for trends is through you accessories. Some great jewelry, a few new pairs of shoes or a handbag in the color of the season can easily give the things you already own a fresh look. This past weekend, for example, I went shopping for shoes. Not only did I need some new pairs desperately, but I knew adding some fun, trendier styles would give my wardrobe a whole new look. When you shop for trends, in order to get the maximum wear and use from what you buy, I want you to remember the 2P’s- Passion and Practicality. I will give you an example of what I mean.
One of the pairs of shoes I bought (pictured above) were a pair of Sam Edelman flip flop wedges in a bright neon coral. They don’t look as bright as they are in the photo but, trust me, they’re bright. I took one look at them and just fell in love. I’m not normally a fan of neon, but something about the playful color just passionately caught my eye. Passion is that instinctive part inside of us that pulls us towards the things we are attracted to, even if we don’t understand why. Passion told me me that these shoes should be considered. However, in addition to just making me smile when I looked at them, if these were to go home with me, I also had to think practically about bringing them home. Because the trends we’re drawn to are often driven by a passionate attraction to them (especially when it comes to a woman and her shoes), practicality is like the sensible and responsible side that is there to keep us grounded. Imagine practicality like the responsible person you know– she’s reliable, not exactly the life of the party and perhaps a bit of a goody-goody. Yet, practicality balances the more passionate side of our shopping behaviors. Of course, we don’t always want to listen to practicality, which is why many of women have unwearable, trendy items that may be pretty to look at but have no place in their closets. Sound familiar?
However, you can balance the two by learning how to shop for trends with both practicality and passion. Doing this you can get the best of both worlds, fun trends that you’ll actually wear!
When I shop for anything my mind races as I look at all the options in the store, it’s like my brain is on autopilot as it scans through a mental checklist. While I could identify some of the shoes this past weekend as cute or interesting, they immediately got nixed because they weren’t practical for my lifestyle. The things on my shoe shopping checklist of greatest importance to me are: #1- The shoes have to be comfortable, #2- While they are pretty to look at, I have little need for pumps or office environment shoes, #3- The shoes I am buying have to work with what I already own, and #4- There are certain styles of shoes (like ankle straps, for example) that no matter how pretty they are, or how much I love them, I know look dreadful on me. Every pair of shoes I pulled and tried on needed to pass this test first.
Now, before you think of me as a downer or a buzzkill, my advice to add practicality to your passionate buys is here to empower you and to help you enjoy the trends you purchase. Going back to my coral neon Sam Edelman shoes, I wore them the next day with a pair of cropped jeans, a navy cardigan and a gray tank. The shoes just popped the outfit in such a fun way and every time I caught my reflection I smiled at how cute they were. I also have a ton of other outfits that I’m excited to wear with these shoes, as well. When you partner passion with practicality, it’s actually more fun, not less, because you not only get to actually wear the pieces you purchase, because they will actually work in your life, but you’ll also have no guilt or regret about buying these trends because you’ll wear them. Sure, it can be hard to turn away from a sexy pair of shoes that have no place in your life or a trendy top that will go nowhere other than to the back of your closet to rot, but we need to accept that being attracted to something, or passionate about it, does not mean that we have to own it.
I also don’t want to belittle the importance of passion, either. Passion has its place in everything we buy. Play it too safe and you run the risk of having a dull and flavorless wardrobe, lacking any personality. Shop for trends, enjoy them and have fun. Just remember that partnering an equal amount of practicality with your passion for them will enable you to love and enjoy them even more!
