Four Shoes Are Not A Pair

I’m not going to write about how many shoes I have. This is about the two pairs that I wear every week. The circumstances of my life push me towards minimizing possessions as much as possible, and it is irritating to have two pairs of shoes where I could have one. The two pairs serve slightly different purposes.

The black leather shoes with laces are the ones I wear to work. They are about five years old now, and the tread on the bottom is well worn. The uppers are in good shape and could look like new with some shoe polish. All the stitching is intact. The laces were replaced last year.

The casual shoes are the ones I wear on casual dress days at work and on the weekends. They are slip-on moc style with a boot-tread sole. Made of rough texture suede material. Waterproof, so they’re good in the winter. They are still usable, but are showing serious signs of wear. The tread is worn smooth in spots, seams are starting to split, and some of the interior padding is showing through holes.

I’ve been looking for one new pair of shoes which could replace both of these. Something that looks good enough for work but is comfortable to wear on weekends and also has some deep tread so they’ll be safe in snow/ice. Preferably slip-ons because I like things plain and laces are a little too fancy/cluttered.

Please let a comment if you have a suggestion. Maybe I’ll throw away the worn casual shoes and just use the black shoes all the time. I did see some expensive Clark brand leather slip-ons in a catalog that might be nice as a replacement for both, but then I’d have to find a way to get rid of my black shoes (too good for the trash, not good enough to donate).