Oh, these shoes! Oh, the dilemma!

Ok, so I have been needed a cute pair of brown heels for about 5 years now--from way back in Seaside when I bought the most adorable cream lace summer dress from Anthropologie (my favorite store that I can't afford). It is really old-fashioned, with a full slip underneath and an overdress with thick lace straps making a square neckline, dropped waist, falling to just below the knee. It has lots of beautiful detail and when I wear it, I always get compliments from other women. Of course, I have not worn it much for several good reasons: I have spent most of this decade pregnant or nursing; it is pretty darn cold here in the summer and I have yet to find a cute, just-right cardi to wear with it; and I have never had the right shoes to go with it. (The model in the catalogue was barefoot, I realized retrospectively, which is not a good sign.) Then I got another dress that has also needed brown heels. And then a skirt. It may sound reckless to be buying clothes that don't have shoes that coordinate well, but I have always made do with what I have.

And here is what I have:

--dainty black slingbacks with kitten heel

--black Dansko sandals with big fat euro heel

--black combat style chunky heeled boots

--black mary jane crocs

Yup, that's it.

--The slingbacks I bought to wear to a wedding several years back and although they are comfortable, the tiny heel makes me feel insecure--esp. when holding a baby--and they squeak when I walk.

--The Danskos are great sandals, but--being sandals--are not appropriate for at least half of the year, and are modern styled to boot, so no good with the dresses in question.

--The boots are left over from CO when I needed something to get to my classes in through the snow--but they are currently my only "winter" shoe, so for the moment I am keeping them.

--Alas, the sweet black leather zip up boots I inhereited from my grandma Evah (along with the burgandy leather trenchcoat--oh, to have a cool grandmother and be the only grandchild who is her same size!) are now officially too small. I find my foot has grown 1/2 a size in the past few years and I am too old to sacrifice my feet for fashion.

--The crocs are so practical, so even though I will always have to laugh embarassedly when remembering Bill Maher describing them as shoes for patients in mental institutions, I am keeping them.

Even my beloved tennies (black, of course--retro bowling shoe styled, irreplaceable, although I must try!) have gone kaput and I am without even that staple.

Have you noticed I desperately need some shoes?

Anyway, I started a serious search for shoes online the other day (after trying out almost all the shoe stores in Aptos/Santa Cruz) and finally found a pair that were almost exactly what I had had in mind all these years: "Cheerful" by Steve Madden.

I love the look. They are just the right shade of brown (see smaller pic), and actually comfortable, even (esp., since I never wear them) without nylons. BUT they have some drawbacks: they are a higher heel than I was hoping for. Not too high, but obviously not as comfortable, and not as stable for carrying kids (esp. with a bum knee). On the other hand, I will not be wearing them while doing a lot of walking--mainly to church, out to eat, etc. Another major drawback: it turns out D does not like heels. We have been married for thirteen years and I never knew this? So, since I prefer a lower heel anyway, and my husband will find me more attractive in a lower heel, maybe I should return these for something more practical. BUT I have been looking seriously for some time now, and it is so hard to find cute shoes that have the look I want that are also comfortable! And of course they were not cheap, since I have such excellent taste ; ), and of course D's company just yesterday announced they were cutting back everyone's salary by 5%. That sets us back, income wise, by 3 years. So perhaps that is one more reason to send them back and just wait awhile--its not like I will be wearing either of the dresses for which I am buying these shoes for at least another year, due to the whole nursing thing, and the skirt I can just wear black with and get by.

And the final issue: being the dunderhead I am, I wore the shoes around for a few minutes, you know, like you do when you get new shoes, to see if they are all right. Except it did not occur to me that the miniscule bits of dirt on our hardwood floors would so blatantly scratch up the bottom of the shoes. And the invoice so clearly states to try them out on carpet to prevent marking the soles, which might affect your ability to return them.

Sigh!

Ok, sisters, please give me help! I can't decide what to do about these shoes. Please tell me in the poll on the right sidebar. I need your expert opinions!