Gone but Not Forgotten

I may have gone shoe shopping at lunch today. Okay. I most certainly did go shoe shopping at lunch today, but in my defense it is because I had worn my pair of clogs down to nothing. The sole was coming off and the buckle was broken on the right shoe. It was time to move on. I know my taste in everyday shoe wear would never pass the "Stacey & Clinton" test, but it works for me. I was happy with my purchases, but started thinking back to great shoes of the past and other items I may have discarded hastily in the name of simplicity.

There are two items in particular that I would really like to magically unhinge themselves from the innermost corner racks of the Salvation Army where they probably lay and come back home to my closet.

Item One: the little black skirt. I bought this skirt from TJ Maxx when I was about 16. It was the perfect back skirt for dressing up or down. It was a tad short, but perfectly work-appropriate when paired with black tights and a sweater. It was equally great for wearing out in the summer with a t-shirt. It was a Cotton Lycra blend which meant that it always fit no matter what and all one had to do to get it back in shape was to throw it in the dryer. It had buttons down the front in a sailor pant style. This skirt had everything going for it, but like so many women before me, when the style pendulum swung to long lines, I tossed the short black skirt out with the bathwater.

Item Two: gray maryjane platform shoes. These shoes, purchased from the Greendale Mall my sophomore year of college, were the prefect accompaniment for the aforementioned skirt, black pants, long skirts and pretty much anything. I know you are wondering how or why I would need a pair of platforms at 5'8", but trust me when I tell you that I should have been two inches taller and these made all the difference. I was in love with these shoes, medium gray flannel, rubber sole, with the cute maryjane strap/buckle. They would look perfect with the black footless leggings I recently bought at Steinmart, but I let them go long ago and have found nothing similar since.

I generally do a total closet overhaul every 6 months and rid myself of items that I don't wear (not in style), shouldn't wear (ugly) or can't wear (ill fitting/ripped or otherwise maimed) and typically I can't even recall what I discard, but these items haunt me still.