What Has More Power - Shoes Or Clothes?
What Has More Power - Shoes Or Clothes?
I changed my mind many times while writing this
Mirror Talk is my monthly advice column where I respond to your questions, ponderings and ruminations about life, style and everything in-between. If you’d like to submit for a future issue, you can send in your anonymous letter here!
Happy Friday, everyone!
Today seemed like a beautiful day to launch a new segment for the newsletter. I also have a post coming to you this Sunday, too! Who is she?! That’ll be a weekly wrap up post that I’m going to be experimenting with — so stay tuned.
But for today, I’m kicking off the first issue of my advice column! I got a few questions submitted in the last couple weeks on everything from relationships to fashion reccs. So if you want to submit, write me a letter here! I’m not sure where this will end up going but I’m excited to riff with ya’ll a little bit. Let’s dive in…
Mirror, Mirror,
What do you think has more power — Meh clothes with killer shoes or meh shoes with killer clothes?
I recently saw one of those street interview videos on TikTok where people were being asked about their Halloween costume “icks”. One of the girls they stopped said that she hates when people don’t go all in — so for example, when they have really killer makeup for their costume but their actual outfit is just all black and a pair of wings. Or on the flip side, if someone has a really elaborate costume that requires a killer makeup look to match, it can feel off if all you do is a bare face and a bit of eyeshadow. I overall agree to this, it can feel unbalanced when you go only halfway with an outfit when you’re trying to communicate a specific character or theme.
But when it comes to the real, everyday costumes we wear to play the main parts in our lives, well that’s a little different. You don’t really need to go all-in with every element in an outfit because, maybe you’re just not feeling all-in that day! Plus, I think the more laid back, unnoticable elements of an outfit often serve a very important purpose! But I’ll use your verbiage here: “meh” vs. “ killer,” which I quite like. But I’ll add my own definition of “meh” if you don’t mind. To me, “meh” doesn’t necessarily equate bad (and I don’t think you think that either). It’s just “meh”. It’s the items from your closet you’ve maybe repeated one too many times. The shoes that are familiar and easy to reach for. The pieces that have more practicality over statement.
These items are not bad — if anything, they’re usually the building blocks of your wardrobe. The usual suspects, if you will. And you can use them strategically. I think in a lot of ways “meh” clothes could be a statement in itself when paired with a KILLER pair of shoes — as you say. And vice versa. That contrast creates intrigue and tension that maybe an outfit with WOW shoes and WOW clothes won’t deliver in the same way . The very lack of wow-factor in an outfit could be the very thing that helps the ensemble stand out in a way.
BUT overall, I think the “meh” item (whether it be shoes or clothes) in the context of a full outfit could be defined as the item that is easily overlooked. Using that same logic, the “killer” item is the showstopper. The piece that leaves people dead in their tracks.
To answer what has MORE POWER — now that’s interesting! I think you need to ask, which carries more weight for you? What holds more value in your closet? What do you define as unique or unexpected for you vs. boring and usual? What holds more stock in your personal style DNA?
But what I’ll say is this: I think 5 years ago I would’ve said that clothes hold more power. It feels like the obvious answer, right? Your outfit — top, bottom, coat, whatever — is the first thing people see. It holds the majority of real estate on your body.
Now, as I’ve grown and actually paid more attention to the shoes I wear, I think the shoes do hold more power.
And if you’ll allow me to get a little deeper here, I think a good pair of shoes partially hold more power because they will very, very likely determine your level of comfort throughout the day. I’m not saying this to be anti-heels or anything like that — because there are even sneakers that can feel off and wrong if they’re not the right size, weight or shape for YOU. But your shoes, the items your feet inhabit and many of us use to quite literally move through life — yes that makes a big difference.
I think shoes (and bags, actually) can impact your overall attitude — which is an important ingredient for style — and how you carry yourself through the day much more than your clothes. USUALLY. I think coats can maybe be an exception to this….
Now, from a purely aesthetic standpoint, I think the shoes may have to win me over as well. Even though I will say that my shoe collection is the one thing I feel like I’m still refining in terms of my style. But overall, there have been more times that a good, CORRECT shoe saved my outfit emergency (as oppposed to the other way around). Sometimes, the game of layers can just get tiring and you can’t seem to nail that perfect silhoutte. So if you decide to just go with one of your usual suspects from your closet (a black blazer and baggy jeans), a killer shoe with can really bring the outfit home.
Recently, for me, my go to for a night out (AKA: when I want to dress to impress) has been this formula:
“meh” bottoms (aka: the same pair of jeans I always where that are comfortable, dependable and a silhoutte I trust)
+
a “killer” top (which is actually usually a jacket)
+
killer shoes (usually in this example, a pair of kitten heels that are saved for special occasions and make my foot look quite slender and elegant do the trick)
This juxtaposition is what makes it fun for me!
As an exercise, I tried to list some of the shoes that I consider in the more “meh-y” cateegory:
Black loafers.
Black mary jane flats.
Black Onitsuka Tiger sneakers.
Black chunky chelsea boots.
Black pair of suede pointy boots.
Mostly black items! Very interesting. On the flip side, some killer statement shoes that I think definitely take over an outfit or in a way, complete it include:
Brown knee length boots.
Hot pink Onitsuka Tiger sneakers.
Silver mary jane flats.
Red velvet kitten heels.
A strappy sandal in a fun color.
Also…I think this pro-shoe stance has been greatly influenced by the fact that I’ve been working from home for the last 4 years. Because as much as I try to still have my personal style shine through while working from home, something always seems to feel incomplete. And that something is the shoes. If I wanted to (which I don’t), I could wear my favorite jeans and a fun sweater to work from home, but the shoe aspect is impractical, because I’m not going anywhere. And while I’ve been trying to find cute slippers that could solve this problem, this further convinces me that our footwear in fact plays a very important role and is often the make or break factor for a good look.
So all in all — go for the killer shoes. This will obviously depend on each outfit, each person, but they do hold a lot of power. I think whoever said that the one thing you should invest in are good shoes and good mattresses were correct. They’re the things we spend most of our lives in!
If you’re reading this, I appreciate you so so much!!!! I also have a podcast that I’d love for you to listen/watch if that’s your thing! You can submit a question or pondering to my monthly advice colum here. If you wish: you can shop my closet here and follow me on Instagram and TikTok.