Stephanie is going back to work, teaching seventh-grade social studies, and she's been shopping for clothes: "I went to Nordstrom yesterday for shoes, and they immediately threw Dansko professional clogs at me.  I resisted and asked for other, more stylish shoes, but I eventually acquiesced to their pushing ...

I had to face my shoe problem. No, it wasn't the Carrie Bradshaw "too many shoes, too little savings" problem. After cleaning out my closet, selling cute shoes I didn't wear at Wasteland and Crossroads, then donating the rest to Goodwill, I had exactly 11 pairs of shoes in my closet -- including 2 pairs of tennies, a pair of hiking shoes, flipflops, and bedroom slippers. That means I had exactly 6 pairs of regular shoes. This is what they looked like:

The other night, as she was getting ready for the BlogHer holiday gathering, our own Debra Roby asked Twitter for some fashion advice: "Can I get away with jeans and flat shoes at a party, if the top is really, really hot??" Answer: why yes she can! And so can you, if you do it right. Joe's Jeans, Bluefly, $95.00

For me, it began when I was gobsmacked by the cover of Belle Armoire (Art to Wear) in the spring of 2003. There on the cover were Mary Sue Fenner's Hot and Wow Docs. Dr. Marten boots painted and shiny and wonderful!  Shortly after receiving that issue, I broke down and painted my first pair of shoes: leather boots I'd picked up at GoodWill just for this purpose.  Using Lumiere and Halo-style jacquard paints I spent one afternoon gleefully painting. 

I have several open-toed, high-heeled pumps and wedges that I would like to continue wearing now that it is getting cooler in the South East. Is it ok to wear tights with open-toed shoes? I am in my 40's and slender - I don't want to look stupid or odd. I would match the tights to my pants or skirt and wear shoes close to the same color for a long-line look. Leslie After years of closed-toed shoes, the peep toe is staging a comeback, in a variety of heel heights and styles. But now that summer is over, what do you do with all those open-toed shoes? Wear them. With tights. You heard me.

Earlier today, BlogHer Contributing Editor Sassymonkey reminded us that November brings the return of both NaNoWriMo and NaBloPoMo. I tried NaNoWriMo once, only to learn definitively that I do NOT have a novel in me; last year, I opted for NaBloPoMo, because I reasoned that I could always post photos of my shoes on my blog when I ran out of actual content. Next thing I knew, we had a whole Flickr pool of shoes, and NoBloShoeMo was born.

I've been thinking quite a bit lately about the theories behind our fashion choices, which is incredibly fascinating to me but perhaps not so much to everyone. I've also given up shopping for this month (which is probably related to my new interest in theorizing fashion) which is also perhaps more interesting to me than to anyone else. And while I am still voraciously devouring fashion media, I was a little bit at a loss today when I sat down to write. So I did what any good fashion writer does, and I asked the people what they wanted to hear about.

Flip through Vogue, and you'll think money buys beauty. Look at the real-life women who wear stuff pictured in Vogue, and you'll know money often buys something akin to a strange ugliness. Perhaps, living in Los Angeles, I see this good-gal-turned-fashion-victim -- at a v. expensive cost to her -- more often than others. But you don't have to live in LA to hear complaints from women 'bout a closet full of clothes with nothing to wear.

I'm a big believer in personal style, in finding a look that works for you and truly owning it. I'm also sold on the idea that getting dressed in the morning should NOT be the most difficult part of your day. Pulling together an appropriate, comfortable, stylish outfit should be simple, particularly if you have a closet full of clothes that fit your body and your lifestyle and a good sense of what looks great on you.