Gone are the days when I enjoy a shoe shopping trip. I’ve never been much of a shopper, but shoe shopping–that was fun. These days, I dread both clothes and shoe shopping obligations. I know MaryAlice feels similarly, so she has started to purchase clothes for her children online at Lands End. We have made a move in this directions for Christmas gifts, for some limited clothes purchases, and now think I’m going to take the plunge on shoes.

Previously I had thought that shoes were something I just had to go to the store and try on. I am incredibly particular about my footwear–I usually wear sneakers because my feet feel terrible in most shoes–and so the thought of purchasing shoes online seemed crazy. And then last year, I hunted and hunted for a pair of casual (but also somewhat dressy) brown shoes. I wanted them to be comfortable, and appropriate for both jeans and a cute skirt. After consulting with some friends, I decided to purchase a pair of Dansko’s. I bought these adorable shoes at the Walking Company and have never looked back. They have held up great, and I wear them almost every day. I tossed ALL my other cold weather brown shoes, and I love how this one purchase has simplified my life. I only have one pair of brown shoes. Aren’t they cute?

But there was one problem–I never wanted to wear any of my black shoes because they all seemed so uncomfortable compared to my brown shoes. I thought about it for a while, and decided to purchase the exact same pair of shoes in black! I knew my size, and I knew what I wanted, so I ordered them on Zappos. Zappos even has free shipping (and free-return shipping if the shoes don’t fit!). The shoes arrived the very next day and they were $20 less than what I paid at the Walking Company!

So now my closet has only 4 pairs of shoes (brown Dansko’s, black Dansko’s, sneakers, and slippers). I’ll refrain from sharing a picture because I don’t want to make everyone jealous.

This weekend, I mentioned to Mr. Red that I needed new running shoes. He suggested a date with Zappos (Mr. Red is now ordering all his shoes on Zappos), and while hesitant, I obliged. I know Nike running shoes fit my feet well. I know my size. I went to the Nike site and figured out what type of running shoe would suit my needs best. I then went over to Zappos, and 15 minutes later I made my purchase. That’s 15 minutes TOTAL.

With four children, a simple shoe errand would be almost impossible and so purchasing a new pair of running shoes requires that I either 1) pay a babysitter or 2) eat into precious family time. The Zappos experience was so amazing that I want to do all my future shoe shopping this way. The children regularly need new shoes, and I have to bring them along to measure their feet and try on the shoes. But now I am thinking of switching to Zappos for my children’s shoes. Is that crazy? There are plenty of shoe sizing charts online, see here, and here. I can print-out the chart, measure their feet, and then pick something appropriate. Has anyone else gone this route?