shoe love: zara

By now, it's quite obvious that I love shoes. While my love for them is infinite, my shoe budget is not, so I'm always trying to find the best balance between price and quality. One of the places I've found to offer up some on-point, reasonably priced shoes on a consistent basis is Zara. I don't think Zara is the most budget friendly place for me to find shoes (for me, an average of $80 a pair is still steep), but I think for the quality of a lot of their shoes, I would pay a lot more elsewhere. I've also learned over the years that shoes are not, as a general rule, the article of clothing on which you should skimp. A pair of low-quality shoes are often uncomfortable, and nothing ruins your day faster than wincing in pain with every step you take. 

When I do pull the trigger on a pair of Zara shoes, I have some basic guidelines to keep my checkbook remotely close to balancing, with the most important being 1) Will I really wear them? and 2) Is the price reasonable for what the shoe really is? For the first guideline, honesty is key. We've all been there - bought a pair of shoes that were beautiful and to die for only to never wear them because a) it's a half size too small/big but they were the last pair so you bought them anyway; b) the magnificent 5-inch heel that made you fall in love in the first place makes them impossible to walk in; c) they're too damn uncomfortable and they pinch; or d) all of the above. For guideline number 2, my general rule is I don't buy a shoe that's not made of leather if it's over $50. Obviously, there are exceptions (like running shoes!), and this doesn't mean all my shoes must be leather, but for a synthetic material, I'm much more likely to find a similar shoe for $50 or less. 

Now, this is all fine and good when it works, and most of the time, it does. I have bought on average two pairs of shoes from Zara in the past 3 years. But this time around, Zara has me seriously considering 6+ pairs, one of the pairs being the one above. The rest?

 

like the Pamela Love x Nine West collaboration, if you missed out like me

Super simple and chic

Because leopard and summer go well together

The color is fantastic, and it's edgy yet classic at the same time

Super easy and relaxed; dress them up or down

Go-with-anything sexy

White + chunky heel = made for summer (confession: James loved these so much he gifted them to me)

I obviously am not purchasing all or most of these shoes. Narrowing it down to three, I'd go with the tan block heel sandals, the black thong sandals, and the leopard print sandals. All shoes are currently available on Zara.com.

Which would you pick? Have you had luck with Zara shoes?