The subject of what shoes to bring to conferences, and what not to, has been on my mind lately since this is conference season for a lot of us. I just got back from the 2012 ALA convention in Anaheim, CA and while I didn’t have to go too far from the convention center and surrounding hotels, I did get  in a lot of walking.

Before I left for the conference I dithered about what shoes to bring. Did I need a dressy pair? How about sneakers? Were the Birkenstocks too flat, too frumpy, just too Birkenstocky? Heels or flats? Black, nude, brown? How much room in my carry-on luggage did I have for x-number of shoes?

I packed and unpacked different pairs of shoes until right before I left for the airport, and even then questioned my choices. (As for clothes, no problem – just threw in mix ‘n match T-shirts, denim skirts, one pair of black pants, cardigans, and voila!)

I ended up with these:

And these:

(I also packed cheapo flip-flops, and sneakers, but I never did wear them.)

The Cole Haan wedge shoes were comfy and easy to walk in, for the first day. I ended up wearing them for 3-1/2 days and by the time I got home I just wanted to burn them. The Clark wedges were fine, but not for extended walking.

Why, oh why, didn’t I bring these?

and/or these?

By the last morning of the conference, I was craving comfort and cursing myself for leaving my less stylish (OK dowdy) shoes at home. The trek through the airport wasn’t so delightful either.

Will I ever learn? I know I’ll be facing the same dilemma the next time I pack for a trip.

How about you?

(Alexandra Simons is the History/Political Science/Gov Docs librarian at the University of Houston. She has a hard time finding shoes that fit. She has spent too much money at Nordstrom and Zappos.)