Women and their shoes—it's a curious love affair that Peter says has him utterly baffled. Why do women love shoes so much? More importantly, why do they collect dozens and dozens of pairs that are often uncomfortable, expensive, and above all, take up so much space? To shed some light on the topic, Peter talks with callers and welcomes Oprah Radio host Gayle King and production assistant Annette to talk about their love of shoes. Then, Peter takes a VIP tour of Oprah's walk-in closet with Kelly, Oprah's show stylist, who shares tips on how to keep your precious shoes organized.
Gayle says she is passionate about shoes and probably owns 100 pairs or more. Although she admits to wearing painful high heels if the occasion calls for them, her favorites are comfy clogs. Gayle tells Peter that women don't need a rational explanation for their relationship with shoes. "Sometimes it's just for pleasure, sometimes it's just for necessity and sometimes it's just because," she says.
Annette, a production assistant for Peter's Oprah Radio show, stuns Peter when she rolls in 36 pairs from her extensive shoe collection on a dolly! Be they jeweled or snakeskin, suede or satin, Annette says the perfect pair of shoes make a woman look and feel amazing. "You can be dressed fabulously just in a pair of shoes," she says. "You don't have to spend a lot of money on clothes or hair and just really feel good about what you're wearing on your feet."
As the keeper of what is arguably one of the most coveted shoes collections in the world, Oprah's stylist, Kelly, really knows shoes. She gives Peter a tour of the walk-in closet where she organizes and maintains Oprah's show wardrobe, including a whole lot of shoes. Kelly offers the following advice on keeping your own shoes in order:
Invest in clear plastic shoe boxes for storing your shoes. Kelly says you need to be able to clearly see the shoes you own, which will make getting dressed much easier.
Another storage option: Keep shoes in their original boxes and affix a photograph to the outside of the box so you know what's inside.
Go for quality, not quantity. Kelly says 10 or so great pairs of shoes in versatile styles and colors are really all that you need. "If you have those [shoes] that are great quality and you know you feel good and you look good in, you don't need a ton of shoes," she says.
Edit, edit, edit. Kelly recommends periodically taking stock of the shoes you have and getting rid of the shoes you don't wear or don't love. "You have to just be honest with yourself—take a friend, whatever you need to do to edit the things that you are not wearing and get them out," she says.
Make your closet a happy space by keeping it organized. Arrange clothing by color and shoes by style, she says. "It's just really important that you feel good when you enter it," she says. "It shouldn't be this source of animosity or torture!"
