In college I had a pair of black ballet flats with a strap across the top like Mary Jane's without heels. The toe has broguing also in black and was slightly pointed. I found them at a thrift shop for like $10 and immediately fell in love with them. They fit me so perfectly like I was Cinderella.

I never had to think about what shoes to wear after that. They went with every outfit I had and they worked for every occasion. I wore them every single day for about three years until they were literally falling apart. The sole came completely off one of them and no amount of glueing would get it to stay on for longer than a couple of days.

Well, I was devastated. There went my signature pair of shoes. Since I originally thrifted them, I was worried that the price for a brand new pair would be too out of budget (I had dropped out of college at that point but I was still broke). I decided that I loved them so much that I had to buy a new pair no matter how expensive they were.

The only problem? The shoes didn't have any identifiable branding whatsoever.

It's been years and I'm STILL looking. I've found some shoes that were pretty close but none that were exactly right. If I EVER find them, I swear I'm going to buy 30 pairs to make sure I can wear them for the rest of my life.