How Many Shoes Should I Own? What’s The Ideal Number?

How many shoes should I own? Ideally, 5-7 pairs of shoes are enough for an average person for everyday use.

But then again it mostly depends on your preferences, demands, and lifestyle. If you have to attend a lot of outdoor activities, the number will increase.

As shoes need rest between each wear, it’s always good to have extra pairs. But how many shoes are too many?

Here we go with an in-depth analysis that shows the ideal number of footwear both for men and women.

Let’s dive in!

How Many Shoes Should I Own?

According to Elinor Block, a woman should have 2 pairs of sneakers, 2 pairs of high heels, 2 pairs of comfy heels, 1 pair of ankle boots, 1 pair of flats, 1 pair of fancy flats, 1 pair of loafers, and 1 pair of boots. These 11 pairs of shoes are enough to keep a woman trendy nowadays. 

However, it isn’t a one-size-fits-all kind of thing. Different persons have different lifestyles and therefore, there’s no ideal number when it comes to shoe collections. 

Of course, there are some basic factors that decide the shoe types you need the most.

One of them is climate. If you live in an area that goes through a lot of climatic changes, your wardrobe needs a number of shoes to cope with the weather.

For example, you need sandals for summer and boots for winter.

Moreover, your lifestyle has a lot to do with footwear. Your functionality decides whether you need dress shoes for office wear or athletics shoes for participating in a sports event.

Most importantly, it comes down to your personal preference. Whether you are obsessed with footwear or you are a minimalist in terms of your shoe closet, that makes all the difference.

Although women tend to have around 20 pairs of shoes, they usually wear 5-7 pairs for everyday use. 

Nevertheless, what do you do for a living? What’s your financial situation? What’s the capacity of your wardrobe?- all these questions should pop up in your head before you ask for the perfect number of footwear. 

How Many Pairs of Footwear Do You Own in Total? 

Based on the lifestylefiftysurveys, here we go with the responses from hundreds of shoe users. It shows how many pairs of shoes does the average person own.

According to the survey, almost 40% of people own between 11-20 pairs of footwear in total. More than 15% responded that they have 31-40 pairs in their shoe closet. 

Here is a table that clearly demonstrates the percentage of responses about their everyday shoe collection.

Number of Footwear	Response Rate	Number of Responders
0-5	0%	2
6-10	Nearly 10%	8
11-20	More than 35%	32
21-30	Around 25%	21
31-40	More than 15%	14
Others	10%	9

But what are the other responses?  Do they have more than 40 pairs?

Oh yes! Some people responded that they have even more than 75 pairs of shoes in their wardrobes. Whereas some of them own more than 60 pairs.

Surely, they have a shoe fetish, don’t they?

Boots

How many pairs of boots should a woman own? What does the research say? 

Around 70% of people living in cooler climates inform that they have at least 5 pairs of boots.

As we all know, boots are of different types and are a must-have whether you go walking or hiking. 

Here is the graph that shows how many boots people own on average. 

Number of Boots	Response Rate	Number of Responders
0-5	70%	59
6-10	Above 20%	22
11-15	Around 5%	3

However, among other responses, we see that some people own more than 20+ pairs. That’s quite unusual though! They might be the biggest boot lover.

Sneakers 

One of the most loved shoe types is sneakers and for good reason. Whether you have high heels or not, you certainly have sneakers in your closet.

Here’s what the survey shows about the responses of sneakers lovers.

Number of Sneakers	Response Rate	Responses
0-5	Almost 80%	67
6-10	Almost 20%	16
11-20	0%	0

Nevertheless, two people responded otherwise. One of them doesn’t have any sneakers. Can you believe it?

Trainers

Now, let’s talk about the trainers. You should have at least one pair of trainers in your wardrobe for running, power walking, jogging, or working out.

Also, they provide decent support when you need to stand on your feet for the whole day.

Number of Trainers	Response Rate	Responses
0-5	Above 90%	81
6-10	Around 5%	4
11-20	0%	0

As the graph shows, more than 90% of people suggested that they have 0-5 pairs of trainers. Nearly 5% of responders suggested that they own 6-10 pairs of shoes. But none have more than 10 pairs though. 

Going-out Shoes

What do you understand by going-out shoes? A pair that you probably wear to clubs, parties, or any outdoor events. So, they need to be fancy and fashionable to make you look well-dressed.

If you ask how many shoes should I own woman, you should have at least two pairs of going-out shoes. Whether it’s a pair of strappy heels or fashionable flats, you cannot live without them being a woman.

After all, you don’t want to be in a situation where you have to attend an outdoor event but you have nothing to wear to keep track of the trend, right?

Number of Going Out Shoes	Response Rate	Number of Response
0-5	70%	61
6-10	20%	18
11-20	Below 10%	8

According to the chart, most of them have 0-5 pairs of shoes for such outdoor events. Twenty percent of women own 6-10 pairs.

Nonetheless, one response suggests that she has 50+ pairs. Yes, it must be a woman and she might be a celebrity. What do you say?

Sandals

Last, but not the least, we all love sandals. Whether it’s a strappy pair or an open-toe sandal, this is our go-to footwear for daily life.

Number of Sandals	Response Rate	Response Number
0-5		43
6-10		30
11-20		12

Here, we see that 43 people responded in favor of having 0-5 pairs of sandals. This is nearly 50% of the total responses.

More than 30% of people responded that they have 6-10 pairs of sandals at home. And 12 of the responses notified of having 11-20 pairs.

Based on a report in News.com.au, an average woman has 20 pairs of shoes but she wears only 5 of them in her day-to-day life.

In fact, nine out of ten women admitted that they never took at least one pair out of their closet.

For your information, this study was conducted on more than 2000 women aged at least 18.

How Many Pair of Shoes Should a Man Own?

Hey, are you a guy? Then you must be thinking- how many shoes should a man own? 

Honestly speaking, four pairs of shoes are enough for a man. A pair of formal shoes, a casual pair, and two pairs of trainers. 

But that’s the minimalistic approach. After all, nobody said guys couldn’t be shoe lovers, right? 

So, an average man can easily have 10-20 pairs of shoes to cover any kind of occasion, whether it’s formal or casual.

Furthermore, the average number of shoes a man owns mostly depends on what types of footwear go well with his lifestyle.

If a man usually prefers a casual or sporty outlook, he should focus more on purchasing casual footwear. 

On the other hand, if you must attend formal events more often, having smart outdoor shoes will be wiser.

Here’s a thorough breakdown of the query, how many shoes should I own man?

Dress Shoes

Whether you go for Oxfords, Loafers, Monks, or Derbys, have at least one pair of dress shoes in your closet. Trust me, it makes you look elegant.

Anyway, it would be better if you could afford a couple of pairs. So, 1-2 pairs of dress shoes are enough for a man.

Sneakers 

Umm, you should divide sneakers categorically. For example, running sneakers, gym sneakers, casual sneakers, etc.

Suppose you run every day. Then having at least two pairs of sneakers is an absolute must to switch between. You cannot wear the same pair regularly. It will affect the longevity of the shoes, you know!

The same goes for gym sneakers as well. If you exercise regularly, have a couple of pairs and wear them on alternate days.

Talking about casual sneakers, every man should buy at least 2-3 pairs in different colors and styles.

They are stylish, comfortable, and supportive. So, you can treat your feet properly during a day-long outing.

However, sneakers are of numerous styles and you must own at least one pair of canvas sneakers among those styles.

Casual Shoes

For casual footwear, you should own a minimum of 2-3 pairs at a time.

Casual shoes are alternatively known as multipurpose shoes, you know!  Though they don’t offer a formal outlook, they surely make you look cooler and smarter.

Besides, they blend well with different types of outfits on innumerable occasions. Holidays, friends’ hangouts, vacations, and casual business, to name a few.

That being said, it’s never too many shoes for a guy to have even 5 pairs of casual footwear as guys are mostly outgoing. 

Boots

Are you going to use them for work? Or for casual outings only?

If you wear boots in your workplace, you should own at least 4 pairs. Two for work purposes, and two for covering any formal or casual event.

Yes, you read it right! You can wear boots in any circumstance if matched with the right outfit.

They are not just your rainy day companion, not anymore!

Yes, boots are of great help during extreme weather conditions. But they are versatile footwear to be used in a formal wedding event to a casual friends’ meeting. 

Outdoor Shoes

Truth be told, a man should have at least one pair of outdoor boots. But if he has an active outdoor life, he should have more.

Usually, outdoor shoes are meant to wear in hiking, fishing, mountaineering, boating, camping, etc.

So, if you frequently go for these outdoor adventures, having a pair of boots and another pair of outdoor shoes is a good decision. 

Slippers/Sandals/Flip-Flops

In terms of sandals, you should have one casual pair and one sporty pair. The casual pair provides a smarter appearance whereas a sporty pair makes you look stylish. 

And for flip-flops, having one pair is enough. They are absolutely perfect as summer shoes to walk on the beach.

Finally, own at least one pair of slippers to walk around your house. 

The chart below shows the average shoe numbers for men at a glance.

Shoe Type	Number
Dress shoes	1-2 pairs
Casual sneakers	2-3 pairs
Running sneakers	1-2 pairs
Gym sneakers	1-2 pairs
Casual shoes	2-3 pairs
Boots	2-4 pairs
Outdoor shoes	1-2 pairs
Sandals/Slippers/Flip-Flops	At least 1 pair

What Color Shoes Should I Own?

When you think about shoe colors, try to be as versatile as possible. But at the same time, you should keep things simple. 

For example, when you are buying smart or casual shoes, you should buy at least one pair of black shoes. Because black blends well with any outfit on any occasion. 

For a second choice, you can go with brown color. It also complements most of the outfits elegantly. 

At the same time, having a white/cream pair of sneakers will complete your shoe rack.

For women, it’s better to have two/three pairs of bolder colors heels like purple, red, and yellow to make the collection more colorful.

FAQs

Final Words

There’s no magic number to answer the question, how many shoes should I own?

It all depends on your activities, lifestyle, needs, and preferences. 

We would suggest being calculative while buying footwear. Because having fifty pairs in the closet and wearing only five of them makes no sense.

Eventually, they will be moldy. Plus if you have too many shoes in the rack, you will be stressed to select what to wear with which outfit. 

So, focus on quality over quantity while deciding the right number of footwear for you. This is the key to a successful shoe arsenal. Go for the durable ones that last long and serve multiple purposes.

Good luck!