The longer I’ve performed, the more serious I’ve gotten about dedicating a pair of shoes to a costume and not wearing them with anything else, no matter how strong the temptation.
Once you cannibalize a costume for another costume, you begin the descent into costume hell — “Is the whole costume in the bag?” is not a question you want to be asking in a dressing room right before a show, or even on the subway on the way to the venue.