shoes

I have spent the last couple of days up to my eyeballs in shoes...I have sorted through every pair of shoes in my theatre, separated by type and color, and then put in bins in a neatly organized manner. All in all, there is a total of 182 pairs of shoes.
I have been told or have overheard the significance of shoes with actors...putting on a new pair of shoes is similar to walking in that characters shoes. It helps build character, it's supposed to help them stay in character while in rehearsal (sometimes this is not accomplished so well), and it's supposed to give insight to how this character moves and such. My question is, why just the shoes? Why not the whole costume? Maybe jewelry perhaps? or even the makeup said characters use?
So as I understand the statement, 'walking in someone else's shoes', I guess I question why just the shoes?
This is what happens to a techie who is cleaning the costume room out. Ponderings about shoes...