Ain’t Nothin’ Like Free Stuff: Jeffery Campbell Returns– A Contest!
October 23rd, 2009 by The Barefoot Blogger: Laura Kleinbaum
There’s a feeling I get: it’s part anxiety paired with an intense need and a voracious yearning. I get this feeling when there’s the possibility of receiving free stuff. I used to work as the personal assistant to a tiara designer. She was old and fabulous and lived in a Park Avenue pent house ever surrounded by the most beautiful things, scarves, bags, jewelry, and shoes shoes shoes! My job was crazy and odd. Sometimes I felt like a Park Avenue Princess, sliding into my town car in dark sunglasses and three bright orange bags full of Hermès in toe. And sometimes I felt like a Park Avenue maid, like when my boss asked me to tie the newly purchased Hermès scarves in her hair and clip her toenails. For the record, I refused to clip her toenails, but I tied many a scarf–I’m very good at it.
Clipping toe nails sounds awful, but the job had a great many perks as well, the biggest one being the SWAG. (I take it back actually. I came to adore my boss and consider her somewhat of a third grandma slash purveyor of sex stories and advice. We remain very close.) The second best thing about the job though, was most definitely the spoils I scored over the year I worked for her. Some of my most coveted hand-me-downs include Tod’s driving mocs, a Bottega clutch, and a Fendi gym bag from the 80s. They’re fabulous, they’re timeless, and not to be materialistic, but they make me happy. And you know why they make me happy? Because aside from being amazing pieces, they were free free free, wheeeeeeeee!
So whenever my boss talked about getting rid of old things to make room for new things this feeling I get would rise up in me and I would become a different person. My heart would race. My palms would sweat. In short, I was becoming hysterical. She couldn’t tell. Outwardly, I was very composed, a skill I learned from this very job.
Now that I think about this feeling, I feel a little ridiculous. I should be embarrassed for you to find out that I’m materialistic, but come on. I write a shoe blog. What did you think? So make me feel better and tell me the feeling you get when free loot might be on the horizon, or the feeling you get when you receive it. And also, what’s the best free thing that’s ever been bestowed upon you? Don’t say love– I’m talking STUFF.
Surprise! THIS IS A CONTEST. With your comment, leave your shoe size. The commenter with the best description of the ‘Free Stuff Feeling’ wins these beautiful, woven leather Jeffrey Campbell micro-wedges. FYI, this is a celebration of his return to our site this February, so if you love him for his beautiful designs, unique aesthetic, and all-around hot style, you can snag him once again from Barefoot Tess.
Now I need to clear the air: I just have to let you know that despite my love for free stuff, I never once tried convincing my boss to get rid of something I thought she needed. I only ever accepted the things she truly cast aside on her own accord (and poor judgment– that stuff was awesome!) Just had to clarify.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Receiving free (fashionable) shoes is just like the feeling you get when spring first arrives. Its the smell of the flowers blooming, the clean cut grass, kids outside playing in their front yards. Its like when you see the first convertible without its top and the hear the first baby birds hatching. Its the feeling you get when you take out all of your summer clothes from their winter-hiding place and pull that first pair of shorts on. You feel this excitement bubble up inside of you, that little tug at the bottom of your stomach. Stylish shoes make you feel the same way that the first day of spring does: that nothing can touch you.
October 23rd, 2009 at 4:10 pm
(Shoes size 7.5)
October 23rd, 2009 at 9:33 pm
The best free thing I ever got was a shopping partner. Well, two of them. Both of my daughters are still in school, but one of them wears my shoe size…9.5 (already!). It’s so much fun to go shopping now and see that they enjoy trying on endless pairs of shoes, wasting hours and hours in a shoe store, or just window shopping for purses and clothes. The best free thing we’ve gotten is the joy of shopping together and knowing we’re all having a great time in each other’s company. I hope they never grow out of it.
October 24th, 2009 at 12:02 am
To be literal, getting free stuff makes me feel accomplished! It’s a similar feeling to when I sneak onto the last subway without paying because there’s no one at the toll booth. Wow…this entry’s gonna make us all sound greedy. =P
size 11
October 24th, 2009 at 12:44 am
Oh yay, I am so excited to see Jeffrey Campbell return to the site!! I wear a size 11 and it is impossible to find their styles anywhere except Nordstrom sometimes…they are killing it this season with their on-trend styles and I have been so sad every time I’ve seen them because I know I’m not going to be able to wear them. But no more, Barefoot Tess has come to the rescue
October 24th, 2009 at 7:21 am
I feel great when I get something for free, you know when life looks bleak and then all of a sudden you get some free shoes, well I would feel like Cinderella going to the ball, I would be skipping and love showing them and have the happiest feeling I have felt in a while.
And shoes are really cool and since I take a size 13 its hard to find cool shoes except for your web site and thank you for letting me take part in this contest!! and I do read your blogs all the time, I am just shy and dont write alot.
October 25th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Who doesn’t love free stuff? I’m highly competitive, so I absolutely love free stuff from raffles or dumb contests at family gatherings, etc – stuff that you don’t pay for but that you feel like you deserve since you ran a little faster or found more Easter eggs than someone else. How does it make me feel? Awesome!
The best free thing I ever got was my grandpa’s old jacket. It’s really well-made and after a trip to the cleaner’s it looked awesome. Whenever I wear it I always get compliments. And when people ask where I got it, I just reply, “Oh, it’s vintage” and walk away trying to look as chic as possible.
shoe size: 11.5W or 11W
October 25th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
i love getting free clothes and accessories too! once a year when i was growing up, my cousins would bring me a big bag of hand-me-downs. i was so excited to sort through the bag and brainstorm different ways to use the different peices in a funky way. the feeling is ten times better than when you go out bargain hunting. b/c its free! and its even better when there’s a story behind the new clothes or shoes. hoping to be able to tell people how i got those gorgeous jeffrey campbell micro wedges. they are stunning!
-Kate 10.5
October 25th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
The feeling I get when I am about to get something free – maybe!:
Anxiety, sweaty palms, looking for heads-up lucky pennies, for this: copying and pasting what I’m typing each time I’ve made one sentence change so I don’t lose my whole post and still feeling nervous! Wow, this is a bit enlightening that I’m so materialistic haha.
When I’ve gotten something free:
On-top-of-the-world type of lucky, walking around like I own the city because maybe I’m impressionable and little things make my day.
But mostly any free stuff makes my day, sometimes I’m talking about it for weeks, because I’m so constantly low on dough.
When I might get Jeffrey Campbell shoes… The last (and only) time I had Jeffrey Campbell shoes was three or four years ago. They were white kitten heels with x-type punch outs and criss-crossed straps on the toe – I still remember the style name – The ‘Elle’. It took me forever to find them (online of course). It was definitely harder to find shoes just a few years ago! I wore them until the rubber bottom on the heels came off, but I was determined to keep wearing them – although it ended in my doom as they were far too slippery to wear anymore. I now have two lovely Jeffrey Campbell scars on my right leg! And yet, I still own them just because I love having a pair of Campbells in my closet. The very idea of getting those Campbell shoes would mean no longer (potentially) risking my legs or getting further into debt for my fashion addiction – ugh, especially Campbell, I have been forced to drool over his shoes ever since the first pair – those banners online are definitely a tease and I’m always seeing them (fashion addicted, I remind you) and longingly surfing the internet because “maybe there’s another secret pair of Jeffrey Campbell size 12′s out there.”
Well, I’m a size 12 and I’m dying for those shoes. I’m so worked up I’m literally shaking whilst typing a million run-on sentences – I guess that’s how excited I get over these shoes! (I’m through being ashamed of my materialism – It’s very Confucian! How you present yourself on the outside represents who you are on the inside and, boy, do these shoes say CONFIDENT!)
This would be the best free thing I’ve gotten in a while. I could own the city streets in my new, free Jeffrey Campbells. Oooh, the thought and chance alone has made my night!
October 25th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
PS: I read my post aloud to my boyfriend first and I’ve got HIM excited about me possibly getting these shoes!
October 25th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Actually I think I’m a 13, all these years of pretending to be a smaller size to fit into the shoes I want. Sorry for the multiple posts!
October 28th, 2009 at 12:12 am
Ahhh…the “free stuff feeling.” The feeling is like a ‘calling.’ It usually occurs around 11:30pm when I’m exhausted, more than ready to turn in after that second glass of cab-shiraz,tip-toeing quietly into the office to shut down the computer for the night. Stubbing my big toe on the bookshelf in the dark, I stifle a curse hoping that no one will realize I’m still up. I say to myself, “Maybe I’ll just check a few emails before I shut ‘er down,” lying convincingly enough that even I believe it for a second or two. Annoyed with the throbbing in my toe, I hurriedly check for any late arrival emails that might be of consequence, but finding none, my pulse quickens as I begin my
covert mission, the reason that I am really there: to check out the bookmarked “Sweepstakes” folder. Methodically, I scan through each contest and enter, or re-enter if allowed by ‘Offical Rules.’ “Always check the good ones first” is my mantra, just in case the cab-shiraz starts to do it’s work too quickly. My eyes divert briefly from the task at hand to the clock in the lower-right hand corner of my monitor. 12:28pm. “I still have time to complete my mission,” I tell myself, as I find a 5-day getaway to the Bahamas on a fashion magazine website, fill in my info and click ‘ENTER.’ Several more and I glance again at the clock: 1:03am. A sense of urgency overtakes me as I race to finish my assignment. ‘FREE! Designer Shoes’ catches my eye as I tell myself, “Just one more.” Shoe size:10.5, click,’ENTER.’ At last, I sit back in my desk chair, elbows bent and hands behind my head, satisfied that I have entered so many sweepstakes that the odds must be in my favor to win. Too keyed up to go to sleep, I suddenly realize that it is past midnight; a new day and a new mission! Click, ‘ENTER’!
July 9th, 2010 at 12:56 am
i am always looking for some free stuffs over the internet. there are also some companies which gives free samples.,::