March 29th, 2011 by The Barefoot Blogger: Laura Kleinbaum

They’re easier to walk in than pumps. They’re comfy and supportive and give you height without pain.  They slim your legs and flatter your butt. I really can’t say enough nice things about them.  Really though, wedges are great for when you want to look put together and current without looking too dressed up.  Often I think, “I want to look amazing, but I don’t want to wear heels because it will seem like I’m trying to hard” or “I want to look like I just threw this on, but I want what I just threw on to be the best casual look ever worn.”  This winter I wore heeled booties to solve these pesky problems. This Spring, it’s all wedges.

All of these wedges and more and available at Barefoot Tess!

March 29th, 2011 by The Barefoot Blogger: Laura Kleinbaum

Across the board, the best dressers I know and women whose style I consistently admire the most are the ones who have a great sense of contrast.  They can mix and match pieces most people would never think of pairing.  They think of new ways to invent old pieces that may have fallen from Trendy’s good graces.  They save the things they know will come back or they’ll be able to reuse. And my god, they know their staples. Most of them are also excellent at raiding mom and grandma’s closets. Some of them are even good at raiding grandpa’s.

This contrast is more far-reaching than you think. Everybody knows the basic and common LA look of a nice bag and bag lady clothes. It’s not just pairing a striped cardigan with a patterned dress, although that’s a great look.  It’s also pairing your most prized and expensive piece with something from Forever21–BECAUSE IT WORKS BRILLIANTLY.  One of the most powerful and eye-catching ways to do it is pairing two different styles.  For instance, wear a frilly sundress with ripped tights and combat boots. Wear a stuffy tweed blazer with a tank, cutoffs, and heels. Wear a cocktail dress with a denim vest or jacket.

This is where the pointy-toed flats come in.  They are much more clean cut and conservative than a ballet flat.  Therefore, paired with your casual clothes, they look awesome. What’s more, you can wear them to work when you actually have to look conservative. Try wearing the Tess by Barefoot Tess ‘Bristol’ flat with skinny jeans and a leather jacket or cutoffs, maybe some flannel or a vintage tee. You won’t be disappointed. You will look cool.

March 21st, 2011 by The Barefoot Blogger: Laura Kleinbaum

Shoes available at Barefoot Tess!

March 18th, 2011 by The Barefoot Blogger: Laura Kleinbaum

Every Spring, there’s a shoe that everybody is wearing.  They’re wearing them because they’re cool.  Remember gladiators? Hell, remember jellies? I try not to think about it, but I totally had those Sketchers platform sneakers too.  And though I look back and think, “God, what were you thinking?  Good choice pairing them with those Limited Too overalls though,” at the time, they were awesome.  It took me a while to figure this out, but now I’m certain of it and I stand by it 100%: you’re supposed to think, “What was I thinking?” when you look at old pictures of yourself.  It means your outfit was cool at the time.  It means you were with it and on top of the trends. The trend came and went and you moved on. It’s the Circle of Life.

So let’s talk peep-toe flats. They’re everywhere this season and it’s no wonder because they’re versatile, flattering, and a little more fun than your average staple flat.  They’ll also look great with socks and tights in this transitional weather. As trends go, some are long-lasting, stretching across multiple seasons (flannel, jeggings, lace-up boots) and some are fleeting (neon, harem pants, white tights I hope.) Peep-toe flats are in it for the long haul.  They mean business and they match all of your clothes.

Check out some peep-toe flats from Barefoot Tess

March 18th, 2011 by The Barefoot Blogger: Laura Kleinbaum

Every blogger and her cousin reports on this stuff, but the fact of the matter is, I never get sick of it.  Additionally, on Blogging Barefoot, it’s all about the tall girls, so only tall girl style here. Luckily, everything looks better on tall girls, so it’s not hard. The shoes can always be found at Barefoot Tess and as for the rest, I’ll let you know!

Jessica’s Look by Barefoottess featuring corso como shoes from Barefoot Tess

March 16th, 2011 by The Barefoot Blogger: Laura Kleinbaum

It’s weird. It’s fun. It’s a shoe garden.  Alamo Square in San Fransisco used to be an infamous spot. First, it served as a resting spot for travelers and their horses on the steep trail from Mission Dolores to the Presidio because it had a big shady tree at its center. Mayor James Van Ness declared Alamo Square a park in 1857, but the city was too frightened to take over the premises for a decade. “Dutch Charley” Duane, a violent boxer and gunfighter, squatted there and refused to leave. Fast forward to the early 2000s, David Clifton, a gardener for the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, began collecting discarded shoes on his trash-picking rounds. Instead of tossing them into the dumpster, he placed them around flower beds to protect his seedlings from off-leash dogs.  Soon this idea took off, people started donating their shoes to the effort, Clifton began planting all sorts of flowers in the shoes, and San Fransisco has a themselves a shoe garden.  You can totally try this at home!  And you don’t have to feel bad getting rid of your shoes because you know where to get beautiful new ones. (Barefoot Tess)

Pictures and Info from NYTimes.com

March 10th, 2011 by The Barefoot Blogger: Laura Kleinbaum

Every season, you need a stand-by shoe: something comfortable, something practical, something adorable.  It has to match all of your clothes and it has to add something to your outfit, not just work with it.  After all, you’re going to be wearing these shoes all the time.  You don’t want people to get sick of looking at you.

Usually in the winter, we depend on a great pair of boots for this, but in the spring and fall it’s all about the flats. Listen, I’m not saying you shouldn’t own a million pairs of fabulous shoes.  Quite the opposite actually–you should own millions of fabulous shoes, so that every outfit has the perfect matching shoe.  Whether you can or can’t do this (maybe you’re not a shoe person) every outfit should have the perfect shoe.  With the staple flat, you’re all set for the season.

Check out some of the staple flats BFT has to offer.

Sometimes you’re in the mood for vanilla ice cream,
plain and safe. But often it’s the rocky road that you
really crave.  It’s a little busier, but it’s equally if not
more delicious. These flats are the rocky road, and
also an excellent accent piece.

The Accent Flat: an every day ballet flat on which
you can rely to punch up your look. It’s eye-catching.
It’s outfit-transforming. It’s trustworthy. You can trust
that these leather and metallic ballets will make even
your plainest combination of clothes a 10 on the outfit
rating scale.

Between the soft leather, the delicate open toe,
and the unique fold-over bow, these flats have
it all. They’re statement staples, so don’t hesitate
to get them in every color and wear them every
day with everything.

The snow is melting and sun dresses will soon be
relevant once again. Pair them with these femme
flower flats and look completely appropriate at
every garden party, high tea, and ladies luncheon
you attend. The mere thought of this is charming.

March 8th, 2011 by The Barefoot Blogger: Laura Kleinbaum

Usually you pick the shoes based on where you’re going.  Picking a vacation spot is hard though.  There are so many things to consider: Do you want to get a tan? Do you want to see ruins? Do you want to be afraid of getting pick pocketed?  I personally go for the cultural vacations, exploring a new city, sitting in cafes, browsing bazaars, and dancing until sunrise.  Others are more into lounging on an exotic beach sipping Miami Vices and having their hair braided until it’s time to dance until sunrise.  And then there are those people who like adventure vacations. They cycle wearing sneakers on a bike with multiple speeds (I prefer sandals and a bike with a basket.) They hike, i.e. walk for miles and miles while wearing very sensible clothes.  Sometimes they swim in the most beautiful waterfalls, and then I guess it’s worth it, that is if they didn’t mid all of that walking and the inevitable farmer’s tan. And also the power bars and the sleeping in a tent and the spilling water on themselves every time they drink from a Nalgene. (Because everyone knows it’s almost impossible not to spill when drinking from a Nalgene.)

Anyway, if you’re having trouble picking the vacation that will lead to the shoe, pick the shoe and the vacation will follow.

LONDON & EDINBURGH

ATHENS

NEW YORK CITY

SOUTH BEACH

LOS ANGELES

CROSS COUNTRY ROAD TRIP

MUMBAI

March 4th, 2011 by The Barefoot Blogger: Laura Kleinbaum

A lot of boots are on sale these days.  The seasons are changing. You can now buy sandals in the stores. But you can’t wear sandals yet unless you’re going on spring break (Or you live somewhere that isn’t here.) However, boots are still appropriate and they’re going to stick with you until it’s really hot out.  They also allow you to wear the spring clothes you’ve been dying to sport without freezing to death.  In other words, spring boots are your friend.