November 23rd, 2011 by The Barefoot Blogger: Laura Kleinbaum

Black Friday is almost upon us and we all know what that means! Lining up outside of Wal-Mart at 5am and trampling a defenseless greeter because we need a plasma TV, then heading to Sears for a lawn mower for dad, Bed, Bath, and Beyond for marked-down linens and pots, then straight to the mall to elbow fellow shoppers who are stealing the good cashmere for the rest of the day! No? Just me?

Regardless of your Black Friday plans, holiday shopping is cut-throat and grueling and the least you can do is get yourself a good shopping outfit.  I don’t mean you have to dress really nicely to impress the sales people. Although, if you’re shopping in nice places, you don’t want to look like a slob I guess. I mean if you’re putting in long hours at the mall, you want to be dressed comfortably and appropriately. Also, you know you’re going to want to shop for yourself as well, so wear shoes and clothes that are easy to slip on and off. No shirts that stretch every time you put them over your head. No heels. No boots that you need a friend to pull off of you. No back zippers. And for god’s sake, leave your coat in the car lest they find you passed out from heat exhaustion in the food court with a half eaten Mrs. Fields cookie in one hand and a Macy’s coupon from your grandma in the other.

Here are some really shopping-friendly shoes from Barefoot Tess.

Click to shop!

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 11th, 2011 by The Barefoot Blogger: Laura Kleinbaum

Motorcycle Boots: they’re the epitome of bad ass.  They’re a little scary though.  A lot of people see them and think, “I hope the girl wearing those doesn’t break a bottle over my head” or “What am I going to wear with those? I don’t actually want to look like I’m about to jump on the back of a Harley.”  Here’s the thing though, you don’t have to pair them with other bad ass pieces.  In fact, it’s best not to. Their strength, their beauty, their allure is all about contrast.  Pair them with preppy or fancy or trendy and you’ve got yourself a bad ass-chic look.  No one’s going to mess with you because your boots are scary.  Everyone’s going to respect you because your outfit is a knockout. Plus you’ll look like you live dangerously and not gonna lie, that’s sexy.

Check out these bad ass-chic looks. You can find these boots and more in a wider price range at Barefoot Tess.

November 7th, 2011 by The Barefoot Blogger: Laura Kleinbaum

Pan Am has gotten us way into their style this season.  Of course we were already turned onto the fact that the 60′s were an amazing time for fashion thanks to Mad Men, but no thanks to Mad Men, we were in serious need of a 60′s fashion-fix this fall.  So, Pan Am to the rescue.  Instead of drop-dead office-wear like Joan’s, we’re into flight attendant inspired looks and the jetsetter-chic aesthetic.  In other words, we’re trading in Joan’s pen necklace for a pair of wings. ONLY UNTIL MAD MEN COMES BACK!

I don’t want to romanticize the era too hard– those women had a weight requirement– not cool, sexist, bad. But the clothes were pretty and the hair was perfect…because they got it done once a week. Additionally, everyone dressed like a million bucks when they traveled. Why did this custom go away?! We can get their looks by wearing modern clothes inspired by the time.  Check them out.  All of the shoes are from Barefoot Tess!