December 30th, 2011 by The Barefoot Blogger: Laura Kleinbaum

New Years Eve is on the horizon and let’s face it, nobody likes this night.  Cheap champagne tastes bad. Things are expensive. It’s impossible to get a cab. You spend all this time trying to think of something fabulous to do or you rebel and stay home drinking wine and playing Scrabble. Either way, there’s always that looming feeling that you’re supposed to be doing something awesome. You know what can be awesome? Your outfit.  No matter what you’re doing, if you’re dressed in the best possible thing, how bad a time could you have, right? Well, some amateur partier could throw up on you, but otherwise, the night will be a little better if you’re outfit is bangin’.

Here are some suggestions ranging the full casual-to-dressy spectrum.

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

Time to give people stuff for Christmas and Hanukkah and that holiday grab bag at work. It’s not easy. You don’t know people’s life. You don’t know what they want.  Some people are easier than others, but no gift is a sure-fire hit.  Well, some are, but if you’re on a budget, it’s hard to buy people a Caribbean cruise for instance.  Here I’ve categorized the kind of people you might be buying for and some suggestions.

1. The Sister-Friend: You’ve got her style locked down and you even know her various sizes (pants, shoes, bra.) You can get her anything and shopping for her is going to be tons of fun and nothing of a search.  You’ll probably just see something and think, “OMG, that’s so her.” Gifting advice: Get her something you’d want.

The BFT ‘Phoenix’, Barefoot Tess, $59

2. The She-Has-Everything: Moms are the worst culprit in this category, but also bosses, older coworkers, etc. They have beautiful things and they’re more expensive than your beautiful things, but you still need to get them something. Gifting advice: Get her something that she probably wouldn’t buy for herself, the kind of thing people never think to get, but always love having.

Hand-Enameled Bracelet, J.Crew, $68

3. The She -Likes-Nothing: She’s picky and every suggestion is a failure in some way. She won’t want to wear anything you pick. Don’t feel bad– she’s just not into that. You have to get her something though. It doesn’t matter that maybe you don’t like her that much. Gifting advice: Get her something any woman would have to like a little bit– a gift set!

A Lavender Spa, L’Occitane, $58

4. The man. Hm, this one is tricky. Bothers, dads, other men you know…I have no idea what they’d like.  Probably something like tickets to a sporting event or a video game? I’m not going to be that helpful in this situation, but here’s something I’d want if I were a man– gloves you don’t have to take off to use your smart phone. I think it’s a brilliant idea and the most convenient thing to come around since the invention of the smart phone.

Isotoner smarTouch Gloves, $31.50

Holidays are stressful for many reasons and gifts shouldn’t be one of them. Nonetheless, they totally are. Don’t worry though– even if you give someone a gift and they do the fake “I like it” routine, it’s the thought that counts. And the gift receipt.

December 15th, 2011 by The Barefoot Blogger: Laura Kleinbaum

The office holiday party: It happens every year. People bring in their mediocre baked goods, everyone gets drunk, and your boss gets a little too handsy. Or if you work at a really nice place, the party is catered, everyone gets drunk, and your boss gets a little too handsy.  Either way, it’s a blast. And in the really fun cases, body parts get xeroxed. Woo!

The best part about the office holiday party, aside from finally getting to flirt with that cute guy from the tech department, is that it’s your shot to show everyone, “Look! I’m cuter than you think!” because Holiday party-wear is much more festive than drab office-wear.  Still, you have to make it through the day at work before the party, so you can’t show up in a sparkly red tube top or a green velvet minidress. It’s a fun fashion challenge! You have to dress in something that transitions effortlessly from workplace to partytown.  Check out some of these suggestions with BFT shoes to match!

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

C. Wonder, 72 Spring Street, NYC

I walked past C. Wonder a bunch of times in the past month and thought, “I’m not going in there.  It’s going to be way too expensive.” But then the other day, I  was passing in the midst of a Starbucks run and the draw of the warm lights and bright colors was too much to pass up.

C. Wonder had me pleasantly surprised. Founded by Tori Burch’s ex-husband, it’s strikingly similar to her aesthetic, only so much cheaper. I kept looking at the prices and thinking, “No, that can’t be right. Oh, that’s right.” Bucket bags at $68, stacks of bangles $28, requisite striped sweaters at $78. Plus, I thought the idea that post-divorce, a husband would say, “Oh yeah? Well, I can make really popular preppy stuff too. Just watch me!” And then he did!

The best part about this store, though the jewelry gives J. Crew a run for its money and the dressing rooms are not to be missed, is the home section. The tableware is comparable to Anthropologie, but also way cheaper, with mugs at $8 and plates at $10. In terms of gift shopping, you could get it all done here– they have frames, throw pillows, free monogramming, a floral Vespa, and the list goes on.  It could have been my caffeine high, but I loved this place.

fab tableware

obsession-worthy accessories

December 2nd, 2011 by The Barefoot Blogger: Laura Kleinbaum

Christmas and Hanukkah are coming and we all know what that means– tons of people are getting iPads! I personally don’t feel like I need one because I have an iPhone and what is as iPad really, just a bigger iPhone that doesn’t make calls, right? I don’t really know. This isn’t a tech blog. However, I’ve been noticing recently that there are thousands of really chic iPad cases out there. Almost every designer makes them.  With a brand new accessory available that you can only carry if you’ve got an iPad, I have to admit, I’m now kind of into the idea of getting an iPad.

Check out some of the best iPad cases I’ve found and shoes from Barefoot Tess to match!

December 1st, 2011 by The Barefoot Blogger: Laura Kleinbaum

Sometimes loving shoes is problematic. You want more and more of them and there are never a shortage of beautiful shoes at your favorite shoe store, (Barefoot Tess, obviously) but they pile up. If you live in a small apartment or don’t have an enormous walk-in closet with space enough for Emelda Marcos’s shoe collection, you’re in trouble. Your shoes pile up and get scuffed on each other or you can’t find that pair of suede wedges that go perfectly with your high-wasted bell bottoms or even worse, you can only find one and it’s a mess! And you know when you get ready way ahead of time, you can find everything with ease, but the second you’re running late, your favorite ballet flats are mysteriously hiding. Oh, the horror of it all!

The answer is organization. Here I have featured the best shoe organizers for all kinds of spaces. Addmitedly, I still don’t know of a great way to store boots, besides in their boxes or on the floor of my closet. Let us know if you have a way!

36 Pair Over-The-Door

18 Pocket Shoe File Organizer

Deluxe Triple Shoe Oak Cabinet

This is what my shoes look like…do as I teach, not as I do.

P.S. There are some icky shoes in the pictures, but just imagine your beautiful BFT shoes in there.