Oh, Valentine’s Day, how most of us hate you. Not that I’m bitter, but mostly I think it’s a day to feel sick after eating too many candies, have a hard time getting a table at the restaurant you go to all the time, or be annoyed that the special thing you planned didn’t turn out just as you planned it. You know what can fix all of that? Having just the right shoes for the the Val Day you’re having.

The Fancy Date:

Your rich fiance has planned a couples massage, followed by an evening in a fabulous suite at some hotel he booked on Groupon. You will have a lavish meal of lobster and tiny potatoes, followed by drinking champagne while brushing all those rose petals off the bed and mashing them into the carpet with your heels by mistake. Then he will give you jewelry! A cocktail dress and party shoes will be perfect. Don’t forget to tell him he’s really good at planning things.

The Low Key Date

You guys aren’t into the fancy stuff. You’ll sit among other casual people and some girls who are really mad because they were expecting a fancy dinner, at your favorite table at your favorite restaurant. They’ll have a special Valentine’s Day menu, but they’ll still let you guys have the usual because you’re regulars and you love the cobb salad. And they might even send over a glass of champagne because you guys are super cute and tip well.  Then you’ll stroll through the city holding hands and making fun of Valentine’s day and be really glad to get home and exchange stupid gifts that make you laugh. This is a night to look cute and put together, but not too fancy. A beautiful pair of flat boots would be perfect…just the like the evening.

The Early-in-the-Relationship Date

This is going to be awkward. You haven’t been dating very long and you totally wanted to see each other, but there’s a lot of pressure to make this night work.  You’ll go to a restaurant that’s a little fancier than you normally dine at together. You won’t exchange gifts. You’ll and chat and hope it’s romantic enough or feel weird that it’s too romantic. Next year, if you’re still dating, you’ll laugh at how awkward it was. Or you’ll make fun of each other because that was your last date. Either way, dress nicely, but not dressy. A pair of heeled booties would be great. Try to have fun!

The Friends-Celebrating-V-Day-Together Night

There will be lots of wine and lots of DVD’s like “You’ve Got Mail” and “John Tucker Must Die” and “Silence of the Lambs.” Just you and your girls hanging out, eating takeout Chinese, and laughing. There’s no way this night won’t be fun. You’ll make fun of your friends’ weirdo boyfriends and talk about what color highlights you should get next. Dress cute and comfy. If you dress too sloppily, you’ll end up feeling bad for yourself after all that wine, so make sure you’re at least wearing some nice flats.

I went to a party recently, a fancy Saturday night cocktail party, and the hostess opened the door, greeted me, and said, “We don’t wear shoes in this house.” This was not cultural. These people don’t have a baby. The girl just likes a clean house. So, I took my shoes off, a beautiful pair of Corso Como heels, and carefully set them to the side of the hideous shoe pile. Then I joined the party in the kind of mood that demanded I have a drink right away or I would stay annoyed for the entire night.  What I really wanted to do was thrust the bottle of champagne I’d brought into the hostess’s arms, yell out, “No thank you! Taking off my shoes will ruin my outfit, so I don’t care to stay! Plus your house seems warm enough without me!” And then run out of the building.

I had a fine time at the party, despite my cold feet and ruined outfit, but I would have had a way better time with the shoes on. There’s nothing you can do in this situation. Or maybe there is. Now, every time I go to a party, I bring a pair of really cute socks.  Don’t get me wrong, they’re not going to make up for having to take off my heels (socks are never butt/thigh/calf-flattering) but it will be better than nothing. Some girls were going around in their raggedy white gym socks– I felt worse for them.  Check out some cute party socks here!

Of course you can get the shoes you wear over the socks at Barefoot Tess!

Everyone is always excited for the first snow. It’s clean and white, everything’s quiet and still, and maybe just maybe we get a snow day, woo! The problem is the next day, and the day after that, and those following months where grey snow lines the street and black ice makes you trip and fall into the grey snow and it’s hard and dirty and now your tights have ripped and you’re so cold! I can’t help you with this. I can however, help you feel better about it and your life in general. You have to wear snow boots for weeks on end, but if the snow boots are cute and your outfit matches them, you’ll be a little happier.  The boots are of course available at Barefoot Tess. Check out some of my best out suggestions.

One more cold-weather tip: Scarves are the new hat. If your scarf is warm, you’ll be so much better off.

Online shopping is full of perks. We avoid the crowds of vicious sale shoppers and really really vicious teenage girls having tantrums at thier mom in the fitting room. We can do it pajama-clad from the comfort of our nice warm bed. And we don’t have to try anything on. This is my favorite perk, considering last week at Arizia, I was so lazy in trying on a pair of pants that I decided to leave my shoes on while doing so, thereby ripping the pants with the heel of my desert boot wedge. I bought them anyway. Citizens of Humanity bell-bottoms for $75– you would have bought them too. Luckily my friend is an expert sower and she’s going to stitch the tear when she hems them. I digress.

Lately more and more online clothing stores have been popping up.  They’re way cheaper than their mall chain-store counterparts and the clothes are among the trendiest available anywhere.  Check out some of my favorites!

Mod Cloth is the first of the online stores to grab my attention as a serious clothes-shopping destination.  They have a combination of one-of-a-kind vintage pieces and vintage-inspired new stuff. Their dresses range from cute and kicky daytime to sultry evening, with the vast majority of them in the $34-$80 price range. There are also some splurges on the site. Their outerwear section is also not to be missed, with coats in shapes and patterns you’ve been craving and searching for for seasons on end. Their Be the Buyer section is also awesome. Free ground shipping over $50!

Lulu’s has all of your hot going out clothes, your edgy pieces, and the trend of the moment. They stock hundreds of dresses, ranging from gorgeous to sexy all between $30 and $70 and then of course the obligatory reason to visit them is that they have the best selection of sequined shorts anywhere. (also $30-$70) And free shipping over $75!

This is simple. Do you love Anthropologie, but wish it were way cheaper? Here it is! That’s the aesthetic. That’s the inspiration. That’s where you need to shop. So much lace and big scarves and jewelry that looks like an heirloom. Countless dresses under $80, plus a truly inspiring collection of affordable blouses and purses. Go! Go now!

Of course if you’re on the market for shoes rather than clothes, Barefoot Tess is the place to go!

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.

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.

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!

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

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.

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!