Toms Wrap Boots

Blake Mycoski, founder (and chief shoe giver) of Toms Shoes, has no fashion background. Toms Shoes are about a socially driven business model, not fashion. The company’s name (not to be confused with Tom’s of Maine) derives from the word “tomorrow,” as in: buy one pair today, give one away tomorrow. On the other hand, politically likable causes have a way of becoming trendy. Toms’ boat-like flats are probably comfortable in the way that any canvas-based espadrille is comfortable, good for slipping on and off in warm weather. (Below are styles $68 Neon Sunset and $48 Bronze Glitter.) But Toms’ new Vegan Wrap Boots ($98, above) might be the next contender in the ugly beautiful category, now dominated by Uggs and Crocs.


Perhaps this is the time to confess that I recently sprained my ankle and might be unduly impressed by a boot that looks like an extension of an Ace bandage. Toms' website says the wrap boot was inspired by the leg wraps of Argentina’s champion polo horses, which is a glamorous image and probably a good PR move, but if they’d asked me, I’d have said embrace the ankle brace image. Call them the bandage boot. (Even better, the Ace bandage boot, pending trademark negotiations with “Ace,” of course.) Wear them with Hervé Léger’s bandage dress. Help fashionistas come out of the closet with their foot injuries. The boots could even become the trendy way to recover after falling out of Gucci’s six inch fertility goddess heels. Miuccia Prada could issue them to all her runway girls before Paris Fashion Week Spring 2010. With at least one fashion blogger fan in Kuwait, who knows how many other fans are out there?

Ecco’s Brussels Boots: Nay

What’s inside the Zappos box sitting at the top of the stairs for me to take to UPS tomorrow? Those pretty Ecco Brussels boots in Ascot Patent (see 11/13/08 post). It was a fun fling for a few days but then they let me down.

Here’s my scorecard:

•LOVED the gently pointed toe and narrow foot. They really fit my feet perfectly.
•LOVED the mottled gray color, and would have kept them even though I originally wanted a brown boot.
•LOVED the shiny, crinkly patent leather. It is very unusual.
•HATED the wide calf. This boot taught me about calf circumference (mine is 12.5”!!!). In the Zappos picture, the boot's calf looked pretty narrow, but was 15.5,” putting it on the larger side. Most boots seem to be 14" or 16." I took a (crappy!) picture of the gap between my calf and the boot. Maybe if I’d been planning on wearing them with pants stuffed in them. But I don’t have skinny jeans and was hoping to wear them under boot-cut pants or even skirts. As a backup, a British website (duoboots.com) offers 21 calf sizes, both thin and wide.

•HATED the heel. I don’t like clackers (from Devil Wears Prada). I go for rubber so I can sneak up on people – kidding! I like shoes that allow my foot to feel connected to the ground. These boots are hard rubber on the heel and softer rubber on the outsole. The Zappos description? Cemented, single-density latex outsole ...

My search for brown, thin-calved, rubber-soled boots continues!

Marc Jacobs Lucite Heels: Yea From Afar

I landed at the Couture section of Zappos, which I confess I didn’t even know existed, and found myself staring at these Marc by Marc Jacobs ankle boots in a beautiful brown leather called “Luggage Kid.” Actually I was staring at their cheerful blocky pink acrylic heels.

Yes they are three and a half inches and no I would never wear them but yes I do have a serious shoe crush, or should I say boot crush. I am going to frame them to hang in my little museum of favorite shoes of all time. And for those women who would wear them, they are 19% off, down to $524.95 (from $654), but only sizes 37.5 and 40 are left.

Here are a few more Marc Jacobs lucite heels.



•The Leather Sling-back Bootie with seam detail at vamp and buckle closure at ankle strap and a four inch amber lucite heel. Color is Bordeaux. Price is $292.50 (down from $585).

•The Knee Boot with Amber Lucite Heel in “Bordeaux Kid” with a 15" shaft and “transparent resin” heel, or the same in “Black Kid” with clear heel. Zappos says these heels are 2", but Shopbop.com says they are 4". (Zappos, if you need a shoe factchecker, call me.)

•The very cool Cashmere Lucite Pump. In Black. Patent leather peep-toes with lucite heel. $780.00 at shoezoeonline.com. The most classic and the most conceptual of all the above. Could pass for standard black peep toe pumps, until you look closely at the heel and see a black stiletto heel inside. Like it’s been preserved in amber!

Ecco’s Brussels Boots: Yea or Nay?

Next post, I’ll let you know my verdict, but this is about my crush on Ecco’s Brussels boots for $220. (Patent leather upper with convenient side zip entry for easy on/off. Textile lining absorbs moisture and provides excellent cushioning for all-day comfort. Cemented, single-density latex outsole absorbs shock and ensures flexibility and long-lasting wear. 1 1/4" heel. 15 1/2" shaft. 15" circumference.)

Infatuation occurs before I’ve tried them on and lasts until the return policy makes me decide whether to keep them. After a period of consumer restraint and work-induced stress, I walked into Ecco's Newbury Street store ready to buy. I was told they’d sold out, to the surprise of their buyer, but of course not to me. The boots were a beautiful mottled gray named “Ascot.” I had no idea why you would name a color after an English racecourse or a man’s silk neck scarf until Wikipedia explained that ascots were traditionally made of gray patterned silk. Never mind that I needed brown boots. If Tim Gunn were by my side, would he remind me that brown is a better shoe closet staple than gray? Is that even true? Oh well. Below are two designer boots with similarly compelling (but more ombre) shades.

•Prada’s Degrade Riding Boot in smoke degradé (smoke gradation or shaded tones) for $1,250. (Think dégradé is supposed to have another acute accent.) Full exposed side zip. 1” stacked heel. Made in Italy.

•Aquatalia by Marvin K’s Rain Boots in Wasabi Rose for $285. Slick patent leather with shading. Wedge heel, 1", weatherproof, hidden inner zip, leather lining, padded insole, rubber sole. Made in Italy.

Celine Spring 2009

Although I wore a Vera Wang dress to my own wedding and am a huge fan of Michael Kors on Project Runway, it is clear that I don’t know shit about high-end fashion brands. When I first saw the name Celine, for a fleeting second, I wondered if there was a connection to the Canadian diva. Then I did a quick search on the brand and the first thing I learned is that under the Celine label, Michael Kors (hey, I practically know him!) designed Rene Russo's wardrobe in the 1999 version of The Thomas Crown Affair, one of my husband’s and my favorite fluff movies. So that means an elegant but high-glam flavor. Which you can totally see in this dress. Which I love. The airy layers of bright blue fabric that looks like tulle, with the black ties around the waist and neckline – it adds up to an awesome splash of Icelandic water.

Log In the Miles First

If I bought a pair of Timberland’s, I would expect to have to break them in. Not so a pair of Wolkys of Holland. A contradiction in terms, yes? Six months of walking to break in the “world’s finest walking shoe”? Normally a vigorous and inveterate returner, this time I was shamed by several previous returns, and the above-and-beyond customer service of the folks at Berk’s in Cambridge. I soldiered through constant pressure in the upper left of the toebox, which felt like an extra layer of leather pressing my toes. I prayed it wasn’t a defect and clung to the promise of legendary comfort from a tried-and-true walking shoe company.

The Wolky Impulse is now my go-to fall/winter ankle boot.

Wolky Sighting at the Office

Oh how I’ve wanted to do a post on Wolky of Holland, a brand I love. And then the IT guy walked in wearing Utopias in Art Print/Blue with a removable, washable footbed and anti-slip Vibram sole (more colors below). So much hipper than Crocs. The Utopia embodies the Dutch flair for design and playful irreverence. For anyone who hasn't been there, and by there I mean Amsterdam because Wolky has a store there and I can't find out where their original store was (and also because I've been there), picture yourself — if you can — sporting these babies in hash bars, browsing outdoor stalls for leather jackets, oogling Red Light district displays, dancing to live music at the Melk Weg, or jumping out of the way of bike traffic. And of course these shoes will want to mingle with other works of art at one of the fifty museums; prepare yourself to see and be seen at the Rijksmuseum, the Sex Museum, Madame Tussauds, the Anne Frank House, or the Van Gogh Museum.

Louis Boston Sale Hands

Walking by Louis Boston last week, I couldn’t resist taking a picture of their sale sign. Someone went to a lot of effort to fill each letter with what looks like stuffed rubber kitchen gloves. I wanted to get closer but didn't feel like jumping the hedges. Definitely demands a double take. As for the biannual sale itself, I’ve set foot in Louis Boston once, but I don’t enjoy stores where items are so far out of my financial reach that there’s no point in fantasizing about them. And why bother with the famously snooty sales people when Filene’s Basement is several doors down Boylston? On the other hand, now that I've read about it, I would probably stop in if I happened to be in the area. For those who care, the sale is from 7/9/08 to 7/19/08.

My Doc's Stoneflys

At my last physical, I was struck to the point of distraction by my doctor’s shoes, possibly because they resembled the Mephistos I’d coveted (see 6/6/08 post). After discussing my issues (all minor, thank you), I took a few seconds to talk shoes.

Exhausted after a weekend on call and wanting to lift her spirits, she had dressed in a nice suit with a tulip-shaped skirt and new Stonefly’s Sonjas, a slip-on wedge in Nero (black) patent leather (also in chestnut brown patent, black fabric, and black leather). Considering how much standing she did, she realized it was worth it to spend money on comfortable shoes, even though she thought they were expensive!

Not the perspective I expected from a general practitioner at Mass General. But the definition of expensive is relative, right? (I think what I pay for healthcare is expensive, but that has nothing to do with her.) Zappos has my doc's Stoneflys for $130 (down from $144), although Shoebuy.com sold them for $290, which definitely qualifies as expensive. I’m deciding now to define shoes as expensive if they are over $150. Or over $200. Definitely if they are over $250.

I've tried on Stoneflys and wasn’t impressed. Because of the name, I thought they were an American brand pretending to be a European comfort shoe. They looked like what you’d be afraid a comfort shoe would look like: clunky, practical, mannish. In fact, a few years ago when my husband drove me to the Cambridge clog store, Vintage Etc (crazyclogs.com), one of the shoe stores I try to check out regularly, he ended up buying a pair (the Elegant 20 model with Gore-Tex).

But like a lot of comfort brands, it seems Stonefly's added some zip to their styles. At least, judging by my doc’s Sonjas. And it turns out Stoneflys are a “premiere Italian shoe manufacturer,” started in 1993. In something called a Comfort Lab, they’ve conducted research, drawing inspiration from the sporting footwear sector, and arrived at unique technologies like Shock Air and Blu Soft gel cushioning. While these “technologies” sound a bit gimmicky, I’m willing to reconsider.

First Shoe Memory

My love of shoes can be traced back to a pair of blue patent Mary Janes. The closest matches I found on Google were these "Maloles" (above) ($295 at Piperlime) and these "Pour La Victoires" (below) ($154 at Zappos). Yet unlike these contemporary Mary Janes, unless my memory is playing tricks, mine had a multi-cutout pattern, including a triangle behind the strap on the outside of the foot. The next time I get out my family albums, I'll scour the shoes. In the meantime, these Peacock (Aqua) Alice Crocs ($34.99 at shop.crocs.com) represent a less serious aspect of my first shoes. I don't remember if blue was ever a favorite color of mine; it certainly isn't now. But I know I put them in a prime spot on the floor of my closet so I'd see them first every time I looked in. And the peep-toe patent heeled Mary Janes from Chadwick's ($24.99 on sale)? I would never wear them now, seeing as I am not a high-heel wearer, but they would have been perfect for dress-up.

Own: LOVE My Kamiks

While my mother was getting her hair cut next door, I wandered in to the Curtis Family Shoe Store, a tiny place in Ellesworth, Maine. It was July of 2007 and I was not looking for rain boots. Not because of the summery weather, but because I was a rain boot snob. Even after 20 years in Boston, where rain boots were required unless you wanted wet feet and ruined shoes, I refused to buy LLBean duck boots — the standard issue rain boot for New Englanders. Duck boots are not stylish in any way, shape, or form. Despite what this Fashiontribes poster says.

Then I spied these Daisy Pink Kamiks. Their sherberty pinks and oranges channeled Emilio Pucci, the jet-setting Florence fashion designer known for bold kaleidoscopic prints (and Capri pants). Pucci’s daughter Laudomia has been involved in updating the brand since Pucci's death in 1992, which must explain Pucci’s footwear collection, and the Pucci pumps and rain boots I found on Zappos!


Luckily for my pocketbook, I prefer my $55 Kamiks to the Puccis (pumps $270; boots $154). Apparently, so do a few celebrity mother-daughter pairs. Orange Daisy wearers allegedly include Courtney Cox and daughter Coco, Brooke Shields and daughters Rowan and Grier, Kelly Ripa and Lola, Gywneth Paltrow and Apple. Pink Daisy wearers include Reese Witherspoon and Eva.

Introduced to the USA in March 2007, Montreal-based Kamik rain boots are made of recyclable synthetic rubber, and because of a new technology have clearer graphics with no distortion or front seam that otherwise ruins the boots' design. When asked about the rain-boot stink factor, I’d have to say that mine are stink-free. Kamiks are made with soft Polartec lining and removable Kaxeric antibacterial insoles. But to be honest, unlike some teens I hear about, I mostly wear mine when it rains.

Real Shoe Crush: Tsubo's Lara

Three times (and counting), as if they were puppies in a pet store, I've visited these Tsubos at Nahas Leather at 65 Charles Street (their store at 285 Hanover didn't have them). Each time I try the Laras on, I'm shocked by how comfortable their rubber soles are. Not only are they sexier than anything else I own, the Laras pass my idiosyncratic test: I could definitely ride my bike in them.



So what's stopping me? A) The $110 price, which is feasible but not until I check out all my regular shoe stores to make sure I'm not missing these on sale or something better for less. B) The open-toe manicure issue. How many disapproving looks am I going to get if I don't keep my toes polished up? I rarely do finger- or toenail polish, much less deal with maintenance once I do. C) The tan color is slightly too large in a 39, whereas the black 39 fit perfectly — but do I really need another pair of black shoes?

Fantasy Shoe Crush: Paul Green's Violet

How do you know when your job is riding you raw? Could it be the late nights where you and the cleaning lady are keeping one another awake with a little karaoke? The real sign for me is when I start craving shoes, with complete and total disregard for price, which is how I found myself on Newbury Street at Footstock, a store featuring very high-end comfort shoes. Last summer, I successfully resisted a $300+ pair of Jakezas, black wedge Mary Jane Mephistos (now on sale for $200+, and still resistible).


I slipped into Paul Green's Violet metallic sandals and told Jason, the salesman, that I couldn't take my eyes off of them! I know that metallics are everywhere, but these looked like little pieces of modern art. Like mini-homages to Anish Kapoor's 2006 S-Curve sculpture now at the ICA. I've always been aware of the brand, having seen them in high-end places like Neiman's or Sak's. But aside from Zappos' blurb that mentions Paul Green's proprietary hand-built lasts, obsession with a perfect blend of style AND comfort, and the fact that their boxes say the shoes are made in an Austrian factory with Austrian sizing and terminology (although the logo says Munich), I had trouble finding information on the company or the folks behind it.

Since Jason didn't have them in my size and had to get them from his other store, the only thing I bought were some $6 Hue peds -- "micro net liners with cotton sole." As I walked out, my head began to clear and I realized A) I wasn't even looking for sandals, B) in summer, most women wear flip flops, which do not cost $200 (except Mephisto's popular Babatas), and C) the Violets really do not fit my lifestyle. They need someone who will take them to art galleries, the French Riviera, someone's yacht party. Not biking around JP!