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?
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