Shopping for a Cause: Tom's Shoes

My latest covet: Toms Wrap Boots. The boots are inspired by the colorful leg wraps worn by champion Argentine polo horses.

For every pair of shoes purchased, Tom's will give a pair of shoes to a child in need. One for one. Toms has given over 10,000 pairs of shoes to children in Argentina and 50,000 pairs in South Africa. Read more about their cause. Plus, the boots are vegan if you're anti-leather.

These boots are affordable ($120), lightweight and versatile. Depending on how you wrap them, you can get several different looks. I'm thinking about wrapping them open over contrasting tights so you can see the other color underneath. I love the elfish shape of the foot too. Kind of sleek equestrian meets Lord of the Rings (I may be a nerd but you know those elves were hot).

Tom's also has a separate fun website with styled looks and a video about a "polo widow" who invented the boots. They come in olive (shown above), red (shown below), rust, brown or black. Happy shopping!




Thanks Likecool for finding the awesome boots!

Love Indie Shoe Designer: 80%20

I've been a big fan of 80%20 ever since I met super-cute designer Ce Ce Chin at a shoe show. I started my affair with a pair of hidden wedge booties with fringe (wore them through rain and snow and they're still perfect). Infatuation turned to love when I got my hidden wedge sneakers trimmed in metallic (they made my legs looks svelte in shorts all summer). Now I'm trying to decide on a new pair.

Maybe these hot retro 80's boots (top) or some patent wedge booties to get me through another long NYC winter (bottom).






















Check out how cute Katie White, the lead singer of the Ting Tings, looks in hers. She even tells Elle UK that 80%20 is her favorite shoe designer. (photo, The Independent)

Washington's Own Style: Unsung Designers

Our interview (and an impromptu fashion shoot) in DCist.

Washington's Own Style: Unsung Designers
By fashion contributor Rachel Cothran. See more of her writing and street photography at her web site Project Beltway.

Tucked in an alleyway off 18th Street in Adams Morgan, an off-beat shop hides behind ugly metal double doors, but the clothes you'll find inside are often diamonds in the rough of D.C. fashion. At Unsung Designers, polos and pearls are tossed aside for one-of-a-kind dresses in original prints and killer heels you won't ever see at Nine West. [more...]

Love the Look: Tell Me About It, Stud...

2007 is the year of the stud. From Spring through Fall, these luxury labels added some edge to their collections by punking up their accessories lines.

Burberry Studded Bag



















Balenciaga Studded Wedge



















Dolce and Gabbana Studded Heels...















...and Spikey Peep Toes



















Christian Louboutin Studded Boot



















Gigi Favela "Sonya" Punkie Studs ($360. in, left to right, white gold, black or turquoise. Limited quantities available. Get yours now at Unsung)

Unsung Debuts: Gigi Favela Shoes

I thought I'd died and gone to heaven when Monica Favela George walked into our showroom with a suitcase full of shoes. I know I take the shoe fettish to new heights but, unlike other questionable impulse buys I have made (the militant beret or the faux fur jacket reminiscent of JLo) my shoe purchases are always without regret. I love my shoes; I have an amazing collection--the kind that makes women at the semi-annual Bergdorf's shoe sales stare at my feet helplessly amid their piles of Loubutins and Chloes. So when Monica showed us the samples from her first collection of Gigi Favelas--a collection packed with color, textures and attitide--we were the first to place personal orders. Now they're here directly from Italy, and my addiction is sated for a bit. Quantities are limited, ladies, so get on our email list for a reminder about the Gigi Favela trunk show at Unsung on March 8.

The first pair of Gigi Favelas I acquired: