18 June, 2010
Style

Toms – the charitable Croc alternative?

18 June, 2010

I’m generally pretty easy-going when it comes to style – I love fashion and clothes, but being British and therefore destined to forever be a little bit sloppy around the edges, I know that perfect blow-dries, towering heels and sleek tailoring are not really ever going to be achievable or enjoyable for me. I always need to be comfortable in whatever I’m wearing, and will reach for my flats or Havaianas more often than I probably should! I do have one unbreakable comfort rule though, and that is, no pair of Crocs will ever get within an inch of my feet, whether living or dead. Not meaning to be offensive to anyone who has a pair (and I do have friends who swear by them), and I do know that many styles of Crocs these days look pretty much like ordinary shoes, but to me the idea of wearing Crocs goes hand in hand with having pretty much given up on any notion of looking good, and therefore with a total lack of self-respect. Though I can appreciate they look pretty adorable on tiny kids, and might be just about acceptable if you need to wade into a pebble-strewn river, that’s about the limit of what they are acceptable for.

Since being pregnant, I’ve definitely had to cut down on the heel-wearing, or to be honest, I’ve completely eliminated wearing heels. I truly admire women who totter their bump around on 3 inch platforms, but I’m just too lazy and otherwise uncomfortable to put my feet through that kind of torture especially now the heat has kicked in. I have noticed though that as my feet are starting to swell a little (the absolute horror of developing puffy cankles!!), flip flops don’t quite give me enough support, and I find my feet kind of flopping off them occasionally giving my ankle a bit of a twist. I’m going to need a comfy-shoe alternative, and I’m wondering whether Toms canvas shoes might be just the thing… They’re not exactly things of great beauty, though the wedge espadrille style is quite cute, but they are simple and inoffensive looking, and they have the added benefit of being charitable too. For every pair of Toms sold, the company will give one pair of shoes away to a child in need.

If you’re in need of a little convincing from the fashion “authorities”, Toms have been featured in Marie Claire, People and Lucky Magazine, sold by Net-a-Porter and have partnered with Ralph Lauren to create limited edition Polo Toms. Best of all, they’re infinitely customizable, so can be drawn or painted on to create your own unique look (bringing back happy but cringey memories of sewing sequins onto my jeans in secondary school!).

If nothing else, I’m definitely interested to pick up a pair of the wedges (US$69) for weekend wear. According to the Toms website they’re actually being stocked at branches of Lane Crawford right now, so I’ll let you know how I get on!

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