Kind Kicks and One for One™

Andrea's Kind Kicks

I am an avid Facebook user and in the past six months I have noticed many of my friends’ statuses referring to TOMS. Well, I wondered, what the heck is a TOMS? With a little help from Indiana University Southeast student Sadie Fox and Google, I found myself very interested in these kind kicks.

After talking with Sadie and doing a little reserach on my own, I went to the TOMS website and began my quest for the perfect pair of TOMS to try out. In the process of searching for my dream shoes, I learned about the history of TOMS: In 2006, American traveler Blake Mycoskie befriended children in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need, the One for One program. Blake returned to Argentina with a group of family, friends and staff later that year with 10,000 pairs of shoes made possible by TOMS customers. It is also worth noting that a majority of their shoes are vegan.

Initially, I had my heart set on the Morocco Vegan Women’s Classics. But with fall in the air, I ended up opting for the Cord Women’s Classics in camel. I was a bit worried because in the reviews of most of TOMS shoes people said to order half a size up due to the shoes running small. I decided to order my true size to accurately rate and judge them. After all, while my feet are not narrow and run a bit on the wide side, the shoes are made of fabric and will most likely stretch.

My TOMS arrived on time based on their estimated delivery and I could hardly wait to open the box on put them on! When I finally got them out of the box I couldn’t believe how cute the cord slip-ons were. In a Cinderella moment I slipped them on and…..they were too tight, especially in my left foot. I reminded myself they would possibly stretch and even confirmed again with Sadie. So away I went in my semi-tight shoes with high expectations.

It is a few weeks later and per the TOMS website and Sadie’s assurance, the shoes have stretched to a comfortable fit and I wear them as much as I can. The cords look great with jeans and I have already purchased additional pairs in canvas and, of course, the Moroccan print pair. Sadie is on her second pair and several of my other friends are on their third and fourth pairs.

For those who know me well, owning more than one pair of flats is a very high compliment as I am more of a heels girl. I usually find most flats either uncomfortable, unwearable or unfashionable. Now I have found a flat shoe that is comfortable, unique, compassionate in many ways and fits the way I want to live my life – and my feet! The only downside is that all of the TOMS shoes run $45 and over, but to me they are worth the price in so many ways. As a caveat, I have spoken with a few people who did not find thier TOMS to be as durable and long-lasting as they would have liked.

I absolutely recommend these shoes and this company. Let’s get the word out about TOMS and their incredibly compassionate product.

You can find TOMS products on www.toms.com or find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/toms