In 2006, an American traveler, Blake Mycoskie, befriended children in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS Shoes, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need—One for One. 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.

Fast forward to 2012. Toms Shoes have become a phenomenon; from teenagers to grandmothers everyone is wearing Toms Shoes. They are comfortable, affordable and for every pair that is purchased a pair is given to a child in need. This is the most amazing part about the whole thing—no guilt shopping!

I have been a supporter of the brand from the very beginning. When I was a buyer for Nordstrom we were one of the first companys to believe in this movement. South Moon Under, my current employer is always looking for ways to give back to the community, and looking for ways to contribute to the big picture of humanity, so naturally Toms Shoes & South Moon Under were a great fit.

On April 10th Toms was promoting an event, a movement really, about what it would be like to go barefoot for the day so that children won’t have to. They have been doing this for several years, so this year I decided to make it a point to bring awareness to this movement and to participate myself. I wasn’t the only one. People across the world went barefoot so that they could bring awareness to this cause, by doing a morning walk in NYC and even in Amsterdam.

As a shoe obsessed shopper, feeling like I never have enough cute shoes in my wardrobe, I felt almost guilty to know that one pair of shoes could actually save a child’s life. People always ask, how? Think about all the things that shoes protect you from…weather, disease, and even stepping on something that is dangerous that can cause infection.

Going without shoes may seem like no big deal. But think about it—you still have to go to work, go about your daily life, and not having shoes could really hinder you from doing the normal day-to-day things you would typically do.

In my experience, I started my day as normal and really didn’t think about the not 

having shoes thing until I walked outside and realized that it was wet; already five seconds in I was uncomfortable. When I walked from my car to my office I had to walk on a rocky driveway. Ouch!

The entire day I was really cold, my feet felt weird, dirty, and I had to walk across to our other offices without shoes, back onto the rocks. I also had to keep an eye out to make sure I didn’t step on anything. At this point, now 3PM, my feet were black. I kept thinking how unbelievable it is that children don’t have shoes! They go through this every day. It makes what Toms Shoes as a company does even more special having experienced it myself.

I was true to the cause. I didn’t wear shoes the entire day. I even pumped gas and stopped to pick up a few things at the store; (I did get some weird looks), but at the end of the day I made it through with a very humble feeling, and a sense that by participating, I was making a difference and bringing awareness to an important cause. As human beings we get so caught up in ourselves that we forget that there are important causes that are happening that are bigger than us. And isn’t that what life is all about?

To find out more, visit the Toms Shoes website.

Fashionably Yours,

Melissa