TOMS shoes are synonymous with social consciousness. For every pair you purchase, TOMS gives a new pair of shoes to a child in need. As if such benevolence wasn’t motivation enough, they’ve recently added a line of dainty ballet flats to their collection. In a feminine array of color and prints, TOMS’ 13 new ballet flats are the next mission to compassionate fashion.

The exemplary canvas flats that we all know and love are refined with touches of class and elegance. For example, the Alessandra Burlap Ballet Flats, $79, boast duality in color scheme with heel patch and toe cap accents. Check out the other varieties here.

Shop now for Spring 2012, thank us later.

-Alana Quagliariello

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Can you mix animal prints in one outfit? Seeing spots? How dare I wear leopard with more leopard! But look how I made it work – I wear two different color combinations of leopard print, and I separate the two with a solid, neutral color (my shorts). Click here to see how the fabulous Laura of LollieShopping.com conquers the look!

A little sparkle, anyone? By now you’ve surely seen the shoe style on practically everyone, but if you’d like to partake in Tom’s Shoes 1:1 giving model, find a pair that suits your fancy! Here’s the classic style with a heavy does of shine, available at Lester’s in NYC for $59 and at Toms.com

You green your wardrobe, you green your makeup, you green your every-day life, but do you green your MOM?! Well it’s time to start—goodness knows I have. Mother’s Day is just around the corner (on May 8th -write that down), so hopefully you are preparing adequately and by that I mean, planning on getting her an eco-friendly present. After all, we should take care of Mother Earth on this annual holiday as well, shouldn’t we?
I know this day can sneak up on a child. You turn around and WAM- you didn’t get a gift and your having brunch with the madre in two days and you’re screwed. So let this serve as a reminder and a source for easy, one-two-click suggestions, for great eco-friendly Mother’s Day Gifts.
My Top Ten Picks:

1. A pair of original Tom’s Shoes, $44, Toms.com: Though I’m sure you’re familiar, these kicks are part of the One for One Movement, where one pair purchased (by YOU for your MOM), means one pair given to a child in need. They’re super comfortable and great for any mom to slip on for errand-running, walking the dog, walking to work or even just to throw a little eco-style into the mix.

2. It’s a Small World Diaper Bag, $119, Nordstrom: Does your mom/wife need to schlep around a ton of stuff all day? Maybe you need a gift for a mom of an un-potty-trained youngster? Not only is this really freakin’ cute (and could totally be used as a regular tote sans diapers), but it is crafted with eco-friendly organic cotton. It has loads of pockets for bottles, cell phones, diapers, wipes, you name it, and multiple straps for various carrying positions.

3. Sheila Fajl Quartz Necklace, $270, Endless.com: This gorgeous pendant necklace is handmade by artisans in Brazil using responsible, eco-friendly manufacturing processes. A stylish mother can don this gorgeous necklace every day as it goes with virtually any outfit-casual, fancy, corporate, you name it. She’ll love it (and you even more), for sure.

4. Sprout Watch, $64, Amazon.com: Sprout makes a seemingly endless array of chic eco-friendly watches. They use corn resin, which is 99% biodegradable to carbon dioxide and water within 365 days, conflict free diamonds, organic cotton, bamboo and more earth-friendly materials while remaining constantly aware of their environmental impact. If you don’t love my pick below, you’ll definitely be able to find one that suits the mom you’re buying for, so check out the full collection.

Want more suggestions? Click through to GreenHouseofFashion.com for six more fabulous suggestions!

We’ve blogged about many ‘eco chic’ or ‘sustainable’ brands, but protecting the environment isn’t the only good thing a fashion company can do. Take for example, TOMS Shoes, which  is committed to providing shoes for children world wide who just don’t have them. For each pair sold, TOMS gives one pair to a child in need. Talk about hitting two birds with one stone.

For Summer and Fall 2010, TOMS is updating their classic, comfy styles with new colors and prints. Always a season for adventure and vacationing, summer brings the ships to the shores of TOMS: with a nautical themes in mind, the designers painted stripes on their wedges and slip-ons. For those interested in the destination rather than the journey, TOMS has also infused their Cultural Anthropology Classics (above) with new concepts, ranging from the streets to the exotic. For voyages in the cool Fall, TOMS has added wool in the inside to guarantee a little more protection than the durable cotton. Wherever you choose to go, TOMS can go right there with you!

- Justina Lee

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There are a lot of things that we know we take for granted, but there are some things that wouldn’t even cross our minds as a luxury. For example, right now, I probably have a good forty pairs of shoes in my closet. Some have only been worn a few times, and most aren’t name brand (I heart Target shoes!) but somehow I have accumulated way more shoes than I would ever really need. Did you know that 40% of the world’s people don’t own a pair of shoes? It seems shocking, and is quite hard to digest that in 2009, there is a large portion of people that are stripped of the basic necessity of owning a pair of shoes.

Enter Toms Shoes. Blake Mycoskie was so moved by his travels in South America, that he created Toms, a shoe company with its signature style based on the alpargata, a traditional Argentinian shoe.The distinctive element about Toms Shoes, however, is that it functions on a revolutionary idea; a 1:1 giving model. For every pair of shoes sold, one pair will be given to a child in need.  Plus, the fabrics and manufacturing of the shoes is also sourced locally in Argentina. Can you imagine what the impact would be if each company you’ve ever bought shoes from gave a pair away for every pair purchased? We would truly be living in a different world! If every company had a sense of accountability for others – the countries where they manufacture, the people who work in the factories and their families, a better business model and a better world would surely emerge.

Since the company’s inception in 2006, Toms has given away over 130,000+ pairs of shoes, with “shoe drops” occurring in Argentina and South Africa. The Toms volunteers literally rode into the jungle, to the poorest parts of the country and to villages with few inhabitants and hardly any resources to fit children with a pair of shoes. A call to action isn’t hard; simply by buying a pair of shoes for yourself, a friend, or a relative, you can help a child get a pair of shoes. Or, you can go on a shoe drop or donate to one, simply click here for more information.

Now onto the shoes: below are a few of the great fabrications and products offered by Toms  (I have the pair in “ash”), with collaborations by Element and Tyler Ramsey.

Tyler Ramsey Hand Painted TOMS Navy Womens, $68

Silver Glitter, $48

Ash Canvas, $44

Red Wrap Boot, $98

TOMS + Element Collab Cruiser, $150 (I just thought I’d throw this one in there-for every skateboard purchased, one goes to a child outside of Durban, South Africa!)

-Julia DiNardo

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