TOMS' Without Shoes Walk Takes Over Abbot Kinney

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Grid View

Expand

• Image via @toms/Instagram
• What's the inspiration behind the Day Without Shoes campaign? "The idea is when we're barefoot it really helps create awareness of how many people don't have a choice [to not wear shoes]. It's effective [...] When you think of awareness campaigns,
• Over 100 barefoot walkers, including TOMS employees, stolled through Abbot Kinney to raise awareness for children's health and education as part of the global Day Without Shoes campaign.
• We couldn't resist snapping adorable furball Tia with her human mom SheKnows' Elise Upperman (@elise_upps) and pal at the post-walkabout party.
• Green Truck provided healthy and organic grub for hungry walkers.
• Barefoot partygoers rest their feet on the cozy carpet.

As we know, TOMS loves to pull a good stunt. To raise awareness for children's health and education, the one-for-one brand rounded up a hundred or so friends—including Hart of Dixie star Jaime King, tennis pro Andy Roddick and his wife/model Brooklyn Decker—to ditch their kicks for a barefoot stroll on Abbot Kinney as part of its One Day Without Shoes campaign.

After joining the shoe-less jaunt (on scorching hot sidewalks, no less!), we took shelter under the shade at the do-gooder lifestyle label's cool hangout shop, where we caught up with TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie. In addition to opening stores in New York and Portland this summer (plus a shop in Amsterdam yesterday!), Mycoskie tells us he's also eyeing LA's own Los Feliz and Echo Park for potential neighborhood store spots. After the jump, check out a few more snaps from yesterday's bash and find out what TOMS has in store in the future.

· TOMS [Official Site]
· TOMS to Finally Spread Their Do-Gooder Ways in the U.S. [Racked]
· Rick Caruso to Revamp Pacific Palisades; TOMS' New Coffee Biz [Racked]
· TOMS Artist Living In a Box For a Week to Create Custom Orders [Racked]