Lofty Goods: Toms+ (aka Toms Plus)

There is a danger in window shopping online. It's not as though I intend on buying the things that I see, but sometimes, I see something that provokes me to purchase. In yesterday's instance, it was my (rather late) discovery that TOMS now makes a line of higher end flats made of...leather!!! The Toms+ series of shoes were introduced last spring and are made from "premium materials" such as suede and leather uppers, and features alternative styles (such as the moccasin). I love a leather shoe. I love Toms. Put them both together and you have an inevitable purchase.

I am not a fan of their ballet flats, but I am a fan of the classic. Here's the one I fell for:

These are the 'white' leather perforated classic flat, but I find them more on the grey side of white...we'll see when they arrive next week if I'm right. I couldn't find them available in white anywhere online except www.toms.com. Neiman Marcus has them in navy, but I'm more partial to the white. They also only had limited sizes left, so I was compelled to act fast. I didn't not want to miss out on these (and last spring's version were not as cute). They have an upgraded rubber sole (like the youth line) so hopefully they'll be more durable than the classic foam sole. I also convinced myself that there is added value in a leather shoe. They'll last longer. I'll probably live in these this summer, and cost per wear will be low (yup, I'm serious). Here's the bad news, they're $115 USD. And that's a deal. The Canadian counterpart has the Toms+ shoes listed at $140 Cdn. Toms is currently offering a promotion of $5 off a purchase of $25 or more AND free shipping until April 30th, 2013. Use code RMNSPRINGTOMS when shopping. (Another way I got suckered in).

There are quite a few to choose from, some good, some not so good. Here are (in my opinion) the 'good' from this premium line: