Happy Halloween!

We love this time of the year. The leaves are golden, the air is crisp, and the pumpkin pies are delicious! Here’s a quick update on what we’ve been doing this October.

Trick or Treat!

Every year at Sole Food, our team participates in the annual Trick or Treating festivities. We get to see the cutest (and scariest) costumes out there: from storybook princesses to chilling goblins. To prove that we’re in the Halloween spirit, our store always participates in dressing up, this year we’re pieces from the game “Clue.” Our sister store, Kid's Club, dressed up as characters from Toy Story!

Spina Bifida

Sole Food and Kids Club has teamed up with the Spina Bifida Association to help raise money for those affected with this birth defect. October is National Spina Bifida Awareness Month. Spina Bifida occurs when the spinal cord doesn’t grow the way it should and thus protrudes outside the body, leading to complications such as paralysis, learning problems, and problems with bladder and bowel control. An estimate of 166,000 people in the United States lives with Spina Bifida. To do our part, Sole Food and Kids Club has sold “Ghosts” for a dollar each. 100% of the donation goes to the Spina Bifida Association, and as of right now our combined pull from both of our stores has raked in over $1500 dollars! Thank you so much for your donations and your support.

Come visit us from 4-6pm today to get your Trick or Treat on! Get some candy, share some laughs, and if you have some extra cash, donate a dollar to those in need. Happy Halloween Sole Foodies, see you soon!

Hunter Boots are here!

Welcome to Fall, Seattle. The rain, the wind, the cold...it's back. Whether you love the darker days or not, make sure you're prepared for whatever the weather will throw at you...and you know it could be anything! Hunter boots and accessories are back, with a much bigger selection that ever before!

The Lowdown
Hunter Boot Ltd. have been the preferred welly boot of Scotland and Europe since its inception in 1856. After a huge production boom that supplied boots for soldiers in WWI and WWII, Hunter became the official boot supplier for the Royal Households and earned a Royal Warrant from the Duke of Edinburgh in 1977. Today, Hunter is huge in popularity with people who wear it for function, fashion and much more. The 21st century has inspired Hunter to design boots of all styles to suit a global following. Hunter is here to stay.

We have Hunter boots for everyone. For men, the coolest boot this season is the Bormio Lace Boot. The lace-up system is great for getting the perfect fit as well as the look of a shoe. The black boot is contrasted with a great dark blue-green toe and outsole.

The Tall Original Boot, the classic Hunter welly, is back for women. Pick and choose from a plethora of colors. Sole Food has four colors in the Tall Original and five colors in the Tall Glossy Original (seen above).

New to Sole Food, the Hunter Kids First rain boots are too cute to handle. Available for those small feet, these boots fit better than any other rain boot out there. These are available in four colors: yellow, navy, green and fuchsia! For the older kiddies, the Hunter Original for kids is also available.

We also have a bunch of Hunter accessories in stock. Fleece welly liners go great with the Tall Originals and are available in many colors. We have these for women and kids. Keep your feet nice and warm this winter! Also available are care products for your Hunter boots. There you have it! Come in soon and get ready for the La Niña season...

Miz Mooz!

Lindsay here, and I just wanted to tell everyone a little bit about one of my favorite lines at Sole Food, Miz Mooz! Miz Mooz is fairly new to the shoe world, and started with humble beginnings in 2001 in an office basement. Although they’ve grown and expanded a bit since then, the team behind Miz Mooz remains “committed to the principle that fashion and comfort can happily coexist.” These are fun shoes that will make you stand out from the crowd, but your feet will still be happy!

Miz Mooz shoes are designed by a small team in New York. Their concept is sent to Italy, where a last (kind of like the skeleton for the shoe) is designed. Then, the shoes are handcrafted with the highest quality leathers and materials. Finally, the finished product ends up in our store, and hopefully your closet!

Here’s a few of my favorite styles that are currently at Sole Food!

Bonnie boot in green and black

This is the perfect boot for everyday autumn wear! The low wedge heel provides all day comfort, while the slouch detail provides just the right amount of style. A hidden zipper in the back makes this boot easy to get on and off.

From left to right: Angel Shoe, Simone Pump, and Sloan Strappy Heel

These versatile heels offer everything from casual daily wear to the perfect party shoe. The fun menswear style (and the awesome olive color!) of the Angel will make you the envy of all your friends. The lines of the Simone are incredibly flattering on the foot, and the grey color is hot for fall! Finally, the Sloan is my personal favorite for being the best night out shoe I have ever seen. It combines the caged shoe trend with a super comfortable heel so that you can dance all night!

http://www.miz-mooz.com/

Come check out these styles (and many more!) at Sole Food!

Soles4Souls: Changing the World One Pair at a Time

Hey Sole Foodies,

Have you heard of Soles4Souls? It’s a great charity that collects new and gently worn shoes and distributes them to people in need across the world. They’ve been doing this since 2005, and have given away more than 11 million pairs of shoes to people in over 125 countries! They’ve helped people affected by the tsunami in Southeast Asia, as well as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Sole Food is proud to partner with this amazing organization so that you can donate shoes! If you have a pair of new or gently worn shoes that you just don’t ever wear, bring them to us! Sole Food is a designated donation site, so we are always happy to take your shoes and get them to Soles4Souls so they can be distributed around the world.

If you want to help people who need shoes and save on a brand new pair for yourself, you’re in luck! October 14^th-19^th we are doing a special promotion with Soles4Souls. If you bring in a pair to donate, you can take 20% off any one pair here! Come in this week and get a great deal while helping out those need.

http://www.soles4souls.org/

-Lindsay

Get smart with SMARTwool!

[For women, limited edition styles from the smARTwool gallery series, featuring artist Gina Triplett]

Sole Food is proud to have a huge collection of Smartwool socks for your choosing. We stand by these amazing socks for many reasons. Sometimes we will have a customer come into our store asking about Smartwool and what makes them so great. Below is a little FAQ about Smartwool's products...

Why is wool better than cotton or synthetic?

• Wool is anti-microbial, wicks away and evaporates moisture better than any other material. That means no odor- causing bacteria!
• Wool is a renewable resource; harvesting wool is much more energy efficient than making synthetic materials with fossil fuels.
• Wool is recyclable and biodegradable.
• Wool regulates temperature better than cotton. Your feet stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
• Fibers have tiny air pockets that “provide a buffering layer of natural climate control”.
• Wool is more breathable; sweat is wicked away from the skin in its immediate vapor state whereas synthetics don’t wick sweat away until it turns into a liquid. Your feet stay drier, longer in Smartwool!

[Men's Smartwool: "Double Insignia", "Herringbow Row" & "Diamond Jim"]

"But wool socks are itchy and shrink!"

• For a long time, that was the case. However, Smartwool pioneered a thinner, longer merino wool fiber that is incredibly comfortable without any itchiness.
• Wool is actually hypoallergenic, “allergies” are usually caused by lower quality wool that have lanolin, a coating applied to wool fiber.

Why does Smartwool cost more than other socks?

• Wool is a finite resource; sheep can only get a haircut once a year!
• Rather than shop around for the cheapest wool, Smartwool has made long term partnerships with merino growers in New Zealand who have the best animal welfare practices. When you buy Smartwool, you know that the sheep your socks came from are well treated.
• 

[There are lots of cute Smartwool for the kids! The "Bubble Stripe" sock is from Smartwool's "Kids4Kids" line, which features designs drawn by kids!]

So there you have it! To sum it up, Smartwool socks are good for your feet. At Sole Food, there is a wide selection of Smartwool for everyone. From casual wear, to more business, to athletic socks and to fun socks for kids, there is a lot to choose from. And now that fall is here and the weather is getting colder, it's a perfect time to stock up your collection.

Thanks to www.smartwool.com/woolology for the neat info!