Outfit: Cardi, Forever 21 | Tank, LOFT | Pants, LOFT | Shoes, Tieks | Anchor Ring, James Avery | Black gem ring, Lily Emme  | Watch, Fossil

My favorite shoes. Versatile, comfortable, well constructed and stylish. The best ballet flats ever invented, these are my go-to shoes for any occasion. Dress up, dress down – the perfect companion for traveling, working and going out. Hello Tieks by Gavrieli!

I bought the Ballerina Pink Tieks because I wanted a subtle color that would match everything in my wardrobe – I’m usually always in navy, sage green, browns and purples. They are such a nice subtle shade of pink, that they even appear cream in some of my photos. This was exactly what I wanted – something soft and gentle, just like the real Italian leather used to create these beauties. (hey, you don’t want leather? No fear, there’s vegan options too!)

I loved everything about my first experience with Tieks; from opening the cute blue box, to unwrapping the lovely creamy leather flats, to the first time I placed them on the feet and said “ahhh, comfort!”. Yes, comfortable. Why? These ballet flats have a nice padded sole in the ball of the foot and heel, making them just delightful to trek around the office, the lab or my cement pounding walk around the research station.

So not only do I just love these shoes, but I love what the company is doing to support women in need in other parts of the world – women trying to create thriving businesses. Here’s what the Tieks by Gavrieli Foundation is all about:

The Gavrieli Foundation is an organization that is deeply committed to the empowerment of women around the globe as a means for social change. The struggles and triumphs of some of these women are featured in the profiles below. Through Kiva we are sending money to these women in hopes of creating opportunity and alleviating poverty. We believe empowering women is a requisite in the broader fight against global poverty and hope our contribution has a profound impact on the lives of these women and their families.

I had a blast doing this shoot, and even managed to get Evan to take these photos for me – yay boyfriends who can operate fancy cameras! So all credit to Evan for the shots. I hope you take a minute to explore Tieks and maybe even dare to try a pair for yourself? I won’t lie, there is a little price tag associated with these, but if you want to save up to invest in a pair – trust me, it’s worth your buck!