There’s something a little bittersweet about this one.
Before I made the decision to close my store, I had already done what I’d done season after season for nearly 20 years: sat down, looked through the new collections, edited through hundreds of styles and built my fall buys.
And I had already bought Free People for Fall 2026.
These aren’t shoes I found scrolling online after the fact. These are the actual styles I looked at through my buyer lens and said YES to.
The loafer she’ll wear three times a week. The clog that makes jeans and a sweater instantly more interesting. The boot that earns its spot because it works with almost everything. The cozy pair she’ll eventually come back to buy as a gift.
And, always, the slightly weird shoe that makes someone stop and say, Wait...what are those?
I may not get to unpack the boxes, open all the tissue paper and put these shoes on my floor this time.
But I still get to share the buy.
And I kind of love that.
SHOP THE FULL FREE PEOPLE FALL ’26 EDIT →
Buying Is Really Just Editing
I think one of the biggest misconceptions about being a retail buyer is that you simply walk into a showroom—or open a line sheet—and pick everything you like.
I wish.
The real job is editing.
There might be 100 shoes in a collection and room in your budget for eight.
So which eight?
That's where the buyer part comes in.
I wasn't necessarily looking for eight shoes that I personally wanted in my closet. I was trying to build an assortment that made sense together.
I needed the shoe that would get someone to stop when she walked by the display.
I needed the reliable shoe I'd probably reorder.
I needed something new enough to make fall feel exciting.
I needed the comfortable one.
I needed the fashion one.
I needed the pair that would work for the customer who always buys black.
And then I wanted the slightly strange one that nobody came in looking for—but somehow became the shoe everyone wanted to try on.
A good buy has a little bit of all of it.
The Question I Always Asked Myself
After doing this for so many years, I developed a pretty simple test:
Will she actually wear it?
Because there are a lot of beautiful shoes.
There are a lot of trendy shoes.
And there are definitely a lot of shoes that look fantastic in a catalog.
But that's different from finding the pair someone puts on in the store, looks down at her feet and immediately starts figuring out which jeans she's going to wear with them.
Those were the shoes I wanted.
If I couldn't imagine how the customer would actually wear something, I usually didn't buy it.
And if I could immediately picture three different outfits?
That was a very good sign.
Why Free People Was Always Fun to Buy
Free People has always understood the importance of the fun shoe.
There are the staples, of course. Loafers, boots, flats, clogs.
But then there's usually something a little offbeat mixed in—a detail you weren't expecting, an exaggerated shape, fringe, a chunky sole, a jewel, a shoe that's somewhere between a slipper and a loafer.
Those were often the pieces that made an assortment feel interesting.
Because if every shoe on the wall is sensible, the wall gets boring pretty quickly.
And Free People gave me permission to buy a little weird.
I happen to think every closet needs a little of that, too.
What I Was Looking for for Fall ’26
For this particular buy, I wanted shoes that felt like fall without all doing the same job.
A great loafer was a given.
I wanted a Mary Jane because I still love the way that shape works with the looser denim we're wearing right now.
I wanted clogs and mules because they're some of the easiest shoes to throw on with jeans and a sweater—and they make the simplest outfit feel a little more intentional.
I needed boots.
And I wanted something cozy because, year after year, those were the pairs people bought for themselves and then came back looking for when it was time to buy gifts.
But most of all, I wanted the assortment to feel like Free People.
Relaxed. A little bohemian. A little unexpected. Never too perfect.
The Shoes That Made My Buy
So now we get to the good part.
These are the actual Free People shoes I selected for Fall ’26.
Not everything in the collection made it.
These did.
The Lagoon Cut-Out Boat Shoe
Boat shoes are having a moment again, but I'm always more interested in the version that doesn't feel too literal.
That's what caught my eye about the Lagoon Cut-Out Boat Shoe.
It has that familiar, slightly preppy boat-shoe feeling, but the cut-out construction gives it the Free People twist I was looking for.
This is exactly the kind of shoe I'd put with relaxed denim, an oversized button-down and a great sweater.
Familiar—but not boring.
MADE MY BUY. ✓
[SHOP THE LAGOON CUT-OUT BOAT SHOE →]
The Maggie Mary Jane
I wasn't done with Mary Janes.
And I'm still not.
The Maggie Mary Jane gives you the ease of a flat but has so much more personality than a basic ballet flat.
I especially love this kind of shoe with wide-leg or slouchier denim. All that volume on top paired with a smaller, more feminine shoe just works.
It's easy, wearable and still feels like fashion.
That's exactly the balance I was looking for.
MADE MY BUY. ✓
The Calli Clog
This one wasn't really a question.
I bought the Calli Clog for my store year after year.
There's a reason.
It's one of those shoes that has enough personality to make an outfit interesting without requiring you to think too hard about wearing it.
Jeans. Sweater. Calli.
Done.
And those are often the best shoes to own.
If you've followed Dear Lucy for a while, you've probably heard me say some version of this before: I love the shoe that fills the space between basic and weird.
The Calli does that beautifully.
MADE MY BUY — YEAR AFTER YEAR. ✓
The Bedford Loafer
Every fall assortment needs a loafer.
But I didn't want the one that felt like you bought it because you needed something to wear to work.
I wanted the loafer you'd wear with your favorite jeans.
The Bedford Loafer was that shoe for me.
It's polished enough to pull an outfit together but still has the attitude I want from Free People.
This is the pair I'd wear with relaxed denim, a white tee and an oversized blazer—or use to toughen up something more feminine.
A workhorse, but not a boring one.
MADE MY BUY. ✓
The Fallon Fringe Mule
And then there's the fun shoe.
The Fallon Fringe Mule is exactly the kind of style I loved putting into a buy.
Did anyone walk into Dear Lucy with fringe mule written at the top of her shopping list?
Probably not.
But that's the point.
Sometimes the best part of shopping is finding the thing you didn't know you wanted.
This gives denim instant personality, and it's exactly the kind of shoe that makes someone stop at a display.
Every good buy needs one of those.
MADE MY BUY. ✓
[SHOP THE FALLON FRINGE MULE →]
The Grayson Clog Boot
A clog and a boot had a baby.
Naturally, I bought it. 😂
The Grayson Clog Boot in black gives you the substance of a fall boot but feels much more interesting than another basic ankle boot.
And despite being one of the more unusual shapes in the assortment, I can think of a million ways to wear it.
Relaxed jeans. Cords. A long skirt. A dress with tights.
That's usually when I know a fashion shoe is a good buy: it looks different, but it isn't actually difficult to wear.
MADE MY BUY. ✓
[SHOP THE GRAYSON CLOG BOOT →]
The First Frost Slipper
I always wanted a cozy shoe in the fall assortment.
Partly because I love them.
Partly because I knew what would happen.
Someone would buy a pair for herself, live in them for two weeks and then come back looking for another pair for her daughter, sister, mother or friend.
The First Frost Slipper is exactly that kind of shoe.
It's cozy, giftable and very Free People.
And if history taught me anything, it's that the good cozy shoes get much harder to find once everyone suddenly realizes the holidays are coming.
MADE MY BUY. ✓
[SHOP THE FIRST FROST SLIPPER →]
The Slumber Party Loafer Slipper
And then we have this.
Is it a loafer?
Is it a slipper?
Is it slightly ridiculous?
Yes.
Which is probably why I love it.
The Slumber Party Loafer Slipper is jeweled, cozy and completely unnecessary.
And sometimes those are the things that bring the most joy to a buy.
Not every shoe has to be the practical shoe.
Sometimes you need the one that just makes you smile.
MADE MY BUY. ✓
[SHOP THE SLUMBER PARTY LOAFER SLIPPER →]
Would I Still Buy Them?
This might be my favorite part of revisiting the order.
Because I didn't choose these shoes knowing I'd eventually turn them into an online edit.
I chose them when I was still buying inventory for a physical store.
Every style meant putting actual dollars behind the decision.
I had to believe someone would walk through my door, try it on and want to take it home.
And looking back at the assortment now?
I'd still buy them.
Maybe that's the best endorsement I can give.
The Buy Changed. The Buying Didn't.
For almost 20 years, one of my favorite parts of owning stores was finding the things I thought you'd love before you knew you wanted them.
I loved building the buy.
I loved seeing everything arrive.
I loved figuring out what went next to what.
And I especially loved when one of those slightly risky buys turned into the shoe everyone wanted.
That part of what I did doesn't have to disappear just because I don't have a store anymore.
In fact, maybe this is the part I get to keep.
I don't have to order 12 pairs.
I don't have to unpack the boxes.
I don't have to find room in the stockroom.
I don't have to worry that I bought too many size 7s and not enough size 9s.
I can just do the part I've always loved:
Find the good stuff and show it to you.
Less inventory.
Same buyer.
And this Free People Fall ’26 collection?
It made my buy. ✓
SHOP THE ENTIRE FREE PEOPLE FALL ’26 EDIT →
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