Devon Lee Carlson Shops By Far’s “Most Comfortable Shoes” on Melrose Place

The union between Carlson and the By Far founders makes perfect sense, too. Both of their rises to success were organic. By Far was created in 2016 by three enterprising Bulgarian women, Valentina Ignatova, Sabina Gyosheva, and Denitsa Bumbarova, none of whom have a background in fashion. Ignatova was working selling solar panels when she couldn’t find shoes for a garden wedding and, voila, was linked with a Bulgarian shoe factory. From there, they decided to create shoes, starting with a glove boot, the Sofia.

That’s another thing that I’ve noticed about By Far: they are a brand that believes in just going for it. This fearless philosophy also reminds me of Carlson, who launched her phone case label Wildflower at 18. She was eating in a restaurant and approached Miley Cyrus, who complimented the punky studded phone case Carlson made with her sister Sydney. The sisters realized they had an idea on their hands—a mirror-selfie-friendly phone case—and launched what is now known as Wildflower Cases.

Like many fans of By Far, Carlson’s introduction started with the block heel shoe, their ubiquitous Tanya sandal. This was the shoe liked around-the-world on Instagram. By Far released it and the same day, they received their first order from Los Angeles—sans advertising! Maybe it was the luck of the draw, but that doesn’t matter anymore. By Far’s saucy but palatable ‘90s flair has an addictive chokehold on celebrities and cool girls. Bezuhanova reminisces on how Gigi and Bella Hadid carried their shoulder Rachel bag during fashion week in 2019 while they were surrounded by paparazzi. Someone else from the team recalls that Kendall Jenner wouldn’t take her By Far shoulder bag off, “for like, two years!”

Carlson has boiled By Far’s appeal down. “The silhouette is just normal, but the pieces themselves are expressive of who’s wearing it,” she says, pointing to a pair of Mare flip flop sandals that have a subtle tri-buckle on the strap. Carlson’s style is perpetually changing and right now she is in her “normal girl” phase. “I’m having a lot of fun with my girlfriends, but also wearing cute clothes while doing so!” She needs a shoe that can fit into whatever sartorial mood she’s in. “Some people do too much with shoes!”