Booties

I know I am documented and recorded as saying I will not buy shoes for the next 6 months but these adorable booties really melt my reserve. So what if my reserve is made of jelly and not of steel! They are Repetto Marlon low heel ankle boots. I love the kitten heel, the two buckles, the clean lines, the tumbled leather, the versatility to go with pants or skirts, dress down or dress up...

Must remind myself of the shopping diet, that I shouldn' t wear heels no matter how low, that they will probably be uncomfortable, that I have a ton of boots...

But not ankle boots...

Boots for Short People

Fall, my favorite fashion season, is here! I love the structure and tailoring, coats and jackets (hello Burberry and my Jungal wool coats), cozy sweaters, and hot boots. Ok, I'm always obsessed with sweaters and boots.

Boots are impossible for me. They have to be the perfect combination of fit, comfort and style. Fit is especially hard because of my short, bird legs. I'm about a 13" shaft and 13" circumference. Most mid-calf boots are about 10" shaft and under and tall boots are 14 and up. Circumference seems to be 14 and up and I refuse to look like a pirate (otherwise, I'll have to get an eye patch and parrot as accessories). I also have no arch and other uncomfortable foot issues. Lastly, they have to be cute. It's hard to find a multi-purpose boot that one can wear with jeans and to the office but I try and maybe end up with a few boot options.

Go ahead and groan but I love my UGGs first and foremost. The Classic Tall boot is the perfect height and circumference and it is wonderfully warm and snuggly. The cuteness factor is debatable but I usually spend my summers in fitflops and winters in UGGs (keep office shoes to change into at work). I am making an attempt to wean myself off of the UGGs.

I love my Sacco boots because they are made of the softest yummiest lambskin, are made for short bird legs and pretty comfortable. Unfortunately, the 2 pairs I have are in really bad shape and Sacco is only in NY (their website bites). I will be dropping by during my sister's birthday weekend.

Another favorite brand is La Canadienne and I have 2 pairs from them. They are the perfect winter boot because they are waterproof, insulated, well, the Canadians know how to get through the winter. The boots come in a variety of heights and circumferences and the Lili (black patent) and Juliana (black suede) fit me beautifully. But, I'd like a more sophisticated styling of the toe area and plain black leather.

Local shoe shopping has been completely disappointing since not a single boot fits and online retailers hate me because I've sent every boot back (except for a pair of Reiker Sarina boots which are not totally cute but fit my calves, might be cute on the motorcycle).

I do have 3 pairs coming. The middle pair is the Corso Como Milan boot which will likely be sent back. It looked cute at first and there is an elastic panel in the back for a snug fit but upon further review, it looks tall and wide up top. Pepperlime grossly overcharges for their shoes but I wasn't able to find this boot elsewhere and will certainly take advantage of the free return option.

I'm excited about the top and bottom pairs because they are Born's. I had 1 pair of slides from Born and they were so deliciously comfortable. I have really high hopes for these. The top heeled low western boot (Allegra) would be for going out, wearing with skinny jeans and tights. The bottom pair is the Darcy which has a rounder toe than I would like but smooth sleek styling that could work for a variety of situations. Will let you know how it goes.

UPDATE:
The Corso Como Milan and Born Darcy were both too wide at the top. I have to say, I LOVE the quality of all 3 boots. Soft leather, padded footbed, beautiful styling. I am keeping the Allegra boots because I want a pair of Western boots, even with the heel it is so comfortable and surprisingly, the short shaft height makes my legs look so long! They are fabulous with skinny jeans, I'm so excited!

Yee-Haw!

I have been looking for boots forever. I'm short, have skinny calves and can't rock heels outside of SFactor. I have been willing to shell out dough for Frye, Marc Jacobs or Loeffler Randall but it has got to fit and got to be perfect.

So after looking for hours, ordering and returning countless pairs, I found non-suede grey boots to match my grey bag - yes, I'm a matchy matchy girl. They're flat, have a little scrunch but do not look like wigwams, tapered at the ankle so I don't have cankles but still can pull on, hit right at the thickest part of my calf, and are super light and comfy. And of course, since it was buy one, get one half off, I HAD to get the black cowboy boots. No crazy stitching, just a basic casual boot with a little heel. All for $85 and same day shipping! Now that's a recession bargain!

Try It On?

What a concept! I am an internet shopper. I HATE the mall and dealing with crowds and parking and the feeling that I'm paying a premium plus tax. But, I've bought and returned so many pairs of boots that it is just a waste to order them.

I've had my eye on Anthropologie's Fountain Pen Boots and Peaks & Plateaus Bag. They have been in the cart, ready for purchase but I just couldn't pull the trigger because I just wasn't sure. I received some good news at work today and thought I could get a little gift for myself.

So, I called 2 Anthropologie stores and of course, the shoe and bag can't possibly be in the same store. I mapped out the route to each of them and off I went.
Turns out, the leather of bag wasn't that soft and the handle drop - as I already knew - was too short. And, it was bigger than I wanted. Then, I took the E to Spring Street - for ONCE, the E train wasn't crowded. Must be my lucky day. I had a nice walk with window shopping (nothing really interesting) and got to the second Anthropologie.
13.5 inch shaft my ass. More like 15. I KNEW the boots would be too tall. I left both Anthropologie stores empty handed.

This apparently is my new budget strategy. If I want something, I will have to try it on. Which means I'll have to find time to get to the store, make sure what I want is there waiting for me and see if I really truly do love it.

Found: Perfect Boots

Hello, my name is A, and I have a boot problem. I have been looking for the perfect boots for nearly 2 years and ordered and returned countless pairs. I think I'm on the black list of every online shoe store. I get my finickiness from my mother who starts her criticisms usually with, "the shoe is too heavy." So, the boot has to be light, flat, flattering at the ankle (no cankles please), 13-15 inches high, fitted but loose enough to tuck jeans under, with some kind of character. I thought I had nailed it with the Frye Sam Button boots to your left and purchased them from anthropologie.com for a ridiculous price (they named it something else) and then found them $100 cheaper. I re-read the measurements and it has a circumference of 15.5 inches. That is way too wide even with jeans and I realized that the cuff would make me appear shorter (if such a thing was possible) because it would cut the line of my legs. I quickly emailed both websites and cancelled my orders. I also really wanted something kind of western but not all out western with stitching, cutouts, a stiff sole or toes that pointed upwards.

Mom was dying to go to Jersey Gardens and I went for the exercise, after Christmas sales, and hope to make use of M's Forever 21 store credit. I got a great price on some pima cotton sweaters for M from Tommy Hilfiger because she is all about how soft they are and machine washable. The discounts were certainly steep but there was nothing interesting - I thought, this is insane, there was so much junk made that people don't want to buy. What a total waste of resources. We ended our excursion at mom's favorite store, Old Navy. I got a great cotton grey cardigan and tank with black "jewels" and spotted shoes piled in a corner.

I like Old Navy flats and flip flops. You can get a million of them in every color and they are comfortable and low maintenance. While the flats of late have not been up to par, I saw these black boots with subtle cowboy detailing on the top, tall, flat, zipper at the ankle and rounded toe (makes your feet look small). I couldn't believe it. Sure, they aren't real leather, but hey, they won't need to be polished and are pretty waterproof. I am concerned about the breathability (think footed pajama smell) but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. I popped some gel arch supports in them when I got home and voila, the perfect boots for $39.99.