My Deep Thoughts on Boots

A lively discussion occurred over on the YouLookFab forums last week, about the uniformity right now of a certain look: skinny pants/jeans tucked into tall boots with a long tunic on top. I see that look at the mall and everywhere too -- although not at work, of course. There was a lot of back-and-forth about embracing the look, and how people make it individual for them, and some excellent points were made all around. In the end, the forum members took it on as a challenge, self-deprecatingly calling themselves "lemmings" and finding new ways to wear the look without looking like part of a herd.

I steered clear of it, for the simple reason that I really, really do not like that silhouette.

I've tried; it's been a staple for smart casual looks for a couple of years. But it never, ever looked right on me, and I just felt foolish in it. Plus, I can't wrap my brain around the concept of tall boots over jeans unless you are actually ON the polo team, or if you are Rachel Zoe swanning around stores in Beverly Hills. Since I am neither of those things, I felt like a fake every time I tried it in my mirror at home.

That said, I do have a lemming look of my own that I love in fall and winter: boots with dresses.



To me, this is the whole reason for owning tall boots. On a practical level, tall boots make wearing dresses in winter possible because your legs stay warm. On a stylish level, look at how good they look! ;-D

You will notice I am in colored tights, too. This can be a tricky style for women of a certain age like myself, but I think this particular outfit worked for three reasons:
1. The maroon color matches perfectly with the colors of the dress, so it helps the eye flow down gracefully
2. Most of the tight is covered up by the boot
3. It's a dark color, not a bright. I love bright, but as tights? That's for the more youthful crowd, alas!




To make this boots-and-dresses look to work in a professional setting, you need a fitted boot instead of the more fun and casual over-the-knee or scrunched boot. As my fellow wide-calf friends know, finding the right fitted boot is a nightmare. Especially since the 'lemming' uniform these days is the skinny jeans tucked into boots, most boots available in the stores are usually the same width all the way down so your pants fit it into them. Finding a boot that gets slim and fitted at the ankle is so tough. Last year, I didn't even bother buying new boots; I had two from the year before, including the Vince Camuto brogan/cowboy boots above, that I continued to wear. Because I have put on weight since I bought these, they are more fitted now than they were, so they can be pressed into service with dresses.

My boots from two (three?) years ago, however, were a couple of spectacular stretch-leather boots from Franco Sarto. They were perfection; the stretch meant they fit great all the time and were super easy to put on, and they were dressy-looking with two-inch thin heels so with dresses they were knockouts. Unfortunately, they had a distinctive squared-off pointy toe and look very dated now.

So imagine my elation when Angie posted about my buddy Laura's recommendation of the new Franco Sarto Yonkers stretch boot! It's funny, until I saw Angie's post, I wasn't able to put my finger on why the skinny pants-and-boots look doesn't work for me, and why I loved my older FS boots so much: it's the stretch. As as I've said before, my legs are my best asset, and whenever I cover them up either with a wide-leg pant or chunky boot, suddenly everything about me looks ten times bigger. Stretch boots add no girth to my legs, and in fact highlight them nicely.

They are on sale to $99 at Nordstrom. I ordered them in the mushroom; I should be able to wear that with the widest range of colors: colored outfits, blacks or browns, and probably some greys. Can't wait to try them on!

What style of boots is most flattering on you? Have you thought about why some work and some don't?

I leave you with a outtake. Action shot! Emily doesn't even care.