When my mother came into my bedroom and surveyed the 12 pairs of knee high boots lined up against the wall she commented that I had a lot of boots. This may be true, but I wear them almost every day in winter and I’ve been collecting them for a decade or more.
I love knee high boots and think that if you live in a climate where it gets cold, they are an essential item in your wardrobe no matter your size, shape or age.
Knee high boots have a great leg lengthening effect as they act as a low vamp shoe. The leg starts from the toe, rather than the ankle and make everyone’s legs look longer and slimmer. Win!
They are also really practical, keeping your legs warm and allowing you to wear skirts and dresses in winter when otherwise you might feel too cold.
That you can wear both flat options as well as heels with skirts and dresses gives you so much more variety and also makes them a very functional footwear option.
Ideally if you want your legs to look longer, then go for tights/hosiery in a similar colour to the boot, rather than an alternate colour so there is no extra horizontal line created between the boot and the hem.
There are so many great boot options around and come in all calf widths too which cater to a great variety of leg shapes. Plus they are great for balancing a slim jean or legging with your hips.
I own heels and flats in the same colour. And for my everyday style black knee high boots I own some with a slimmer leg and some a little wider that are easier to tuck my jeans into. Every year in the end of season sales I look for boots in a new colour (that’s how I found my great navy blue suede ones) to add to my collection.
Polish them up regularly, re-heel them and re-sole them when necessary and they will last and last.
If you have wider calves – look for wider fittings and for features such as stretch panels. Places like Duo Boots and Boots for Broads specialise in wider fittings and even Zappos has a selection.
A narrower ankle fitting will make the boot look dressier, wider and looser ankles on boots create a more casual feel.
Know your calf and ankle circumference measurements, take them shopping, particularly useful if you have curvier calves to be able to measure around a boot before you bother asking for your size!
Further reading on footwear:
Hi Imogen,
I know that you have lost a lot of weight – do you know if you can have the boots altered so that they fit again when your legs have also slimmed down?
All the best,
Tina
Tina you can get boots altered at a bootmaker/shoe repair – they can easily take them in to make the calves narrower if you have slimmed down and they are too loose.
I also love boots, I have 6 pairs from flat to heels short and long. I really like the last photo with the flat black boots, they look very comfortable.
I have one pair of tall boots. I was thinking about them this morning! They might be a tad too short to wear over jeans but I do plan to wear them with a midi skirt, my new fave skirt length.
I live in skirts, tights and knee high boots all winter long. I wear smooth knit solid color sweaters and wear either a jacket with a scarf plus, earrings, necklace or broach (not all at the same time, less is more IMO). I’m not crazy about my jacket though, I’m constantly pulling on it, it’s a Ponte knit, I prefer smooth texture as my hair is straight and smooth and my skin is smooth. Anyway when I had my wedding dress made I was told that besides me being short waisted, I am shorter in the back and longer in the front, I swear from the back it looks like my shoulder blades are on my waist, ugh. Unless the jacket is unstructured like my favorite jersey one I wear in the cooler months, or long and goes past my hips, I’m constantly tugging on it, so I wear cardigans over sleeveless tops all summer long because of a/c in office. It’s my “uniform” and sometimes gets to feeling that way because of my figure limitations. Any other suggestions?
Great post Imogen! As a child I desperately wanted a pair of long boots and have happily indulged with a few pairs over the years. And a definite staple here in a cold Melbourne Winter. My boot style over the past decade has been one of practicality – warmth and comfort. But with a new indoor job I can now add style to my boot requirements. I have wider boots (long and short) which are great over slim pants and leggings, but I need a slim fitting boot, with a heel, to wear with skirts – went shopping yesterday and bought two fab pairs of black suede, stiletto heels – one short and fitted at the ankle, the other long, slim fitted – half price on sale, mission accomplished!