Suede boots with rubber soles are the fisherman shoes of winter
Good boots for people who like to dress up and dress down at the same time
This is a public post from the How to Wear franchise. To read the last of its kind, click here.
For the longest time, I could not figure out why Fall boots ruin outfits. It is an enigma to me still because the actual boots (usually black leather with a refined sole that afford between an inch and three of height) aren’t bad and in fact they’re good but when they get together with a pair of pants (they’re never as bland with a skirt), something mysterious happens that can yield the look pretty boring.
If you’re someone who:
wears a lot of jeans and trousers
often in and with dark colors like navy, black and charcoal grey
and you like to look half-dressed up and half-dressed down (eg wear fancy tops/out of place jewelry with your jeans or trousers)
I think I found a solution akin to what fisherman sandals did for sundresses and beach shorts last summer.
They’re a suede-on-top, rubber-bottom, lace-up the instep boot that looks like this:
These ones are Toteme. I saw them at the end of last summer and they reminded me of what I didn’t realize then were Clark’s — the Wallabees first and foremost, but the desert boot second — and Loro Piana’s version too. They got me thinking in this way that sounds like a click and makes clothes I’ve had for a long time seem different (which is what I believe I really mean when I say “new”) in a good way.
They work the best in my opinion with wool pants, delivering just the contrast I desire when in them. Wear with your dark colors like this:
Or surprise yourself! Roll off Sunday into Monday with enough color on top to explain away the lingering track pants.
Or put your trousers back on, wear a business shirt unbuttoned, match it with a grey tank top (or tee).
Forgo the top part altogether. Think Sat night live:
Or wear it with a jacket-as-shirt.
If you like to wear fitted or cropped jackets as tops with jeans but can’t figure out the right shoes (sneakers are too literally casual and ballet flats or more structured boots are too uptight), these are the best solution I can think of. Try any permutation of outerwear that is not an oversize blazer (and if the jacket is boxy, try belting it to make a peplum effect) with long enough jeans and it should work.
The pitfall: This style of shoe is def not as good with cropped pants (you want the length of the pants to be longer than the top of the boot lest you cut yourself off at an angle you don’t care for) or a dress (any length, as far as my closet can tell) or skirts (almost nailed one look w a patent leather mini but in the end, I couldn’t imagine actually wearing it out).
They did work well with this one pair of satin shorts though, but the look is pretty niche.
And probably easily ruined by one wrong right angle (as in 90 degrees from here).
Then there is this way (below), also with jeans, if you want to look like you’ve stepped out of a Polo men’s catalogue:
If you prefer wide-leg pants, here’s how I’d wear them with a more fitted top.
In conclusion, this style of boots is good for you if you:
- Wear more pants than skirts or dresses and
Find often that they’re wool, in shades of navy or grey or black — though denim and khaki works too
Prefer said pants long vs. cropped
- Need a casual alternative to sneakers
- Like to strike a contrast between fancy and less-fancy with your clothes but haven’t figured out what to put on your feet
- Plainly just like the shoes and have an idea of how you’ll wear them.
FOOTNOTES
👆🏻👆🏻 — Get it?
If you have a pair of camel or brown suede Chelsea boots (black prob works too), you should be able to plug those in and procure the same effect as demonstrated above.
If you don’t, and are in the market for new boots but don’t want to deal with a lace-up, these from Vince for $276 look good.
If the laces don’t bother you and you want to try this out, I’d get the Wallabee’s by Clark’s. Well-priced, durable and they offer a bit more height than the Totemes do
Which, obviously, I like a lot, but they are more refined than they need to be (and more $$)
If you prefer a round toe, I suggest the desert boot, also from Clark’s.
If none of this speaks to you but you’re trying to figure out what to do with your feet, hit me up by tapping reply! You need those babies to leave home, you might as well feel good doing it.
Signing off,
Lele
