Fall Boots For Slim Calves

Good morning!

I received another e-mail from one of my clients who had a question she wanted me to address. Because it had to do with “Fall Boots,” and we are now in the Fall season, I thought it was best if I addressed her question first and answer Alice’s second question from the previous blog, in the next blog on November 12th. You can get the immediate answer to Alice’s second question right here in this blog write. However, when I address Alice’s second question in the next blog in two weeks, I will embellish it with personal observances.

Ok…First the question from my client Liz:

Hi Michelle,

I’m really enjoying the newsletter, so thanks for putting it together!

I have a questions that may or may not be useful for the newsletter. It’s about wearing boots with dresses and skirts.

I really like this look, but find that with bare legs most tall boots (to below the knee) look a little like rain boots on me because my calves are on the skinny side. So two questions: Are there styles or brands of boots that are more slim fitting? If not, other than wearing tights or hose to reduce the “galoshes” look, what are some suggestions?

Thanks!

Liz

Thank you, Liz, for e-mailing your question to me and allowing me to share it with our new family.  I am happy to answer all questions especially because we all benefit in some way from the experiences of others from their style challenges. And yours is one that occurs more often than not. And that’s because legs come in so many shapes, lengths, and sizes. 

As we all know body types come in all shapes and sizes. So do our calves. I work with clients that have slim calves such as Liz, who have a challenging time finding the perfect fitting boot for her calves, and clients whose calves are fuller than most and their challenge is finding a boot that can pull over or zip up to fit their fuller calves.

What most people don’t know is that boots do come in different calf sizes! So yes, there are more slim fitting, as well as, wider fitting brands of boots.

For those of you who have slimmer or fuller calves ask the salesperson at the store you are shopping at to show you boots that are:

• for “narrow” or “slim calves.” Here’s a few choices from Nordstrom.
• for “wide calves.”  Here’s a few choices from Macy’s.

Stores usually have a pretty good selection but they don’t always advertise that the boots are for slimmer or fuller calves, so if you don’t see a sign stating this, attached to a particular boot, ask the salesperson.

For slimmer calves, you don’t always have to look for a boot that is for slimmer calves. In general, if you get away from a “riding” type boot with a chunky/flatter heel, and look for a boot that has a slimmer or stiletto type heel, it will most likely have a slimmer fitting calf.

Whether you are looking for a flat boot or a heeled boot, look for one that zips up as opposed to one that you pull on. When you have a pull up or pull on boot with no zipper (or a half zipper), the boot opening has to be wide enough for the foot to be able to go all the way through and land on the bottom of the shoe with room for the boot to slide up onto the calf. Generally a boot that has a zipper will be a more fitted boot at the calf, so look for boots with zippers. (You want the zipper to go all the way from ankle to the top of the boot, not a half zipper zipping from just the ankle to the mid-calf.)

For slimmer calves, you can also try wearing a Boot Topper which is a faux fur topped boot sock. These are meant for the fur to fold over the top of the boot. But if you want to create less space between the boot and your calf, don’t fold the fur over the boot, but wear the fur so that it hits below your knee but above the top of the boot giving you a little extra width to your calf. I have a pair myself that was given to me as a gift, and I wear it this way all the time. A slim calf boot will probably be easier to find but this is a fun alternative to pair with a boot that you already own that has a wider top opening that feels too big for your slim calves. Or for a fun and stylish look, add a boot topper to any boot .

For fuller calves there is not much you can do if you cannot find a boot that will fit over your calf, but keep trying! I recently worked with a new client who had never found a boot that fit her fuller calves until she shopped with me. I can’t tell you how delighted she was when I found one for her that looked amazing. That’s the real fun of this business. The looks of pleasure on the clients’ faces when they solve a style dilemma with perfect satisfaction. When that happens, I feel like Superwoman!

I hope that helps you, Liz. Your question certainly gave me an opportunity to address a problem that would be difficult for the average shopper to solve without specific style knowledge about the item. So, now readers share your Style Acumen about finding the perfect boot fit with those who didn’t get it here, courtesy of Liz’s willingness to share. Thank you again, Liz.

Now what’s your style question? Ask it and have it answered here, so the entire family of “In The Know” shoppers can benefit.

And…For those of you that couldn’t wait to receive my answer to Alice’s second question, read on.

Now, it’s your turn. I’d love to hear from you.  Your insights and inspiration are appreciated so please share your stories in the comments below.

Blog me.

Love,

~Michelle