056/ The Most Versatile & Functional Boot

+ other V&F footwear for your consideration

I’ll get straight to the point.

This newsletter is about the boot I search for every season, year-in and year-out.

Not “on trend”? Doesn’t matter.

I confidently recommend this boot shape to my clients because it addresses the issues which repeatedly arise when trying to put together a boot outfit (I’ll get to them in a minute). As a result, it tends to work when others don’t.

Will this boot perfectly complete every outfit you want to wear? No, but I’m also not advocating for a closet with just one boot. What I am saying is, on the whole, this boot checks most boxes, most of the time.

As with everything I buy, I go through my Five Questions, including how functional and versatile a piece will be.

Functional means it will work for your lifestyle. Yes, boots can be beautiful, and yes, they can act as a stylistic tool to alter the silhouette of your outfit, but — to state the obvious — clients are most often looking for boots because it’s cold outside. I, like many of you, live in a four-season climate, and we’re firmly into the cooler, single Celsius digits of fall. If you’re in Toronto, as I am, boot season is a long eight months out of the year when we need warmth and coverage on our legs and feet.

In terms of versatility, the boot I’m talking about needs to work for the everyday outfits we turn to on a day-to-day basis. In cooler weather climates that means long bottoms (whether jeans, trousers or midi-length skirts), or shorter bottoms with tights. That doesn’t mean these boots don’t work with dressier looks — on the contrary!

There are so many boots on the market that, in theory, it shouldn’t be hard to find a good, everyday boot. Yet, I find most boots come with one of a few common issues: