What 2 Wear When...: booties

Showing posts with label booties. Show all posts

Sunday, September 27, 2015

My September Obsession - The Open-toe Bootie

A friend wanted my opinion about a pair of booties before making the purchase and sent me a picture of these gorgeous thangs for approval.

Image from parlourx.com

The air is pretty thin up there in the expensive shoe stratosphere and it’s comforting to have someone check your chute before you jump. The shoe is the Celine Bam Bam. They were a revelation. The black leather upper with slightly edgy zipper. Sleek silver heel in a wearable height. All balanced with a natural leather sole. A basic with a twist that could be dressed up or down. Bam bam indeed.

She had an anniversary party and styled them them with cropped black track pants and a lovely layered Lafayette 128 top. Very simple. She was definitely on to something. I started playing with looks and saw a workhouse that would go miles in the fall wardrobe.

Instead of a basic pump or flat booties, I’m thinking outside my comfort zone this fall. It's all about basics - a favorite white blouse with jeans, easy sweater over leggings - and pairing it with a killer pair of booties will totally elevate my look from the same old thing to fabulous. These Vince peep toe booties will fill the slot nicely with a variety of fall looks.

Image from bloomingdales.com.

I am a summer girl through and through but I’ve got to say, I’m glad it’s Fall. ~ LB

W2WW - Fall Bootie Looks

Tory burch dress, $495 / Whistles hi low dress, $165 / Zara red dress / Vince blue sweater, $400 / Burberry long sleeve top / Wallis black top / Uniqlo crewneck sweater, $45 / Vince leather jacket, $1,480 / Zara coat / Theory cropped pants / AG Adriano Goldschmied distressed jeans / Vince high heel booties / Vince tote, $685 / Whistles white purse / Lanvin tassel necklace / House of Harlow 1960 pendants necklace / House of Harlow 1960 leather jewelry / Zadig Voltaire scarve, $190

Monday, September 16, 2013

it's Fall 2013: Short Booties

Unlike my blogging partner, I'm not physically capable of wearing ballet flats after the first frost. I need socks otherwise I'm in a state of perma-cold! I also start wearing gloves around the same time. ($1 at A.C. Moore, I get 10 pairs of black every season and am never at a loss when one inevitably goes missing.)

Enter the short bootie! It's a versatile addition to the closet since it can be worn with ANYTHING while you can still comfortably navigate cobblestones, bike paths, soccer fields, and neighborhood streets. Short height + short heel = fashion perfection!

Over slim, boot-cut jeans, they are a great option instead of sneakers or clogs.

Image from girlaroundtown.net.

Image from calypsostbarth.com.

Pants are still slim and cropped (or rolled to a crop) this fall, so booties help you get a few more weeks out of white jeans as you transition to fall. Pair with cropped gray or black pants as fall and colder temps roll in.

Image from thestyleup.com.

Image from calypsostbarth.com.

I wear dresses and skirts to work and short booties are a fresh alternative to tall riding boots. Pippa's got a wedge going on with tights. I'm more of a shift/tunic girl with bare legs and booties.

Image from girlaroundtown.net.

Image from calypsostbarth.com.

Skinny, skinny leggings can be tucked in and worn with a big coat or sweater for a great fall vibe, or with a dressy tunic for nights out.

Image from girlaroundtown.net.

Image from calypsostbarth.com.

If you have great legs, wear them with shorts!

Image from hereyouarefw.com.

Image from calypsostbarth.com.

Deciding which color as been the big challenge for me. Consider camel suede or colored leather. I tend to wear white, ivory, grey, and camel a lot. Non-black suedes and darker leathers offer texture, richness and contrast where black can fall flat. Plus, how many pairs of black boots do you have in your closet? Be honest. Yep, we thought so.

Check out my Polyvore set below for inspiration and ideas! Happy shopping! ~ LB

W2WW: short booties

Elizabeth and James long boots / Alberto Fermani ankle booties / Madewell black mid heel boots / Ankle booties / Burberry ankle booties / J.Crew ankle booties / J.Crew ankle booties / J.Crew polishing boots / Jack Wills black floral boots / Tod's tods boots / Madewell boots / Sam Edelman ankle booties / Tod's tods boots

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Paris 2013 - What we saw.

And, back to report on our trips to Paris in April. This is a quick list of what we saw, so keep your eyes out for these items and trends in the near future.

Cobalt pants

Even my husband noticed. Quote: "Is the new uniform blue pants and a white top?" Everywhere. With ballet flats. With white t-shirt. A uniform. Except, unlike this pic, they always had a scarf around their necks.

Image from comptoirdescotonniers.com.

T-A-S-S-E-L-S

On purses, on shoes, on zippers. Anything that could have a tassel did. And you KNOW how we love our tassels!

Images from comptoirdescotonniers.com.

Skinny Jeans

Rolled up, cropped, yet all SKINNY jeans. SKINNY and possibly damaging to one's blood circulation. It was a little weird not being able to tell apart an American from Parisian from sight alone. Honestly, we missed the elegant French.

Love of Everything Brazilian

This took us by surprise. Bon Marche (the Mecca) had an entire Brazilian theme going on...lots of bright colors. Different Brazilian designers and products were scattered all over the store with special displays and the Parisians were eating it up. Lisa said there was a jewelry counter in Bon Marche FULL of Brazilian bracelets that was PACKED by French women when she was there alone one day. Get your Havaianas out because they were, no joke, selling for 26 to 55 Euros in Bon Marche. Honestly, I think with the Olympics in Rio in 2016, we are going to see A LOT of Brazilian influence in style, so keep your eye out and an open mind!

Images from lebonmarche.com.

Flat Booties

Mon dieu! But it's spring. Time to swap out for sandals or at least ballet flats. Short, below the ankle and flat. Worn with impossibly skinny jeans (see above). I will definitely be getting a pair of these for fall.

Image from mytheresa.com.

Car Coat

Sure, there was the requisite trench but also lots of other great mid thigh looks that were chic. Lightweight fabrics, leathers, and suedes too. Jen and I were petting this lovely one at Gerard Darel. Purrr.

Image from gerarddarel.com.

That's the overview - stay tuned for what we actually bought! ~ LB & JH

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

...it's Fall 2012: Booties

Ladies, time to get your bootie on! Last fall, I obsessed about an ankle boot (or 'bootie') I saw online at my favorite French boutique, Comptoir des Cotonniers. These are the booties that started it all for me.

Image from pinterest.com.

Lisa and I traveled to NYC in October 2011 on a shopping trip, and visited the 2 Comptoir boutiques that existed in the U.S. at the time (one in Soho and one on the Upper West Side) to see if I could find them. Both stores were out of my size. And then I remembered that Bloomingdales in NYC has a store-in-store for Comptoir. We went, and I purchased the LAST pair of size 39s in the U.S..

I'm SOOOOO glad I bought them. I wore them with everything from slim bootcut jeans to cropped pants, almost everyday. These booties inspired 2 more bootie purchases last year too - a grey, weather-proof suede pair and a dressier, rag & bone black bootie (below) that I wore with pants as well as with opaque tights and dresses. (Full disclosure: Lisa spotted these rag & bone ones first, and I couldn't resist copying her.)

Image from pinterest.com.

This year, booties are EVERYWHERE for this fall and if you've visited Lisa's Fall 2012 Pinterest page, you can see how obsessed she is too. Believe me, booties are such a fun change from ballet flats and knee-high boots in the winter.

For everyday booties, I like a stacked heel with height coming in around 2 1/2 to 3 inches maximum. One of the classics out there is by rag & bone; their 'Newbury' bootie that comes in 4-5 colors, both in suede or rugged leather, and is ridiculously comfortable.

Image from rag-bone.com.

If you are not comfortable with the price-tag or heel height that accompanies them, brands like DV by Dolce Vita have great booties too. The 'Nuri' and 'Java' booties are really attractive, even more so since they are both under $130 a pair.

Images from nordstrom.com.

I've seen more 'everyday' - thicker heel, casually styled - booties this fall than I've ever seen. If an everyday bootie fits your lifestyle, consider a tan or light brown suede. They work well with jeans as well as black, tan, and navy colors.

And you ask: "How do I wear them?". Casual booties can be worn with jeans, pants, and more casual dresses. Calypso St. Barth shows this boot styled several different ways...

Image from calypsostbarth.com.

...with skinny jeans rolled to the tops of the booties...

Image from calypsostbarth.com.

...or with a casual dress and bare legs (a great transition look into fall).

Image from calypsostbarth.com.

Even paired over a pant, cuffed or cropped, booties give an outfit (that probably already in your closet) an updated look. Below, this plain top, belted into a slightly cropped pant looks a more polished with the booties than with a pair of flats, doesn't it?

Image from comptoirdescotonniers.com.

For dressier occasions, go with a smooth leather bootie with a higher, thinner heel. Basically, a closed pump. Pair them with dress pants, a dress, or pencil skirt. So nice to have a change from the standard pump, and a bit warmer in colder temperatures. This Corso Como bootie is an inexpensive, great way to enter the bootie market, at Bloomingdale's for $169.

Image from bloomingdales.com.

This bootie is one of the few I've seen with a mid-heel. By Pour la Victoire, it's also a great start for trying out the dressier bootie look.

Image from bloomingdales.com.

And as for how to where them? Check out these looks for inspiration. You can add stockings or tights as the season changes.

Images from net-a-porter.com.

There are TOO many booties out there to post one picture at a time. So I went to trusty Polyvore and created a set, showcasing some of the best choices for everyday and dressier booties. Whatever you do, just try some pairs on the next time you are in the shoe department. Enjoy the ode-to-booties below! ~ JH