das boot

living in 72 degrees and sunny, means i can't get too excited when all of the new fall clothes hit the racks. you all are wrapping yourselves in rich shades of autumn, yummy cashmeres and fabulous leathers and wools. i'm driving around l.a. sweating in my summer dresses, blasting the A.C. into my face as i go christmas shopping.my closet stays pretty consistent through out the fall and winter months.

one thing that changes is my shoe choice. minimal change, i realize, but what's a girl to do who's an 'autumn'. i love a good boot.a good casual boot. a boot you can wear with a dress-with a great pair of tights if the night is nippy (read: 60 degrees) and boots are always good with a great pair of jeans, tucked in or out. here are a few of my faves:

the wellie:

a british classic. i first started wearing these one winter in san francisco when it rained (i mean poured- no drizzle) for 4 months straight. misery. "el nino". winter of 97-98. i was large and pregnant and buying shoes was the only thing i could do for myself. now they come in all of these crazy colors. i prefer the classic two tone. but these are cool too. i found these at shopbop. $130.00

the frye harness boot:

the minute you pull these on, you walk with a swagger. these are "the bad ass boots". you will feel like a total bad ass chic, when you wear these.

i love how these look under a great pair of faded jeans (just do NOT wear any plaid flannel with these-not that you should be owning any plaid flannel.it's just that this look could go really, really wrong if you don't know what you're doing and if you're not up to owning the look) i love these with a dress too. i know, you're thinking crazy. but, honestly, i have this white, gauzy goldie hawn, butterflies are free dress-hippy and fem, it looks fantastic with these. (i found a pair of these in little kid size for my girls and they wore them with tutus on occasion-(you have to be really cute to pull this look off) you can find them at zappos for $211.00.

'blunnies'

personally, i think that everyone should own a pair of these. guys too (these should be in every man's shoe wardrobe). old men and children as well. i bought my 80 year old dad these and they look darn nice on him. i also found some lavender suede ones for my kids. SUPEr, super cute. they're a classic australian boot going back to the 1800s. they're incredibly comfortable and have been knocked off plenty.but nothing's like the real deal.

bludstone on sale for $66.50 the moccasin boot:

ok, these, really, are not for everyone. and you know exactly who you are and why. i love them. i think they're totally hot. totally hot because you have to have the nerve (which in itself, is hot) and because the indian maiden look is always a little sexy. this is when "owning it" comes in handy. because there will be a few people who look at you, while you're pushing your cart down the aisle at trader joe's and think, "is she actually wearing moccasin boots?" to which you look them right in the eye with a slight, smug smile that says, "that's right. they're MOCCASIN boots. and they're fabulous"

oh whatever you do? do NOT buy any of the colors or the black. only that brown one two boots in the one that looks like a yellow lab. the rest are ick. minnetonka $80.00

fiorentini + baker: i'm saving the best for last. hoping you're still reading this, very wordy post, these boots are (and i have to borrow a term from decorno here) fucking INSANE. the first time i saw this tremendous example of fine leather crafting, was in my favorite shoe store, 'gimme' in san francisco. these boots are made of the most incredible soft, buttery leather. totally hand made and to die for. i looked for these on ebay for years. a couple of times a pair showed up. but mostly if you buy these, (they're not cheap) you're keeping them.

again, great with jeans and with dresses.

there's a men's version that's beautiful too. it's short and has just that one lower buckle strap. so hot.