don't walk that way

I don't know if you've noticed, but its getting colder. A lot, lot colder. Maybe it is because I live by the freezing waters of what I'm pretty sure is the North Atlantic Ocean, at least the English/French channel anyway, but even as an ardent lover of all things winter I am having trouble adjusting to these bitingly cold temperatures. I had to invest in a badass navyblue duffel coat. In it, with my brogues and satchel, I look like a small evacuated child but it is cosy so I don't much mind.

Anyway, soon my thoughts are turning to footwear. My small selection of everyday shoes pretty much spans 3 different types of brogue. Snazzy, but not keeping my tootsies warm! I spy something beginning with...B! Boots! A pair of lovely snuggly warm winter boots.

I may have come to this a little late, but I remembering the last couple of seasons where desert boots started creeping in...and I am attracted!


These beauts are Karen Milan Weekend Luxe Suede ankle boots, £144 in ASOS sale, and you know I'm a sucker for a tassel. ;) But lets not get carried away here, hardly high street prices.
ARTY Moccasin Boots, £65, Topshop. They're just cute. And kinda ugly. But what is A/W'10 if not a celebration of the frump, in luscious brown suede they look so slouchy and casual. Styling them up might be a challenge, but I'm seeing skinny jeans and an awful lot of cable knit.
Somehow I'm not too impressed with Zara's offering, a wedge ankle boot £59.99. I don't know if its the odd mid-height (is it an ankle boot or a full boot? who knows!) but somehow they look a little too severe. They are still a cute, very Zara approach to the desert boot though, making it their own with the wraparound lace tie.

ANGEL Studded Suede Ankle Boots, £75, Topshop.
These have quite a lot going on, but for a hybrid of all the different booty styles going on at the moment (seems like studs from the biker trend, shape of the desert boot, toe structure of a cowboy boot etc..is that just me?) they are quite a successful piece. I am totally sold on the blocky wooden heel - quite often they look stupid, out of place, like someone has just stuck it on, but here it kind of works.

But - drumroll, please - we have a clear winner. And it's from a slightly unlikely source.
Clarks YARA Desert Boot in black. Isn't she beautiful? See, it's the simple one that wins out. The wedge heel makes the quite masculine desert shoe a little prettier, would look grungy-glamorous with a floral maxi dress, or androdgynous with chinos..I'm in love. At £99 it is the pricier end of the non-designer market, but if I had that kind of ready moolah at my fingertips I would deem them worth it. I called Clarks unlikely not because they haven't had some lovely stock - I still covet a shiny pair of brogues from there, which you know would not fall apart - but just because they don't really have the reputation of being fashion-y, theyre more classic.
So what drew my, and the bloggosphere's attention to these darlings? This darling!

The unstoppable Flo wore the Clarks YARA wedges in the sand colour to Glastonbury this year, and as a result they completely sold out - indeed, they still are! So getting your hands on a pair might be tricky, but good news; it would seem there will be more stock in. If you can wait till December, that is.

None of the above shoes would fill my criteria of snuggly, warm, everyday boots (with the questionable exception of the topshop Arty number?). But they would make you look all warm and wintery and suede-clothed, even if you were still a little nippy. And that is good enough, no?

Ah well.. any suggestions for actual warm and sexy footwear?!
xx