Boots for the Mid-Lifers, Kinky or Otherwise!

To be honest, I can't believe that I have lasted this long with bare ankles: I haven't managed to bare my legs since our return from Costa Rica, because whatever you guys keep telling yourselves, this is not hot weather!! For the past year, we've been sweltering with daily temperatures of 37 degrees C, falling to a cooler 32 degrees in the evenings, so the legs and arms (and occasionally the tum when no-one was looking) were continuously on show. But no, since our return to beautiful Blighty mid-August, it's been jeggings and jeans every day, worn (usually) with my new flavours of the month, the wonderful  navy boat shoes from Vans that I bought in Seattle in the summer. 

Wish I'd bought the grey pair too!

Failing that, I can usually be seen sporting my cute and fruity Rocket Dog pumps that were a bargain in the sales of summer 2013.

Fancy and Fruity!

However, as we've all duly noted, autumn hit the streets of the UK this week, and as I tweeted yesterday on my way to college, the winter boots came out of hibernation! 

My Wonder-Woman boots, all aboard the 8.44 train to Waterloo!

Now, I absolutely lurrrvve wearing boots and I love me red Fly London boots more than anything else (apart from maybe chocolate ... and vodka ... and ... well you get the picture). I love these boots so much, that when we packed up in August 2013 to move to the tropics, whilst all my other boots were mercilessly culled and sent to the charity shops (slightly regretting that decision now!), I took these boots with me! Yes, I know, who the bloody hell would take a pair of leather boots to the tropics, let alone wear the damn things? Well, I did, and I'm so glad that I did. It was like being reunited with a long lost friend yesterday morning; I just put them on, zipped them up, set off for college and we spent the day like we had never been apart, comfortable in each others company. 

However, much as I love these beauties, a girl needs more than 1 pair of boots to see her through autumn and winter doesn't she? And so the quest begins - knee-highs or over-the-knee? Riding boots, ankle boots or Chelsea boots? Then there's the material to consider - leather, suede, patent or pony skin - and of course there's the all important colour to think about. Lordy! It's enough to make your head spin. 

So what style to choose when in your heart you are still a girl, but in your head you are trying to be a grown-up? Well, I quite fancy a pair of black & tan riding boots, but I think their trendsetting days are over for now and the look is so not me - yes, I'm well aware that I live in Surrey and can be seen most weekday mornings doing the school run wearing my skinny jeans, but still, it's not a look that I feel particularly suited to.

In my pre-CR days, I used to possess a pair of black patent knee-highs. Very cool! The problem was, was that each time I wore them, I felt that I had to wear black and white clothes and oodles of mascara, aka Twiggy in the 1960's!

Over the years, I have had the pleasure of wearing red ankle booties, navy suede pixie boots, brown knee-highs, purple shoe-boots, black riding boots, red Hunters (and subsequently blue then green). In fact, you name the boot and I have probably worn a pair. But what to buy this year, that is the all important question!

Now, I am ashamed to admit to you that I do have a slight confession to make. My red Fly London boots are no longer the only boots that I possess. I have sneakily purchased the obligatory Ugg replicas; a nice, cheap chocolate brown pair from the kids section in Costco (the bonus of having a Size 3 shoe is that I can usually buy grown-up styles in the more affordable girls footwear department!). I have also overcome my phobia and ventured into relatively unknown territory and snapped up a pair of animal print shoe boots from ... Clarks!! Yes, Clarks! It has taken me exactly 30 years to return to this store as I was scarred for life at a local branch at the tender age of 13 ... but I think I'll save that story for another day! 

Animal Print from Clarks!

Much as I love my new purchase, and the awful blisters that they gave me on the first day of wearing them (stupidly, I wore them for the first time for a day at the shops - what was I thinking??? Told you, 40 something girl, trying to grow-up). Anyway, still love them, but they are not exactly suitable for a walk into town in the rain are they?

So my question to you is ... what boots do you 40 something girls have your eyes on this autumn? Let me know in the comments box.

Love

Stella

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