Since we are talking about big black boots...

Let me indulge myself here (and this could be a very long post... sorry if you are male (or, indeed, female) and find all this terribly boring). I'll start with a statement. I do not, under any circumstances, want to become one of the Ugg brigade. I have a very short pair of sheepskin monsters that do well enough when it is freezing outside, but I am feeling the need to move away from such things. I get this horrid, creeping feeling that I look like an idiot when I am wearing them (especially since my old boss laughed for an indecently long time the first time he saw them :-/).

So. 1st choice was: brown, thick leather, pull-on country boots that are really more like wellies and very practical. Must be mid-calf length, loose and straight around the ankle, absolutely no biker buckles, not too loose at the top. To be worn with thick welly socks or leg warmers poking out of the top. Can I find any that fit all those criteria? Not a chance.


H by Hudson boots come closest after the Toast roper boots, and can look quite good, if a bit cowboy-ish and contrived - you know, the turned up sole, the artful distressing. And they are that little bit too expensive.

There is a cute-ish pair for £35 in Muji that I tried on a couple of months ago, but I think they look and feel a bit flimsy, a bit 'city' if you know what I mean. And those cuffs won't last a minute with me:


And if I don't want flimsy, how about super-hardwearing, gaiter-topped, waterproof clod-hopping leather Toggi boots (below)? I can get them for £85.99 on eBay but I fear they might make me look like a dwarf. They make me think I should grow a beard. Very practical, but perhaps a bit too bulky. I think I would actually have to own a farm to make them look necessary.


Now I have ground to a halt on the mid-calf front, the next option is a pair of ankle-height lace-up Victorian-looking brown jodhpur boots, under no circumstances to be worn with said jodhpurs. A bit boring? Do I wear too many brogue-style shoes? Will they make me look like some kind of country-chic wannabe? Probably. But for only £15.99, they might be worth a punt, worn with some chunky socks and tights. I don't have the world's best calves for this length, but I don't really give a shit.


And the latest one I'm mulling over is this somewhat military, cuffed number made by US company, Frye. Very expensive new, this pair could be mine for £55. And they look like they will take some hammering in a muddy field without taking too much damage. But will they make me look like a bloke, or a Communist? Probably. But I can imagine the ankle stuffed with coloured socks over grey tights, worn with something girly on top - might work; might look like an ugly joke. What do you think? Anyone got any ideas?



Bleurgh. That was a bit too self-indulgent and girly. Sorry.
We have had SNOW here and it is beautiful! I will post up photos later today as a kind of apology to those who find footwear a bit tedious :-P