This year’s boots

Your autumn boot uniform – with no sign of thigh-highs

Wtrenches now, and warmer masculine overcoats later.

I’ve tried them with ankle boots, my usual winter go-to, and they look fine, but as they’re long enough to negate the need for tights ( joy) that means flashing a bit of calf, which, in my case, is blue-white from lack of sun. It’s not particularly cosy to bare so much leg, not to mention the worry of looking down in a meeting and realising you haven’t shaved your legs since June.

Hence the knee-high boots. Which should be simple to find, but as everyone is suddenly very excited about thigh-highs (pull the other one), are not. Most options can be divided into two camps: those with a four-plusinch heel – so only good for walking from the car to lunch, and certainly too high for a stroll round the Louvre – and those with no heel at all, which can be rather unforgiving. Cowboy boots are also having “a moment”, apparently (consider the other one pulled).

But chin up. Jimmy Choo’s bottle green Minerva boots are, frankly, perfect, but they’re also £995, so I’ll move on swiftly – unless your pockets are deeper than mine, in which case, they also come in black and a shade of burgundy charmingly called “vino”. On the high street, the closest I’ve found are Jones Bootmaker’s Thea boots (£160). Kurt Geiger have some lovely pairs – try the black buttoned Waterloo (£249) or the burgundy Trance – at the upper limit of walkable heel height. Boden’s pullon sock style knee-highs add very little bulk, so are particularly flattering, and while I wouldn’t normally recommend suede (puddles), Russell & Bromley’s tobacco pair are too good not to consider.

For those not looking into a wardrobe filled with chiffon dresses and stepped hem skirts, the new breed of mid-calf boots will work perfectly with this season’s slightly cropped and/or kick-flared jeans and trousers, as they are cut high enough so as not to leave a gap of ankle, but not so high as to raise tucking-in issues.

Miista’s are the best around: if you’re confident of avoiding puddles, try the yellow suede (£235); if not, their snakeskin-printed leather pair will look brilliant with blue denim. But beware: as they cut across the widest part of your calf, they look shocking with bare legs, so don’t be tempted to pair them with skirts.