Navigating the stylish – but tricky to wear – ankle boot
Apractical if one is planning to wear them a lot, and I actually found several dark leather and suede pairs in shops such as Dune, Russell & Bromley, and Blue Velvet.
Not all had good heels – some were too spindly and would certainly have been ruined between paving stones in no time; others were too high, but there’s certainly plenty of choice out there.
I found a particularly good pair at M&S that is both flattering and comfortable. They’re black suede with an Insolia inner sole (specific to M&S and inserted for added comfort), a medium block heel and a zip on the inner side. They come up to just above the ankle and are wide enough not to cling unflatteringly.
Still, wearing ankle boots can be quite challenging. Trouser legs need to be narrow enough to skim the top of the boot or tuck well inside, not catch continuously on the leather, which looks and feels uncomfortable. Wider trousers should always be long enough to cover most of the boot, falling to the ground. If any shorter, wear them with a flat boot. Some elastic-sided ankle boots fit so snugly
into the ankle that they avoid all the above, so if in doubt, try to find a pair of those.
And if you have thick ankles you may feel that from a proportion point of view, ankle boots cut the lower leg in an unfortunate place. They certainly can do so but wearing them with a longer, fuller skirt gets around this problem quite neatly. Ideally, wear them with opaque dark tights, probably black, as these flatter the ankle and calf far more than sheer. If you prefer a shorter, straighter skirt then you may not like an ankle boot on yourself at all – it’s not an easy look to pull off for anyone with anything but a stick leg. In this case I would forgo the ankle boot and settle for knee-length.
But if you have long, slim legs then lucky you, because you can wear pretty much any boot you like and get away with it.