Wearability.us

I thought I heard wrong the first time I heard about these. I thought people were going crazy. High heeled hiking boots!? When you think about it, it's really absurd, especially for those who actually like to hike. It's clear these kinds of shoes are absolutely the LAST thing you need for a trek up the mountains carrying many pounds of equipment. It's like this ridiculous, completely impractical product of the modern age, wholesale vanity at its purest.

That all said, the style is really growing on me! I can't believe it, but I can't help myself either. There's something about the blatant ruggedness, the impracticality, the sheer audacity that I love. Not to mention the cool details and don't-mess-with-me vibe they give off. So of course I spent a few hours scouring the interwebs for some of the finest examples of these walking oxymorons (which are still within reach). Pictured above are Topshop's 'Arella' booties lined in shearling.

I was so disappointed to find out that the Dollhouse 'Rogeri' style, which are my favorites, have long sold out on sites like Endless.com. I found some other black hiking boot styles that are pretty cool, but none of them have quite the chunky weight of the 'Rogeri.' And lastly are some examples of hiking booties in other colors. The ones from Tambukiki (below) are only about $32!

Goodness knows I need them. My latest favorite styles on Amazon.com.

In the first few moments of seeing these triple-lace-up boots from Chocolat Blu on Ruelala.com last night, I was super excited. Of course I was going to get them, I thought, because they were a much cheaper version of the awesome, awe-inspiring boots by Ann Demeulemeester from her Fall 2008 line:

I first saw the Ann D's on SeaOfShoes.com, and was utterly swept away by their vicious beauty. I loved them so much I seriously considered forking over the $800 when they went on sale on gilt.com a couple months ago. But of course I missed the chance--they sold out faster than you can say "demeulemeester" and that was that.

It never occurred to me that other brands would have the audacity to copy Ann D's immortal creations.  What nerve!  But copy they did, even L.A.M.B. (whose proprietor has been known to sue Forever 21 for copying its own designs, what a joke!), and though most of the copies were quite impressive, none of them quite reaches the ethereal splendor of the original boots, and here are a few missing elements:

• Angled tops with extended tongue: One thing that makes the original Demeulemeester boots stand out is the way the tops of the boots slope gently upwards towards the front, with that extra-long front panel that shoots aggressively up past the laces. Many of the copies merely truncate the boot shaft right where the laces end.  The Chocolat Blu ones do a decent job of imitating this boot shaft but are missing a few other elements as noted below.
• Off-set heel: At least in the high-heeled version featured on SeaOfShoes.com, one thing that really sets the Ann D's apart is the heel that isn't quite flush with the rest of the shoe.  Awkwardly placed and yet very unique.
• That perfectly distressed quality of the leather: All the copycats use leather that is just too new-looking, which instantly does away with the 18th-century, steampunk, Tim-Burton-esque charm of the originals.  The originals look like they've been worn for 100 years. The Chocolat Blu ones, by contrast, use patent leather.  For shame!
• Extra long laces: In all the pictures I've seen of the Ann D's, there is a generosity of laces that allows you to wrap them a few times around the boot shaft, and still have enough left over for some floppy ties at the sides.  Most of the fakes have just enough lace to tie a lame little bow at the top.
• Length of the rows of laces: By this, I mean the laces start much closer to the toe box on the original Ann D's as compared to the copycats.  The Chocolat Blu ones start practically at the ankle, leaving a whole lot of blank space on the actual shoe part of the boot.
• That bit of extra stitching towards the toe: It's a relatively tiny detail, but it makes a difference.  That little extra stitching before the laces start on the originals makes them somehow look more authentic.

So yeah, all the reasons above keeps the original Ann D's sacred, no matter who tries to copy them, but that said, I did end up ordering the Chocolat Blu boots because the Ann D's are sold out everywhere, and anyway they were as close as I was going to get to the originals at a mere $120.

Been a long time since we did a "Dilemmas" post.  In this case it's not really a matter of choosing which one to get, but whether to get something at all - or get all of them :)

...lies a world of flat-ish, comfortable, and decidedly solid shoes that defy categorization. Some might call them flat ankle boots, though it's not quite accurate, because "ankle boot" should refer to something that actually covers your ankle. Maybe the Frye people got it right when they called it a "shootie" because that captures the neither-here-nor-there nature of such footwear. Or, as Garry quipped, sh'booties.

I've been tracking this site for a while.  I was a bit confused at first about what, exactly, the Coclico folks did.  I have some to the conclusion that they not only design and make their own beautiful shoes, but they also are purveyors of a handful of other fine shoes.

I was waiting for permission from the Cydwoq folks to post these pictures of some of my favorite designs from their Vintage line...The Modern line is pretty great as it were, but there's something about the Vintage line that captures my imagination.

Unless you have been living under a proverbial fashion nock, you've no doubt been smacked in the face repeatedly by this fall fashion trend: the thigh-high boot. To be honest, like most normal (read: non-fashionista) people, I'm a bit dubious about it and I'm pretty sure it's going to be rather short lived, and thus hardly worth the investment.