Every winter, I invariably nearly fall on my bum or actually do so somewhere between January and February and get a giant softball-sized black-blue-yellow-green bruise. Lovely. This year, I’m hoping to stave off that kind of self-abuse by wearing better shoes. It’ll also help the plantar fasciitis in my feet, which seems to have made a nasty return.

A turn at Classique showed me all I wanted. I hate looking at a shoe in a store and being unsure about the quality of the leather or whether it even IS leather. With Classique, I never doubt the fine Italian leather. I’m now saving up for these expensive lovelies, both in black. I believe the boots ranged somewhere in the $500 range, but they are a perfect heel height and will last me a decade at least, I’m betting.