I love the look of equestrian boots, but that is not the type of riding I am referring to here.  Yes, there is a horse in my back pasture, but he actually belongs to and is cared for by our neighbor.  The closest we currently have is the ‘Iron Horse’ that belongs to my husband; the same motorcycle which, I am told, is anxious to come out and play for the current late-summer to fall season.

Honestly, I had already started turn my attention to this Fall’s boot offerings; both to keep an eye on trends as well at to possibly find off-season clearance deals on 2007 styles (despite temperatures in the 80’s). But, today I am specifically focusing on styles that will be functional in the role of motorcycle boots. 

So, what is an appropriate boot for me as a motorcycle passenger? Here are some basic considerations to take into account:  Our back seat has foot rest ‘pegs’, so a slight heel is advised to reduce slippage and leg strain (For the driver, this bike has flat ‘boards’ rather than pegs up front, so even a flat heel would be okay there.).

• Comfort is important.
• So is Safety: Leather and Kevlar are two products which offer extra layers of protection compared to most other materials.
•  A little bit of a heel is okay, but not necessarily practical depending on the destination (Riding is not what I consider to be stiletto-appropriate conditions!).
• I prefer styles that are not top-stitched cowboy-boots; most boots of this style simply don’t call to me.
• It should work well with boot-cut jeans or leathers and it should offer a layer of protection to the lower leg; ankle boots may be in fashion - but for riding, I prefer calf or knee-high lengths for maximum coverage without affecting the full range of motion of the leg (You won’t find me on the back of a bike in sandals, shorts,  T-shirt and no jacket. Ever. Road Rash?  - No thank you.). 
• It should also be practical, attractive, and hopefully, feminine.
• Finally, an under $200 price tag would be nice.

So, first, from Harley Davidson (As if I could write about motorcycle boots and not mention these?):

• The ‘Christina’ ($104.40 Zappos.com) has nice color and shape, but it’s still too much of an ankle boot for my taste.

• The ‘Strut’ ($129.45 Shoebuy.com) has a bit of that cowboy silhouette. However, the studs give it just a little bit of edgy appeal.

• How about the ‘Darla’ ($128.00 Zappos.com); still a bit of the western silhouette but with classic biker hardware.

• But wait, the ‘Carina’ ($139.95 Onlineshoes.com /$144.00 Zappos.com) is a higher calf-boot with a solid but attractive heel and a little bit of buckle detail that is not too overdone :

OK, now for some non-Harley Davidson options:

First, a few styles by Seychelles (One of my favorite brands & very friendly to the higher-arched foot):

• The ‘Shotgun Wedding’ ($101.25 6pm.com); aside from the saucy little name, this is a bit of a wing-tipped granny boot with attitude.  However, I would hate to see those laces come undone at the wrong time. Sigh.

• The ‘Overtime’ in distressed brown or black leather ($101.25 6pm.com/$127.99 Shoes.com). I love the extra pockets that fit a cell phone and any other small personal items.

• The ‘Do It Yourself’ in brown or black ($101.25 6pm.com/$135.99 Shoes.com) is a lower, engineer-style boot that also appeals to me. Again, maybe it’s that darned useful attached pocket.

Next, how about these styles by Report?

• The ‘Nymph’ buckle boot ($124.95 Solestruck.com). A decent brown-leather buckled style.

• There’s also the ‘Victory’ in tan ($77.63 6pm.com / $109.95 Solestruck.com); Yes, that is another cargo pocket attached at the calf (Believe me, the last thing I want to worry about on a motorcycle is a purse).

Last, here are some miscellaneous options from Ecco, Born, Timberland, and Red Wing:

• The ‘Esmeraldas’ buckle boot by Ecco ($219.95 Onlineshoes.com); an attractive combination of leather and suede.

• The Born ‘Kale’ ($179.95 Onlineshoes.com / $184.95 Nordstrom.com / $189 Zappos.com) an understated leather boot with subtle but attractive buckle detail.

• Timberland’s ‘Charles Street’ ($130.90 Endless.com / $159.95 Onlineshoes.com / $164 Zappos.com) is another lace-up style with a low functional heel; waterproofing is a nice bonus.

• Red Wing’s ‘Loretto’ ($219.95 Onlineshoes.com / $224 Zappos.com); yet another buckle and lace-up style.

Of course I could just throw all caution to the winds an use this as a justification to pick up my first pair of Doc’s:

• Dr. Martens ‘Vonda’ 14-eyelet boot ($127.46 Onlineshoes.com/Shoebuy $149.95/$149.99 Journeys.com/$150 Shoes.com/$154 Zappos.com). How’s that for an attention-getting boot?

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Yes, I had a torturous time this past weekend attempting (semi-successfully) to do a ruthless shoe purge from my closet.

What motivated this frightening action, you might ask?  I’m moving.  Yes, folks, I’m leaving New York.  It’s been a good few years, but it’s time to go.

Where to, you (may or may not) want to know?

London, I tell you.  Never fear.  I’ll be covering footwear on the other side of the Pond.  And Twinkletoes will have the New York City beat well in hand.  Or, I guess, on foot.

But all this means that I have to pack up my rather large shoe collection and put most of it in storage for the year that I’ll be abroad (horrors!).  And since storage space is limited and I’m unwilling to give up the shoe boxes in which I store my darlings, a reduction of the collection was required.

So, what got added to the donation pile?  10 pairs.  I’m quite pleased with myself at 10 pairs.  And I shall show them to you.

1. Luau-rific flower-adorned flip flops.

2. Turkish bazaar slippers.

3. Havaianas kitten heel flip flops.

4. Paul Green “Dream” tan slip-ons.

5. Biviel kitten heel pumps.

1. ECCO boxer boots (lovingly blogged about here, but always a tad too small).

2. Doc Martens maroon oxfords.

3. Valerie Stevens black leg-wrap wedges.

4. Cole Haan G Series Irvington mules.

The 10th is this pair of Giraudon boots.

They are fun and funky.  They are walkable.  They are stylish.  But like the ECCOs above, they are ever-so-slightly too small in the toes.  So are those cute Biviels up there.  This is due to a lack of smart shoe-shopping in my past, but let it serve as a lesson to all that you REALLY shouldn’t buy that cute pair of shoes that almost almost fits but doesn’t quite.

I love you all, my dears.  I have had lovely times wearing all of you.  And now it’s time for you to go on and decorate the feet of someone else.  I wish you all well.

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This issue of Ask the Shoebloggers comes from a friend of mine with a dilemma that’s got to do with a very of the moment trend.

What kind of (hopefully comfy) shoes look best with the now-trendy
wide-trouser-leg pants? I have a pair of nice wide jeans/slacks, and
I’m always worried I look a little Saturday Night Fever-ish if I wear
close-toed shoes or platforms–but I can’t wear flats because they’re
too long.

First off, I have to say that I support the trouser jean trend. Sure, you have to be careful about the high-waisted aspect, but it’s so much more flattering on so many more people than the horrible skinny jeans that are still unfortunately making the rounds on many more legs than they should be.

I, too, have bought a pair of trouser jeans, which I love, and I specifically had them tailored with a little extra length, so when I wear them, it’s got to be with heels or platforms of some sort.

Here are a few solutions I go for, illustrated with shoes that are close to (if not exactly) ones that are sitting in my closet.

First off, there’s the dainty look with a low wedge (which, for me, means 2″ or less). Or really any wedge, since if you want to go for more height, a wedge is a fairly comfy way to do it.

To avoid Saturday Night Fever, stick to something that doesn’t have a platform. Here are two pairs that have just been/are about to be added to my collection that I’m already planning on pairing with the trouser jeans.

Ecco Durango ($140), which is a good option to transition from one season to another.

or

Taryn Rose Kaelyn ($445), which is a more warm-weather choice, particularly if you opt for the leafy green color.

I’ve been pairing my trouser jeans with boots for the past few months while the weather’s still been cold. Everything from a 2″/2.5″ heel, sleek sort of boot like the Kenneth Cole Kiss Hello ($110)

to the classic cowboy boot (a good sturdy, comfy way to get a couple inches of height). Mine are Lucchese, similar to the N4540 pictured here, and on sale right now for $263 at Shoes.com.

Also fun would be sticking a pair of Camper Twins under your trouser jeans. Since just the toes will peek out from under the wide legs, I’m all in favor of those toes being interesting and different. I’m all about these Peacock heels ($165), which also come in another color combo that you can get directly from the Camper website.

Pretty much, I’d say almost anything goes. Just stay away from platforms, yes, because the 70s are over. Closed-toe shoes should be fine, as long as there’s something interesting going on with the toe (see above examples: stitching, buttons, open-toe, multi-color appliques). That should keep your inner disco diva confined to her proper place where she can keep you going all night on the dance floor instead of looking like you’re missing your John Travolta.

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As any of you who poke around online have probably noticed by now, tags are a widespread and useful way to organize what you have to say online. Flickr uses them for photographs. Many of the journaling sites use them for online diaries. We use them right here at Shoeblog.

And I use them in my head for my shoes. Maybe this is just another way that I devote an obscenely high degree of time and mental energy toward my shoes, or maybe lots of people do this, but many of the shoes in my collection are accompanied by a mental epithet. These tags often present themselves to me at the time of purchase. Sometimes they’re the reason I want to buy the shoes in the first place.

A few examples of my current “shoe tags.”

The TKO:

These are my Ecco boots, lovingly purchased in the Copenhagen airport before the “boxer boot” style showed up in the USA. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, indeed.

The Dorothy Gale:

In The Wizard of Oz movie, Dorothy’s slippers are ruby red, but in the book, they’re silver. And at the end of every night I wear these NaNa flats out, I find myself half believing that if I just click my heels together three times, they’ll let me bypass mass transit and magically take me right home.

The Summer of Love:

If I were going to San Francisco, I’d be sure to wear some flowers in my hair and these Zeeta clunky (and super comfy) wedges.

The Oscar Wilde:

Anytime my inner Victorian lady wants out, these Giraudon boots are the go-to choice.  After all, “To me, Beauty is the wonder of wonders. It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances.”

The Peter Pan:

If I’m just not feeling like growing up, I pull out these cuffed boots (also by Giraudon). Second to the right, and straight on till morning!

and the newest “tagged” shoe in my closet…

The Pocahontas:

I won’t be able to run through the woods in these until the weather gets warmer (and who are we kidding, I’ll be doing no running at all in these, and they’re much to pretty to get anywhere near the muddy springtime woods), but they’re sitting at home waiting for the spring and my chance to get back in touch with nature.

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ECCO is one of those brands that’s pretty synonymous with comfort footwear. They’re a classic staple of the field, and there’s good reason for that. The Danish-based company have been making good quality, walkable shoes since 1963. And (hear the bells ring out), for the last few years their style has been improving by Superman-size leaps and bounds.

I remember about 5 years ago, I was on a trip to Scandinavia and Iceland.  Every store had those excellent boxer-inspired boots on display, and they hadn’t reached the USA yet.  I was dying for a pair, but my shopping day in Copenhagen was a Sunday, and most stores were closed.  I remember a mad dash through the Copenhagen airport as soon as I saw they had a duty-free ECCO store, the fastest shoe try-on in memory, and a lightning speed payment for a seriously awesome (and comfy, of course) pair of ECCO boxer boots that weren’t being sold in the States.

And things have only gotten better.  I mean, who’d think that these sexy Bonn tall boots would actually be built for comfort?

The pointy toe, the laser cut-out cuff, the sleek skinny heel. All normally trappings of high fashion (aka high discomfort) styles. But not so here! ECCO makes shoes to fit your feel, not shoes to force your feet into. And the price on these gorgeous things? A mere $210, which is highly reasonable for a pair of high quality, high fashion, comfortable knee boots.

And the style offerings out now range from the sleekly chic to the rocker fantastic. The Bern ankle boot ($160) might as well be straight off Debbie Harry in her Blondie heyday.

It’ll bring just enough attitude to your wardrobe without leaving the realm of the “work appropriate.”

And speaking of work appropriate, that’s a whole new realm ECCO’s begun to offer over the past few years. No longer are they just walking shoes. Now you can head to the office and the office party in any number of classy ECCO pumps, like the Bristol line, which includes a basic 3″ version and a patent t-strap (both $140).

And keep your eyes open for the upcoming Spring 2008 shoes. We got a sneak peek at some of them at the Las Vegas WSA show last summer, and they are ADORABLE!

Of course, in the name of our Shoeblogging duty, your intrepid bloggers test-ran some of the fall ECCOs, and we’re here to report on our exceedingly impressive findings.

Jitterbugbaby–Bremen boot

I had a bit of a runaround before I finally ended up with the Bremen boots. At first, I was really drawn to the “biker with style” look of the Supreme High boot:

But when I got them, although there were removable insoles that let me fit my orthotics in quite nicely, the circumference of the calf was much too wide. I should have paid closer attention to the website, where the calf circumference is listed as 16″ (I generally look for 14″ and smaller).

Ah well, back to the drawing board. And the drawing board brought me to the Bremen tall boot, which was a smarter option for me, anyway, since I’ve been looking for a good knee-high, classy brown leather boot.

This boot certainly fits that bill well. From the picture I was afraid the heel would be too chunky for me (I prefer thinner heels), but in person that’s not an issue. They’re very nice looking, hitting a good compromise between dress boots and the riding boot style that I quite like. The calf circumference is 14 3/4″, which is better for me, but still would be a bit loose except for the fact that the little buckle up at the top is not just there for decoration. It’s functional and cinched in the top of the boot so it was just right. The brown is a bit lighter in person than this picture (I’d say chocolate rather than espresso), but it’s a very rich brown and soft leather.

So, that’s the review looks-wise. Now, how does it feel? In the main, very good. The soles are flexible and have a good non-slip traction to them. The toe tapers in a bit, but not too much, so my wide feet didn’t feel squeezed at all. And it’s roomier than many brands, so no place on my feet was cramped. I wore them all day at work and then out to dinner and a movie with friends, and the only issue I’d say I had with them was that there’s not enough arch support for me. Of course, this is a subjective statement, and someone with lower arches than mine might be perfectly satisfied. But for me the combination of not enough arch support and a comfortably roomy fit meant that my feet slid forward a little in the shoe, so by the end of my day walking around, I was feeling a bit of discomfort in the balls of my feet.

However, all that said, the day I wore them involved more walking around the pavement than I usually go in for during my normal day, and it was only at the very end of that day that any pain at all cropped up. Overall, I give these boots two thumbs up in both the looks and comfort departments and am very satisfied with my new brown boots.

Shomore– Manila Peek-A-Boo Toe

For me, ECCO has always been a reputable shoe brand known for their comfort but not so much for their sense of style (see post of the ECCO Shade 3 that I purchased for my mom. BTW she loves the shoes.). Fortunately, it looks like they’ve upped the ante on the style quotient. Case in point, don’t ECCO’s Bonn Ankle Boot look like great rocker boots? I couldn’t believe they were made by ECCO.

The Bonn boots were not available at the time, but I did get a chance to try the Manila Peek-A-Boo pump instead. I chose these pumps because they are feminine and classy - perfect for wearing into the office (even ones that discourage showing any toes) but also good to wear under jeans too.

The fit - Out of the box, the Manila shoes were a half size larger than I expected. No worries, I exchanged and soon had a pair in the right size. Once I exchanged into a half size smaller, the shoes fit me well. In the past, I’ve run into issues with peep toe shoes. One toe would always find a way at peeping out uncomfortably on its own. No toe issues here. Also nice was an ample toe box, good for wiggle room.

The feel- With any pumps over 2 inches, I usually have a few problems. The range of maladies include have my feet slide down the pump, an unstable heel which leave me teetering, and overall discomfort after wearing shoes for more than an hour. I discovered NONE of these issues with the Manila! After wearing these to a charity dinner (I paired them under a black suit), my feet were still as happy as can be. The heel was thick and stable enough without being chunky and I soon discovered that I had confidence to walk around freely in the pumps. Best of all, although I didn’t wear any nylons, I didn’t experience issues with sweaty feet.

The fashion - These ECCO shoes are no Louboutins but that was okay with me. I was happy to sacrifice a bit of style for comfort. The Manila Peek-A-Boo pumps are super cute and feminine. I liked the detailed stitching on the vamp. It added a little bit of flair to the peep-toes.

Overall, I will continue to observe ECCO. ECCO already has the comfort formula down and it is good to see that style is now coming into play too. I used to think ECCO shoes were for my mother’s age group, but find that notion fading away.

Shoesense: Budapest Mini T-strap

I chose a bright, colorful patent shoe-the Budapest Mini T-strap ($120), which is available in three colors: black, olive, and brick. Mine was the brick version below:

Simply put, these shoes are AWESOME. In person, they seem brighter, almost deep-red (I initially expected a darker terracotta, I guess); they are cheerful, well made, and overall, extremely attractive (and yes, they will get noticed!). But the real bombshell was the fit: The Budapest flat is outrageously comfortable, something you don’t really expect from a pointy-toe flat. The toe-box is so well made that your toes have room to wiggle despite the pointy-design, which almost makes me mad at other designers of pointy-toe shoes: how come their shoes torture our feet, whereas ECCO has got it exactly right? Hm? Think about that!

The outsole is rubber, very flexible and cushy, and the design is such that you can wear them barefoot, too, without any fears of rubbing and blisters. In fact, this shoe demonstrates that well-made shoes do NOT need a break-in period: they felt supremely comfortable right out of the box. I wore them with dark jeans and a horizontal-striped black-and-white H&M T-shirt, and they finished the outfit with just the right amount of pizzazz.

The price is right (a little on the higher-end, but definitely not outrageous), the patent is right-on-trend, the cute mini T-strap is just the right amount of detail, and the colors are extremely wearable. Overall, I give this shoe a glowing A, and I look forward to other ECCO offerings!

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