In the south it just doesn’t get that cold – boots with bare legs is the perfect winter mix in Houston; I wear it as often as possible. I love boots! I never knew some thought otherwise….hmmm.

It is a cute look that I love seeing pictures of, but it strikes me as a little young and a little casual. For me, the casual aspect is what is preventing me from trying it. It’s just not appropriate for my work environment.

That said, if we could hit just the right weather combination over a weekend, I might give it a try. We just haven’t had it cool enough without it being cold; it’s either been SUMMER or FALL (all-caps on purpose) here in Chicago. Nothing in between, alas.

If I waited till it was cool enough to wear tights, I wouldn’t get to wear boots till November. No fair! So bare legs is the answer for me.

Kristen, it’s not an overly young or casual look in my book. I’ve just showed really casual boots on young legs in the post. With the right dressy boots and frock, I see no reason why this can’t be work appropriate. In fact you’re covering more of your leg than when you wear pumps. Obviously, this look can be interpreted casually too and that wouldn’t be appropriate in a business formal environment.

Yes I do and I will continue to do so.

I love it for weekend wear in San Diego. I doubt if it is business friendly so I don’t do it often especially if I have meetings. I think I share the too-young-looking concern with Kristen.

I never even realized this was a concern. As someone who lives in a warmer climate, this is how I wear my boots the majority of the time.

Yay,for me like you said Angie it is one way to get more mileage out of your boot collection especially if you live in the south.

I don’t wear boots with bare-legs, and I am not particularly drawn to the look because, like Kristen and LOP, I don’t think it would work well in business environment. Plus I feel like my calves would sweat like crazy. However I love to be challenged and have my horizons expanded, so Angie, could you PLEASE do a little show-and tell-on how you would wear bare legs with boots in a professional setting, like an IT company, or a financial firm or other “cool” setting?
I do LOVE ankle boots with bare legs though, and I think that look is suitable for the office, providing the boots are dressy, not casual.

I do sometimes wear my knee-high boots with bare legs, but more often the combination of black leather boots with my pale, pale legs just doesn’t look right to me. I haven’t figured out yet what makes it sometimes work and sometimes not…

I can enjoy the look on others but also feel it’s too young looking for me. I never see anyone over 18 wearing this look. We also have the problem of going from hot weather to cold quickly with not much in between for transitional fashions. Right now the mornings and evenings are cool enough for boots, but the days are hot and humid.

I only wore this look for the first time this weekends ( beacuse I did not have all the pieces) and really loved it. I am a convert and will continue to sport it, although on the weekends only, outside work. It is actually too dressy for my work environment

I like the look of boots with bare legs, but I rarely do it b/c of temperature. If it’s cool enough for me to wear boots, I usually do want something on my legs, since my knees and feet get cold faster than the rest of me. I’m also someone who rarely leaves my legs bare unless it’s crazy hot, even though I like the look of bare legs and I like my legs. I wear pants and tights frequently even in the summer.

I have occasionally paired boots with legwarmers or over-the-knee socks so that I can wear boots with shorts or skirts, yet still cover my knees. The only bare leg showing is a little bit of my thighs.

Angie, you’re right, the boots you depicted are casual, but so are most of the ones I see on the street around here; I tend to see it either on younger girls or with a cowboy boot and a floral dress, which is a fun but casual look.

I think it really comes down to the boot and the dress styles; I have tried it a couple of times with my dressier outfits and there has always been something off about it. Either the knee-height of the boot emphasized the shortness of the dress and drew all the attention to my lower thigh, or the calf-height of the boot looked too casual with the dress. I’m certainly willing to keep trying, especially with my new boots, but I think I simply prefer it as a casual look so that’s how I keep trying to style it.

I’ve seen it done and not really thought about it. But for myself, boots “should” be worn with tights or leggings. At least that is how I have always categorized boots in my wardrobe. Maybe I need to rethink that!

I like boots with bare legs. I think it only looks ridiculous with huge, fur lined ski/Ugg type boots and really short shorts or denim miniskirts. It can definitely look professional with the right boot and skirt combo.

I am wearing my jean skirt with boots and a bit of bare leg…. not as dramatic as your images. Still I think it looks quite nice.

I do wear boots with bare legs, but it’s not my favorite look. I think it chops up the long lean line. Yes, getting a shorter frock would improve that – but I am not comfortable in shorter frocks these days.

First of all I really don’t agree with the “when it’s cold enough to wear boots, it’s cold enough to wear hose and tights” notion. I don’t know if this is a concern for many others but I for one have toes that ALWAYS run cold. Even in the dead heat of summer I have to bunch up the blankets around my feet because they are as cold as blocks of ice. If my toes are cold, I am freezing. Boots with bare legs, especially slouchy ones are like an answer to a prayer for me because of the fact that I live in Florida with my freezing toesies and because I often struggle with slouchiness at the ankles because my ankles are slim. And mostly because I totally dig the look

This is interesting. For some the look is too casual, and for other’s it’s too dressy. Once again, I’d like to reiterate that the pictures shown are 100% casual, but it’s not the only way to wear the look.

A few more thoughts:

o Danja, have you tried wearing boots without hose? Perhaps your legs won’t perspire as much as you imagine. Slouch boots actually keep you cooler because they ventilate a little better. And certain slouch boots can look dressy. The question is, do they look dressy enough for your work environment? Perhaps not and I hear you on that one. But you can wear dressy boots without hose too!

o I will always wear hose with ankle boots or booties when I match them up with a dress or skirt. I much prefer keeping the leg line long with one continual flow of colour with boots of that style. Now isn’t that interesting, Danja!

o Joy, I see no reason why you couldn’t wear dressy knee–high boots with a super little frock at your age. The boots don’t need to slouch and look distressed.

o Kristen, I *think* you might visually prefer the longer leg line wearing hose creates, especially if the hose and boots are the same colour. That look makes you feel more pulled together in a business environment which makes sense.

Marlene, you live in my neck of the woods now. You can rethink our boot strategy

Ana, you crack me up.

After I read the title and before I read the first sentence, I actually said out loud to my empty living room, “Big yay!” I loooove knee-high boots and I wear them all the time when the weather’s under 80º. (I live in Florida so I can handle hot weather better than a lot of people.) So, all my tall boot-wearing, and I’ve only worn them WITH tights once or twice. I actually prefer boots with bare skin – and I have freckles, scars, and stretch marks on the portion of my legs that you see!

Shiny, the colour of the boots play a huge role. You will create your long lean line if you sport boots that are closer to the colour of your skin. Also, you’re wearing your skirts at the right length already and there is no need to go shorter for this look.

Bravo, Kimana!

I would definitely wear boots with bare legs! As soon as September hits, I am overly excited to bring out the boots but it is sometimes too warm for tights. I love crop boots and dresses. Very fun and playful. I say go for it!!

I’m surprised to see that this is even up for debate. Maybe it’s just my age showing but I don’t really know anyone who wears hose except for the purposes of adding something visually interesting to an outfit. I find hosiery to be uncomfortable most of the time so although I do wear it occasionally, the though of wearing it all the time is really unappealing. The above examples are casual because the boots are casual, but I don’t understand why wearing a sleek pair of riding boots or heeled boots sans hose is casual but wearing pumps without hose isn’t? Boots have more coverage.

Not my cup of tea, sorry. It never came to my mind wearing boots with bare legs, that´s a contradiction in itself and not a good one. I think it feels terribly wrong, hot feet, cold knees ( I live in a chilly climate and I don´t see people wearing it – it´s not only me. Maybe when you live in a warmer region…) The only shoes I´ll sport bare-legged are sandals and ballets. Even booties and high-front pumps need a hose in my world.
Interesting that so many of you actually wear the look – till now it´s been a Hollywood-only thing for me…;
YLF again widens my horizon….

I love wearing my boots without tights! It’s key to many of my transitional looks in both fall and spring.

This is so interesting to me.I NEVER even considered wearing my boots without tights or hose under them, never ever!I think I had always found the same idea, that boots meant “cold” and that meant tights as well. In addition, boots themselves for me only come out in the winter season especially in the south, so I never wear them, aside from under long pants, during the warmer weather.Might be something I can try because I have some wonderful knee high boots I would like to wear without needing to bring out the hose all the time.Thanks Angie! Our weather is finally changing to somewhat cooler(70’s) so this a good time for me to give the look a try

Totally excited about trying it now that I finally found some boots that will work! I actually want to give it a whirl later this week when our highs will be around 60 rather than 75 like today.

I’m wearing tall boots with no tights today! I will admit I prefer this look when the skirt is hovering around knee length.

I just wanted to also say that I plan to wear my boots with trouser socks (not exposed however). I figure the socks will help keep my toes warm and prevent the boots from rubbing weird on my legs.

I sport the look all the time (weather permitting, it’s getting colder here, so soon I’ll need hose!), and I see many women – of all ages – doing the same over here. I only own knee-high boots at the moment, and pair them with knee-length skirts, for work occasions too. I’m also planning on getting a pair of calf-lenght (scrunchy or not) boots, and wouldn’t hesitate to wear those without hose as well.

I live in California so I only wear tights with boots maybe 1-2 months out of the year. I’m also with Shana in that I too wear short socks under boots. Bare legs is one thing…bare feet? Too slide-y!

I do! I like boots and skirts (pencil or A-line), and wear that combinaton in the early fall. While I like the look of fun hose and tights, I often find them uncomfortably warm and constricting until much later in the season, so boots with bare legs suits me well.
The only possible concern for me, though, is modesty. Not that I’m the type of person overly concerned about this, but I do find that hose or tights make me feel a bit more “covered” at the workplace in the fall with my knee length and above-the-knee skirts, especially when sitting. Somehow I don’t care about that in the summer, because there is generally more exposed skin in summer, but it comes up for me in fall. That’s not an issue for me in non-work situations, though.

Boots feel much warmer than tights to me, so there are no weather conditions that are “cool enough for boots but not cool enough for tights.” Also, my feet get sweaty, so it seems terribly unappealing on practical grounds. Aesthetically, the area that would be exposed between boots and skirt is far from my best feature, so I don’t really fancy highlighting it. It looks fine to me on others, though.

I love wearing my boots barelegged with dresses and skirts during the Fall. I do however wear dressier boots than the ones pictured above. I feel boots give the feminine clothes (dresses and skirts) that strong and somewhat edgy look that I really like.

The proportions of it never seem to look right on me. I think because I’m tall, mostly in the leg, the boots don’t come high up enough on my calf to look “right.” I’ve tried the look on many times, but what always ends up looking better on me is pairing with tights that just about match the boot. I like the look on other people, though.

I always liked the look on others and haven’t worn it simply because I didn’t have the boots for it. I think I’ve found a pair now, so when I get them I will definitely be trying it out! I think it’s a great way to expand the wearing options of both boots and dresses.

When I was in my 20s and skinny, i loved wearing short, kilt-like skirts with knee-high boots and bare legs. The look was fun, flirty but not too sexy. Now that I’m older, I approve of bare legs with boots in theory… but find it hard to find a way to make the look work on me.

Humm, guess I’m an old fuddy-duddy, boots with bare legs just isn’t a look that I can get used to. I see girls with uggs around here – it’s a Calif beach town thing – and it always looks kinda silly to me. Even on the girls with other sport boots and skirts, can’t get my eyes attuned to it. Found some great boots this year, and I still wear them with some kind of tight, legging with a sock inside or something. Maybe it just doesn’t look “finished” somehow.

Tried this last week and loved it! My only issue is having enough weather in the right temperature range to pull it off. For me, it’s a look best worn when the weather is in the 60s (we *always* have humidity here, so 70+ feels too warm for boots). I used slouchy chestnut boots, but will also try slouchy black boots and cowboy boots. Hadn’t thought of using my tall riding boots this way. Hmmm. Thanks for the idea!

I LOVE this look. Boots and a dress and bare legs is my favourite look ever. Unfortunately, in NZ our spring and autumn are so short that i never get to wear this as much as I’d like to.

Big yay for me! I’m actually just now getting into tights and leggings, so wearing boots with hose is actually totally new for me.

When I got my knee high boots last year and posted pictures, there were many comments about the lack of tights or hose with my boots and dress which was surprising to me. Being in the south, it isn’t usually cold enough to wear boots with hose until way into October so, like Sarah, I’d miss out on too many opportunities to wear them if I waited until I could wear them with hose.

I’ve never considered the look too young, I guess I just figured it was a product of the environment I live in. Very interesting topic and very interesting to read all the responses and different perspectives.

A resounding YAY from here. Boots with dresses and skirts look really cute. Rachel of FRIENDS inspired me. Haha

-meream

This is how I wore my boots most of last winter – it was extremely mild. To avoid rubbing I wear knee-high socks, making sure they’re not showing of course. I’ve been dying to start wearing boots again but Israel is stuck in the summer mode. First thing I’m going to do is wear my western Guess boots with a knee-length skirt (anything shorter than that doesn’t work for me).

I, too, think it has a very young feel to it. (Maybe because I am over 50?!) Since I teach junior high students, I tend to be very selective about wearing any trends that they latch on to. For instance, I can’t even consider Uggs. Every female student owns a pair. Also, I live in northern New England, and our winters are extremely long. I wear a variety of boots daily for warmth since ‘yard dutiy is definitely part of my life. When spring has sprung, I can’t wait to put away winter shoes, boots, etc. I have no desire to wear them late or bring them out early, except maybe in the case of my alligator tipped cowboy boots, but even cool October days are soon enough for them!

Angie, I mentioned I have a bit of a problem with this look, although I am trying to keep an open mind. In general, my reasoning is the same as what you refer to as typical. I grew up in a cold climate with short summers, so everyone would try to maximize the summer clothes usage, and when it was time for boots, it was time for tights as well (or hose). I could see it not being an issue in a warmer climate. I am trying to get over it!

I wear boots year round bare legged and with tights. I keep tights for the cooler months. For me it simply depends on the boots! I have casual cowboy boots that currently wear bare legged, but my black suade boots definitly need tights!!!

I’m a huge huge fan of boots with no tights or hose. No 1 – I don’t even wear hose! I’m 22, and can still get away without hose for a few years yet . As for tights – I live in Australia and unless it’s the absolute dead of winter, we simply don’t have the cold weather for it!

I’m surprised to see so many varying opinions on this! That’s not to say that I think there’s only one answer, just that I didn’t expect to see such strong opinions. My only problem with this look comes in the form of Ugg (or other obviously intended for cold weather) boots with very short mini-skirts/dresses/shorts. Otherwise, I’ve never given it a ton of thought. If it’s cold, I put tights on under my boots and if it’s fairly mild, I don’t. I don’t think it’s necessarily a “young” look if the right boot is paired with the right outfit.

I’m with Louise–when you live in a climate that has a long, cold, snowy winter, boots are necessary gear, and you can’t wait to feel spring air on bare legs. All summer I luxuriate in bare legs and the boots come out when it’s cold again.

Someday I’ll live in a climate where no one buys clothes by their wind chill rating…Sigh…

I don’t really wear boots without hose underneath because I prefer the longer leg line you get from wearing hose in a similar color to boots, even if the color or pattern differs.

The lone exception is that since I got a pair of tan boots, I’ve been wearing them with nude microfishnet tights, so I don’t have the *look* of wearing hose under the boots. I guess I feel comfortable with it because the boots kind of act as a nude shoe and don’t break up my leg line so much as when I try this with a darker pair of boots.

LOVE IT! i wear my harness boots, bare leg, with skirts, dresses and also on the very rare occasion when i wear shorts….

I had never worn boots without tights or hose, but almost sported this look this morning. Mid-calf black suede flat boots, black pencil skirt & cami with pink sweater. Then I went outside – brrrr, too cold. Back in for black tights. Supposed to be warmer later this week, so I’ll try again.

Shana – thanks for the trouser sock mention. I didn’t want to wear regular socks because they’re too warm and too fluffy for all of my boots; was planning on going barefoot, but trouser socks are perfect! Not to tall and thin enough to be comfy. Yeah!

I love boots with bare legs!! You just have to make sure to wear the right kinds of socks to make sure that they don’t chafe your calves.

I wore bare legs and boots the other day, my socks slipped, and I got a few blisters on my calves. Crazy!

two words: Sweaty calves.

Yup, i love this look! Occasionally you’ll have boots that rub against your leg near the opening so that’s sometimes a consideration for me if you’re doing a lot of walking but i find ways to work around that

[...] Get your daily dose of Angie Email RSS   « Boots with bare legs: yay or nay [...]

I’ve seen boots with knee-high socks or just over the knee socks and short dresses and it looks cute. I think ankle boots with bare legs can be cute, too. It just depends on how you pair them

I never do, but not because of the temperature. I don’t wear bare legs for anything because I have stretch marks – deep dark red ones – from the top of my thigh to my knee, and then lighter ones the whole way to mid-calf. It looks awful. I also have dark hair, so even directly after shaving, you can typically still see some, and I’m super self-conscious about it.
I think it’s a matter of loving the look – on anyone else but me.

Such an assortment of responses. I knew it!

Sweet, Christie. If you wear shorter slouch boots that ventilate and your ensemble is cool, it’s 100% comfortable. No sweaty calves at all. You should try it. It’s always a question of getting the details right.

Shana, I wear thin socks with boots. It’s much more comfy that way.

I love bare legs with boots (although sometimes I have slighter longer argyle socks poke out from the tops of cowboy boots. I actually think the part of my leg between my mid calf to the tops of my thighs are better looking that the lower leg/ankle bit, so it’s most most flattering bare legged look. But if the skirt is very short, than I go with hose for more coverage. Alot of girls have been working boots with shorts and skirts this summer in NYC, and I really liked it as a way to add a casual, more rugged element to other wise feminine and floaty summer looks. I agree that its more of a causal look, but bare legs are generally a casual look that work in less formal work environments (like colleges, creative industries, food service, etc.)

I know this is an old thread, but can I just say, that if I could, I would MARRY those brown boots on the far left… Drooool…

Of course boots with bare legs are acceptable! Delightful!

After reading this article yesterday I wore high-heeled pointy toe black boots with a blue and white wrap-around above the knee length dress and bare legs. I felt great in it. The more formal boots and dress style made it ok for work (biotech environment – fairly casual) and the bare legs/boots combo was just right for a rainy autumn day.

thanks Angie!

My initial reaction is that this look just doesn’t make sense. To me, if it’s cold enough for boots it’s also cold enough for tights or hose… and I even get cold easily. My feet are usually ice cubes. I guess it depends on where you live. I would definitely never do this without some sort of socks. Sweaty feet in boots—yuck! Anyway, I can see the look in a climate when it never is really cool enough for boots and tights (or hardly ever), but we get enough winter here that I’m longing for spring far before it ends. So I have no desire to pull out my boots in the middle of summer, or even the end of it. I agree with Phoebe: warm feet and cold knees are not for me. I don’t hate the look; I just can’t seem to wrap my head around it.

I also have never ever thougt of wearing my boots without a hose.
But I gave it a try today with my black almost knee high boots and a gray dress similar to the one you wore on the left picture in the following post.
And it felt great the whole day long while I was teaching! Even in front of my class of 17year olds!! Mari from Germany

I had never tried this look before but as many forum members know i’ll try anything once! i have to say i was pleasently suprised. I tried it with slouch boots and loved it. No sweaty calves as the boots were slouchy, warmer than shoes but not too warm as it would have been with tights will definatley do it again.

Do any of you have problems with socks falling down inside your boots? I find this really annoying or they bunch up under my foot. So tried ’sockless insoles’ they great just slip inside the boots remove the existing insole if you want. they are comfy and can be washed and feet don’t sweat and ruin the inside of the boots. Find using these and wearing my boots with barefeet is more comfortable than socks falling down.