Eighties inspired slouch boots make my “must haves” list for the season because they’re a simple way to update your existing Autumn and Winter wardrobe. They’re available in all sorts of vibes: heeled, flat, platform, ankle, mid-calf, knee-high, cowboy, biker, bedazzled, distressed, suede, canvas, plastic and leather. You name it and you’ll find it.
At first, you might not fancy the slouchy volume around the calf and ankle, but it has its advantages. It tends to balance out ensemble proportions so that you don’t look like you’re going to topple over (boot cut pants achieve a similar sense of proportion with their wider hem). Slouch boots are often easier to fit than regular knee-high boots because they don’t need to fit precisely around the calf area. They can either gape on narrow calves, of fit snugly under a wider calf. And slouch boots do a great job of dressing down a dressy outfit.
You can wear slouch boots over skinnies and cigarette pants, with skirts and shorts, or under dresses. Paired with shorter frocks, with or without hose, is my favourite way of wearing them at the moment because the outfit transitions into Autumn so perfectly, especially if your weather is mild.
Click pictures to enlarge
It’s important to raise the hemline of the skirt or dress with slouch boots. Somehow the proportions are off when the hemline finishes on or below the knee making you look dumpy and short-legged. Wearing my frocks this short is one of the ways I’ve evolved my style this season. I haven’t exposed my knee caps and the top part of my thighs for fifteen years! But the boots provide extra coverage and hose helps too.
I’ve paired the look with sleeveless dresses because that’s my style preference, but most frocks and skirts will work with slouch boots as long as the hemline is shorter. I add a boyfriend jacket, cascading cardigan, biker jacket, denim jacket or boxy Chanel-esque jacket on top when it’s chilly, and peel off that layer when it’s warm. You don’t have to stick to heeled styles with this look either. Both my grey and black boots are flat because I also love to wear frocks with flats.
Remember that you can substitute dress and slouch boot styles that are more to your taste to make this look work for you. Lasses of all ages and sizes are wearing this combination in downtown Seattle recently and it’s fun to see different takes on the same outfit formula. So do you think you’ll wear frocks with slouch boots?
