Fabber Janet recently posted about her collection of infrequently worn knee-high boots. She used to wear tall boots over skinnies many years ago, but stopped due to changing preferences in silhouettes. She passed on her skinnies, but was wondering what to with the tall boots.

Infrequently worn tall boots is something I address almost every time I help a client to review and edit their wardrobes. They ask what to do with their old pairs of tall boots that they haven’t worn over skinnies in years. These are my suggestions. 

Re-Fit Tall Boots

Dust off and try on all pairs of tall boots to reassess fit, comfort, and aesthetics. They may no longer be comfortable, or you’ve outgrown the way they look. They may not fit the orthotics you currently insert into footwear either. Pass on pairs that don’t serve your feet or style. Despite how great they looked on the outside, I passed on a pair of tall whiskey boots that had worn out on the inside and were therefore killing the balls of my feet.

Keep the Best Pairs

Tall boots are very hard to fit, and a comfy pair that you like the look of is even more elusive. KEEP the pairs that are comfortable, a good fit, and that suit your current sartorial preferences. If you like them after trying them on recently, don’t pass them on. It doesn’t matter that they are infrequently worn. You might wear them more frequently in future, and will be all too happy to reach for a great ready-to-go pair from your closet.

Remix into Outfits

If you’re not wearing tall boots over skinnies, wear them with skirts, dresses, jorts, shorts and longer knee-covering shorts. Tall boots that aren’t too tall and a little roomier can also be worn with joggers, slim straights, or more relaxed pants made of softer fabrics.

I’m down to one pair of tall cream boots that are knee-high, tailored, comfortable, and versatile. I wear them with some of my cool weather dresses and skirts, but not over jeans and pants. I’m in the market for another pair of tall tailored whiskey boots if they came my way because I’d probably wear over high rise slim straights, relaxed straights, or retro jodhpur-type pants. That’s different to when I wore tall boots over body con skinnies many years ago.