A highly elusive wardrobe item, or HEWI for short, is an item on your shopping list that you are struggling to find. Maybe it isn’t available, or it’s available but at an unaffordable price point. A HEWI can stay on your shopping list for years. Sometimes you give up and move on. And sometimes you find them. 

I’ve had a pair of affordable-to-me cream or tan tailored, classic, and fairly dressy knee-high boots on my shopping list since 2008. These boots need to be low-heeled, refined, simple, comfortable, and impeccable quality. They can’t have black heels and soles, or look chunky. Most of all, they have to be a perfect fit on my narrow, 13 inch calves.

If you have narrow calves, you’ll understand how tricky it is to find tall boots with zippers that fit in a tailored and sharp way around your legs. Years ago, I went the custom-made route, which was pricey and disastrous. The tailor-made boots fit my calves just fine, but were uncomfortable so I couldn’t wear them. They also didn’t look sharp. I couldn’t try the silhouette beforehand to assess comfort levels, and I couldn’t return them because they were custom. I doubt I will have footwear custom-made again. It’s too risky for my very fussy feet.

Over the years, I kept this HEWI on my shopping list but stopped actively searching for tall dressy boots that fit my budget, style requirements and comfort needs. I still believed that one day these boots would find me.

They did.

The Aquatalia Rozaria Knee High Boot caught my eye at this year’s Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. The brand typically works well for my feet, so I looked a little closer. The boots fit my sartorial requirements, budget, and looked narrow on the calf. I tried them, and was shocked at how great they felt and looked. Although the boots weren’t cream or tan, the gentle shade of whiskey is an even better match with my new, naturally darker honey blonde hair. Excellent bookending in outfits. Excellent match with Yorkies Sam and Jo. A ‘70s integrity, and weatherproof to boot. All good things come to those who wait, and HEWIs sometimes find you when you aren’t looking for them.

Look at that neat, sharp, and tidy fit. A pleasant surprise!

I re-fitted and reassessed the boots in my dressing room at home, happily dancing around in the 30-degree Celcius heat. I LOVE these boots, which have opened up a world of outfit possibilities. Now I can wear skirts and dresses in colder weather with and without hosiery. I can pop them under shorter wide cropped pants too. Although it’s Summer and too hot to wear these beauties, I did a quick little outfit creation session and you can see the pictures in the forum.

Can’t wait to wear these boots.

Body type dressing guidelines that create traditionally flattering outfit proportions are helpful, but not essential. Instead follow your own set of figure-flattering priorities. Choose proportions and fits that celebrate your body and style, not a generic standard. 

We all have different figure-flattering priorities, and they evolve over time. It might be about looking streamlined, structured, and long in the leg. Or it might be about boxy cuts and volume in the right places. Follow yours and feel your best.

Outfits that are traditionally flattering and outfits that veer away from this standard can both be fabulous. The important thing is to go with the combinations that make you feel the most attractive, comfortable, at ease, and ready for the day.

A new outfit from Roz Kaur, whom we introduced to YLF in January 2023.

Breezy linen plays the main role in this ’90s-inspired Summer look. Roz is sporting on-trend co-ords consisting of a beige long-line blazer and matching Bermuda shorts. She’s paired the shorts suit with a bubblegum pink shirt that adds a playful touch. Only buttoning two buttons on the shirt so that part of the shorts’ waistband is showing, and scrunching the sleeves on both shirt and oversized blazer, add structure to the voluminous silhouette. Classic black preppy loafers bookend Roz’s dark, slick-backed hair. The black is repeated in our blogger’s trademark oversized specs and the Bonheur bag, an Instagram favourite.

I love wearing navy. Some dark blues are darker than others, and I enjoy wearing all of them. Navy is the dark neutral of my style, and “my black”. It took many years to replace all the black in my wardrobe to navy, but I have not looked back. 

I prefer dark blue with my complexion and hair, and with the large assortment of colours in my wardrobe. I feel happier in navy than I do in black. These days I don’t wear solid black at all, and I have also eliminated black in patterns. I am 100% dark blue.

Here are the solid navy and pattered navy items in my wardrobe.

I love wearing solid dark blue knitwear, blouses, and long Winter coats. I enjoy solid navy skirts and dresses. I enjoy dressy navy trousers if they have bells and whistles. I have a deep affection for navy and white/cream stripes, and dressy navy lace. I like to wear patterns with navy backgrounds too. I love wearing dark blue denim anything.

That said, I don’t like dark blue in all wardrobe items. Despite my love for pants suits, I don’t want to wear one in solid navy. I’d wear a navy pinstripe and navy checked suit though. I’d wear a navy suit with high-contrast white stitching and buttons too. I don’t want to wear a navy item blazer, navy shoes, or a navy handbag. I don’t want to wear a navy peacoat, and I recently discovered that I don’t want to wear a navy trench coat. I also don’t want to wear a solid navy scarf, hat and gloves, but will wear them in a navy pattern.

It’s interesting to me how we can sometimes be very particular and moody about the way we wear a colour. This comes up with my clientele fairly frequently. Our sartorial preferences are not as straightforward as you might expect. Our emotions play their part, and best we listen to those feelings.

Over to you. Do you have any interesting relationships with colour?