Clamdiggers & Knee High Boots - how to make it work?

I love the idea of this look ever since I read Angie's 2008 post about it, and I'd love to try the look as we transition into spring, but I can't wrap my head around how to make the look work for myself. I'm wondering if my clamdiggers are just too short. My Boden pair is obviously out because they just barely cover the knee, but even my longer Ann Taylor clamdiggers seem to make the look problematic and fussy.

Take a look. I'm wearing one of each of my boots with the tallest shaft height. I know that Angie showed a bit of skin with her boot & clam combination, but I feel like it looks odd on me. I'm wondering whether I need a slightly longer pair of clamdiggers to pull off this look, or if I should just stick to skinny jeans/denim leggings.
Experiments one, two, three, and four.

I know the boots look like they have very different heights because I'm standing crooked (despite my best attempts to stand straight in the last photo), but these boots are just about the same height. The front of the lighter pair of boots is about 1/3" higher, and I feel like they work better than the darker pair.

(Sorry, I know I look awful - I need to wear a darker cami under this shirt when taking flash photos, and my hair is still damp - so please confine your eyes to the lower half of my body if possible.)

15 years ago

cciele

Veteran

Hm, I think you're right Kari. The clams look too short. Angie's go over the tops of her boots, just a little, but it makes a difference. Plus, the little slit on the side allows them to flare out a bit where they meet the boot. Perhaps you can try clams that aren't tight all the way down?

Kari

Darn, I guess the look is out for me then (sad face.) This is the only long pair that I have. I feel like it would be foolish for me to buy a 3rd pair of clamdiggers since our warm season is so brief.

Maya

I don't mind the clams with the lighter boots Kari. They show some skin in the back but in the front they come up high enough to give you coverage I think some skin is okay, but not in the front since it breaks up your LLL. If you look at Angie's embroidered boots, there is quite a bit of skin, but it's on the side rather than the front.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I actually love your experiments, Kari! I think the length and both colours of boot work really well. Hip and effortless. I often roll up my clams a bit to get a shorter effect with boots, just like you. Go for the look :0)

Louise

i think they all look great x

Laura

Angie, I remember you saying that it's totally fine to show a little leg between the clams and the boots. It's fab that you are experimenting for spring, Kari - you've made me want to dig my clams out of the storage box.

stringy

Maybe if you rolled them up once to make the gap look like it's on purpose rather than an accidental thing?

Queen Mum

I was thinkng the same thing.... fold a little cuff and see how that looks.

I'm with stringy and queenie -- I think my initial reaction was that the gap looked accidental. So I'm for cuffing them a bit too!

When you walk with clams and boots, the gap becomes more prominent and it's quite attractive. Something to think about :0)

yublocka

Kari I don't mind skin showing at all! I wear boots with shorter bermuda shorts and think it looks ok. I prefer the darker colour boots there. You are looking great!

Hmm, quite a range of opinions on this one. Yes, the gap definitely shows more when I walk vs. standing straight. I'm not sure what I think of that or whether it would bother me.

Angie, I thought that you wrote in the initial post that cuffing the clamdiggers kind of undermined the sleek look we are supposed to go for? Or are you talking about something different? I'd love to know more.

One other thought - the lighter/taller pair of boots might also work better as a transitional look just because the dark color doesn't look very spring-like.

Anyway, I guess I'll stomp around the house in my clams & boots to see whether I actually like the look. Thanks for the feedback & suggestions from all of you!

I think the lighter/taller boots would be good for the look you're going for. Please post pics of other outfits using this look!

For some reason, I like how bermuda shorts look with boots, but not tight clams. I have no idea why this is!

Lili

Active Member

I saw a pretty petite Asian girl on the street today who reminded me of your topic, Kari. She was wearing dark charcoal clams that were quite loose around the knee and tall black boots with a not so long shaft in a way that a good 5 inches gap would show. I do not think I would ever have chosen that combo but I must say that she looked KILLER, just like the Hong Kong ladies Angie describes on her post. So, I guess I'm one more vote to having some skin shown!

Thanks, Cathy and Lili. Lots of preferences to consider! I'm not sure that I can pull off the true HK look - I am *so* not edgy enough - but I love my skinnies & boots combination enough that I hope I'll be able to embrace this adaptation with clamdiggers. I'll definitely try to post pictures of complete outfits with my various pairs of tall boots and see if I can't get some pictures where I'm in motion showing some skin. (That sounds so racy!)

Kari, I just realized that I'm being obtuse. Thanks for pointing that out to me! I don't fold up the clams so that there is a definite folded turn back. That can cut your sleek long lean line. I just hint at a turn up ever so slightly at the ends of the corners of the slit for extra textural interest. Hard to explain and I'm probbaly not making sense. Sorry :0(

Ah, that makes perfect sense - thank you for clarifying, Angie. I guess I didn't think of that since my clamdiggers don't have the small vertical slit that yours do.

Kari, I'm wondering if it's your blouse that is skewing the look here. Since you want to incorporate this for Spring, do you have a short sleeved boyfriend type cardigan that hits you about mid to lower hip and drapes nicely so that you get one sleek overall line? Am I making sense?

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