For elegant occasions - YouLookFab Forum

I posted another thread on having to get dressed up for an elegant function at a banquet hall. I had some really useful feedback from the awesome Fabbers community. I also saw a few comments that perked my curiosity.

Boots are a fashion staple for me. I love how they look on me and I can wear them with heels a lot easier then sandals, so even to dressy functions. The following are boots I wear to work, dancing / clubbing or for fancy dinners. Do I need to start shopping for alternatives?
1. Coach leather stilettos
2. Guess wedges
3. Ivana Trump suede
4. Coach suede stilettos
5. Ugg leather & shearling

However I am curious, some have told me that sandals are the only appropriate shoe for elegant occasions. Here in Germany, I have attended elegant events, like Christmas parties, new years balls, functions in the fall or spring where women are wearing sandals, pumps or high heel boots. Is that true in some countries sandals are the only thing worn for elegant functions?

This post has 5 photos. Photos uploaded by this member are only visible to other logged in members.

If you aren't a member, but would like to participate, please consider signing up. It only takes a minute and we'd love to have you.

11 years ago

Diana

Veteran

Well, I think it depends on how elegant a function we are talking about. Where I live (northeastern US, large city), for 90% of dressy functions in the winter, a refined pair of boots like #1 would be perfectly fine. I'm talking about most nicer dinners, going to the symphony or opera, Christmas parties, etc. Here, women wear refined boots (or more often, booties, since I think showing some leg looks dressier) even to cocktail parties. Part of this has to do with weather and transportation. A lot of people in my city do not drive so they have to walk or take public transit. However, if the invite is black tie, I'm not sure it's entirely appropriate. For that I would probably wear either dressy sandals (summer) or refined pumps (winter). For the weather issues, some women will change their shoes in the coat room and leave their boots with their coats.

That said, it totally depends on whether you get invited to such functions! I seem to get invited to things like black tie weddings with some regularity.

For the record, I think sandals in the winter looks really strange! (At least here, where there is snow and it gets cold. Somewhere warm or tropical they would be fine.) I would wear closed toe pumps.

Aziraphale

I'm agreeing with Diana about the weirdness of sandals in the winter. You definitely wouldn't see that here, and we have a pretty mild climate (at least compared to the rest of Canada). I also agree that for black tie events, even a very refined pair of tall boots might look odd. I'd wear pumps or open-toe pumps, unless it was summer, in which case then yes, I'd wear high-heeled sandals. (Mind you, I haven't been invited to a black tie event in a few years now...we seem to be past the stage when everyone's getting married! And I've never, ever been to a white tie event. Not even sure what would be appropriate footwear for that!).

But for work, clubbing and fancy dinners, your tall boots are perfectly appropriate.

Beth Ann

What amazing boots! Do you have a pair of dressy pumps, perhaps in nude or black patent? If so, you'd have the "extremely formal" base covered, too. It sounds like you've always felt appropriate in dressy boots, so I wouldn't question our decision unless you're the only woman not in pumps or dressy sandals! We live in a very casual age, across national boundaries. "Formal" doesn't mean what it used to in my mother's generation!

bj1111

you have a great collection and i adore 1 and 3. i can see both in a "fancy occasion" depending on the occasion and the length of the skirt. though probably nothing fancier than cocktail.

Laura

Active Member

@Diana - I used to think the same as you, that high heel boots are just fine for elegant occasions, especially in the winter, for places that do get cold. I also did some travelling due to my line of work and I discovered that people in warmer places actually do wear boots for dressier functions as well. I saw this in places like Milan, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Sao Paulo and Melbourne. There, they are it as a fashion statement where as people in the colder climates wear it to fend off the cold. Thanks for your very interesting input

@Aziraphale - I do have friends that tried the sandals in the winter to a classy dinner but once was enough and they never did that again, at least not in the German winter LOL

@Beth Ann - Thank you! I have felt very comfortable wearing one of the five boots listed there above and I do have a pair of platform pumps too, but they were never as comfortable for dancing as my boots. My boots have a much better cushioning and I feel sturdier in them for dancing.

@Bj1111 - Yay! If even you find them to be appropriate, I can wear them out with confidence to my next function.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

I'm going to disagree, although I admit that standards on this may be changing and I may be a stick-in-the-mud. I wouldn't wear boots to a fancy dinner, at all. If I lived in a place where they were weather-necessary, I'd plan to bring pumps (or dressy flats) and change when I got there. But maybe my 'fancy dinner' is more fancy than what you are thinking of.

I think sandals are fine, for extremely dressy occasions, even in the winter - most cocktail / black tie wear for women isn't weather appropriate for winter, either.

Anonymous

You have a really nice boot collection!

I'm with you in that I'd consider something like #1 completely fine for the vast majority of special occasions in chilly weather. I also probably wouldn't wear them for anything truly black-tie, but could see them for anything else. For me, #3 and #4 would be maybe a notch less dressy, but would still look work for somewhere fairly nice.

Where I am, I'd say pumps are probably more common than boots for dressy occasions in colder weather, but nice heeled boots wouldn't be completely unusual. Personally, I generally wear closed-toe pumps with hose if I'm going to a fancy event in the winter, but that's probably because I don't have any boots as nice as yours and the dressier tall boots I do have get so much wear for work that it's more fun to wear something different for dressing up.

@Laura - I don't think you are a stick in the mud at all! I think that this is a question where the answer will vary very greatly depending on what part of the world we are looking at. Like you said, sandals is the de facto standard for any dressy occasion is what I did see when I was in Tampa Bay. Women all went to a dress up function in sandals, all 100% of the women there. When I was at a similar function in Oslo during winter, 85% of the women wore dressy boots.

@Aubergine - Thank you for letting me know! I have been alternating between those five pairs of boots for dressy occasions. I also love to dance and have discovered that it is much easier to dance in high heel boots then in sandals because, depending on the boot, I can insert a gel pad and wear thick socks inside the boot for extra cushioning. When dancing in heels over an extended period of time, this makes a world of difference With pumps though, it is much easier to find them in a colour to match the dress you are wearing for the event, so I definitely see another advantage of pumps for dressy functions.

Parsley

First of all, I love your boot collection. Gorgeous! I'm drooling over those Coach stilettos!

But to me boots just don't work for a fancy, elegant occasion. A more delicate high heeled pump or sandal seems much more appropriate. If the weather is cold or snowy you could wear your boots to arrive and then change into the more delicate shoes indoors.
Of course I don't know what is customary in Germany, but that is my point of view for the US.

I would absolutely wear boots like yours to go out to dinner, though, or to a gallery opening or the like, where the dress is slightly less than cocktail attire.

Ledonna N.

Love your boot selection and fashion forward style.

9 years ago

#1 is not elegant. I am having trouble seeing how any boot could go to "a ball", but your other images are fine, I think, for most other occasions. But as others have said, it depends greatly on location and weather.

Category