My order of fall booties arrived. I tried them on with the trousers I’ll most often wear them with (did not change my top; it’s super hot today). I was biased towards the textured booties because they’re quite special, not just the texture but the shaft height too. Now that I’ve tried them on, I’m actually leaning towards the ‘plain’ hiking style booties. What makes the comparison difficult, is that the snake booties are a bit too small and I should really try a size up. Which may still not work because the toe box is also more narrow than the other style. The same size plain booties fit perfectly.

I intend to wear these booties mainly in a casual way, going on walks and family outings. Since Covid I’m trying for more overlap between casual and office wear, in which case the snake booties obviously win. But to be honest I have plenty of options in good shape to wear to the office so it wouldn’t hurt to have a strictly casual pair.

Btw the plain booties feel sturdier in the quality of the leather and finish, have a more comfortable footbed and a warmer lining. Am I crazy leaning towards these? What do you think?