It's around this time of year that the temperature (finaaally) starts to drop, rain becomes a near-daily occurrence and the sun seems to set before you've even had your dinner. Some people may lament the passing of summer into colder, crisper days, but personally I adore autumn (as I may have mentioned before). October is one of my favourite months, making me think of crisp, misty mornings with grass laced with dew, the smell of pumpkin pie baking cosily away, hot coffees warming chilly gloved hands, and, above all, cosy clothing. This is probably one of the reasons I loved Burberry's AW'10 show such a ridiculous amount: it was full of really cosy, warm, snuggly clothes. I have wholeheartedly embraced the resurgence of sheepskin (or shearling, the fashioned-up version of the name), as I demonstrated in August by waxing lyrical about my aviator jacket, because it's such a lovely, cosy wintry fabric. Lately it's even seemed a little too cosy, because it really does need to be in the minus degrees for me to wear my aviator (oh, it's dying to make it out of the wardrobe!) But happily for me, shearling applies itself in a wintry warming role to all manner of clothing, from the ubiquitous jackets, gilets and capes, to the less obvious rucksacks, gloves and boots. And it's boots I want to focus on today. Having sated my appetite for the main component of Burberry's show, I was not yet content. I had my eyes on the delicious heeled hiking boots adorning the models' feet: black, heeled, buckled, shearling-lined and simply divine. The only problem therein being the 'heeled' part. I'm not so good with a daytime heel. I would love to be the kind of person who, Victoria Beckham-style, dons five-inchers to nip to the supermarket; sadly, I'm not, though I live in hope that one day I shall be. Until then, I decided I needed a flat shearling-lined boot, and, with much effort, passed on New Look's amazing Burberry-alike heels (which you definitely should go for if you are a daytime-heel-wearer because they are a bargainous £34.99).
My quest for the perfect flat shearling ankle boot, then, had begun. Topshop offered up their own lustworthy heeled version, the Amore Shearling Ankle Boot, £95, but sadly no flat equivalent. Asos had a few options but nothing to really tempt me. And then, while browsing Zara's newly-launched shoppable website (er, finally? Just joined the twenty-first century, have we?), I happened upon the solution. The Wool Ankle Boot With Buckles (below): a beautiful, flat, leather, buckled, black shearling-lined ankle boot. It was love at first click. Not cheap at £69.99, but about what I will usually spend on my one good pair of winter boots. Before I knew it I'd created an account and they were winging their way to me.
Now admittedly they did take an age to arrive; despite claiming a delivery time of 3-5 days it was nearly two weeks after ordering that I got my hands on them (presumably the perils of a brand new system, and hopefully a problem soon to be solved). But boy, were they worth the wait. The softest, softest leather, and the most comfortable things I've put my feet into in a while; it's like plunging your tootsies into a plush carpet. They are also reassuringly chunky and from the front look extremely Burberry, just minus the heel fatigue and price tag. Not only that, but they go with eeeverything and will keep your toes cosy as pie as the nights draw in and the scarves and gloves come out (but not so cosy that they have to wait for snow, like the aviator). It's not too often that fashion and comfort collide so wonderfully, so make the most of it and grab yourself a pair, pronto.
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