TCB: Work Boots for Getting Any Job Done

In case you have pressing questions about where to find pink steel-toe work boots, or whether to wear hiking boots or work boots, or what sort of footwear an auto collision tech needs, there’s a site for that: CoolWorkBoots.com has all the answers. (Turns out MoxieTrades will be carrying the Betsy Xtreme protective boot in pink nubuck starting this month.)
If you’re not looking to protect your tootsies while manning a jackhammer or scaling scaffolding, here are some work-ready offerings with plenty of jeans and skirts-pairing charm.

Georgia Renegades steel toe waterproof boot

• Says shoe retailer Safetygirl.com, “We carry these boots designed specifically for women so you can be prepared for any job!” One pick from among the company’s many safety-first options: The Georgia Renegade steel toe waterproof boot.

Redwing Logger

• Redwing Boots makes footwear for serious jobs — loggers and linemen. But just the boots can work hard doesn’t mean they have to. Try the women’s lug sole 9-inch logger in black.

Ariat Heritage Lacer

• The Ariat Heritage Lacer has the cute double kiltie that says “Yes, I just got back from the stables.” Heft hay bales to your heart’s content (or just lace ‘em up with leggings and go out for espresso.)

Free People's studded combat boot

• Free People offers a rocker-tough studded combat boot. The boots are actually men’s sizes and each pair is hand detailed with silver pyramid studs.

Reiker Romina 41 ankle boot

• Sure, Reiker shoes might now seem the obvious choice for blue collar enterprises. But the company bills its footwear as “antistress” and the moccasin cute-meets-butch practical Romina ankle boot has all the makings of a workhorse. A cushioned footbed, stretchy vents for a good fit and the gum sole that recalls athletic shoes.

Dr. Martens Industrial

• Shop like the pros at WorkingPerson.com. Among the women’s work boots, the unisex Dr. Martens Industrial lace-to-toe boots have garnered raves, including, “These boots aint for sissys.” Sizes are in UK measurements; women should order two sizes down from their normal number (wear and 8? Order a UK 6).

Chippewa 8-inch Bay Apache Loggers

• Pair them with a short plaid shirt and a crisp white Oxford for the Catholic school girl gone bad look: Chippewa’s Bay Appache Loggers pair serious lug soles with nearly 2 inches of heel height.

Doc Marten Capper

• Doc Martens have stood the test of time. Their utilitarian designs are made for heavy duty but come off more punk than hick. Case in point, the Vintage Collection 8-inch Capper in oxblood is all grommets, rivets and welt construction.

Harley Davidson's Faded Glory Steel Toe

• Another old faithful boot maker is Harley Davidson. Yes, many of the company’s styles are biker-chic, but they don’t joke around when it comes to takin’ care of business. The 6-inch Faded Glory has a steel toe and Goodyear welt construction. Oh yeah, and a super-cool buckle across the foot.

Blundstone

• Blundstones, those classic Tasmanian boots, balance globe trekker penache with git-r-done fortitude. Pull on tabs, kid toes, elastic gore and waterproof leather make these a bad weather go-to.

Tess Tuesday: Celeb Style

Love these looks? Look no further!

Jessica Simpson

The Delma Janis

Lauren Conrad

The Corso Como Rachel II

Hillary Duff

The Faryl Robin Dahling

Anne Hathaway

The Corso Como Boca

 

Tess Tuesday: Winter is Coming and I’m None Too Pleased

I spend the vast majority of the winter months tucked up into the folds of many layers of blankets on my couch, watching DVR’ed television and sipping cocoa. Fine, that’s not true, but often I wish it were. Instead I spend my winters shivering, traversing the sidewalk hunched over with my head down, and complaining about the inexorable cold the second I arrive at my destination with chapped hands and a runny nose. New York winters are brutal, but as I understand, I’m actually spoiled having to put up only with this. Here the temperature rarely plummets below 0˚F, whereas in other cities, they’re dealing with temperatures below zero on a daily basis—I’m talking to you, Minneapolis.

Here they are.

The Top 5 Things I Hate About Winter:

5. When you’re in someone’s home and they just don’t have the heat high enough. You hint. You chatter your teeth. They don’t offer you so much as a cup of tea and they inevitably have one of those cold leather couches.

4. Falling on the ice. (This happens to me a lot because among my favorite winter pastimes is “ice skating,” though it’s most always met with the response, “Stop sliding around on that black ice, Laura, you’re going to fall!” And then I do, and I hate it.)

3. Runny noses and teary eyes. (Every time I come inside I have to wipe the tears from my eyes and blow my nose. Even then, it never really stops running. And do I ever carry tissues? Of course not.)

2. (a.) The great heaps of gray snow that are a permanent fixture on every sidewalk until mid-March. Upside: when the pile gets really tall, you can climb on it—it offers a sizable deal of fun in the cold while you’re waiting for the bus and you’ve grown tired of ice skating on the sidewalk.

2. (b.) Falling off of the gray snow pile into the street—people stare.

1. Cold feet. If you don’t wear the right boots, your feet are cold for months straight. And once they get cold, they never get warm, especially if you’re hanging out at this person’s house: See 5.

There’s just one solution and I’ve got it: Appropriate winter boots. Now, appropriate very seldom implies cute and fashionable, but I would never suggest something that wasn’t. I’ve got your backs, girls.

The Cosmosis Alaska

The Sorel Caribou BootThe Australia Love Corset

Obviously, I want to hear what everyone else hates about winter—you know I love your stories.  And remember commenter of the week (here or over at Tess HQ) wins $50.

Red Boots Worth Blushing Over

Maybe Stiletto Warrior’s love of red leather L.A.M.B. was weighing heavy on the mind of the shoe shopper in my subconscious. I was on the L train last night and the woman to my right was wearing red leather knee-high boots that were so timeless and gorgeous and different that they seemed to be calling to me.

Their owner however, was engrossed in the latest New Yorker. I know what it’s like to be interrupted by a stranger mid-essay. It’s not pleasant. But the boots. I had to know where they came from. I resolved to wait until the last possible moment to bother her.

Suddenly, someone got up and the woman with great taste in shoes sat down. I was left standing. This exchange had seemed much simpler when we were eye-to-eye. Now I’d have to practically yell at her to get her attention.

I’m sorry to report, dear readers, that I lost my nerve. I left her and the boots headed further into Brooklyn without me. The second I stepped off the subway I regretted it, not only because I wanted the shoes, but also because I’d forgotten how nice it is to be complimented. Why hadn’t I factored that in?

Suppose she’d had a tough day and then I told her that those very boots represented a significant cultural revelation to our little enclave. Clearly, she’d go home feeling triumphant and share the story with her spouse, lover, or adoring, hot live-in housekeeper–who would then sit down next to her, slide the boots off with gentle hands and begin the foot rub of her life.

Wait, how had this become my fantasy? I snapped out of it just as I got home and searched for the best red boots eBay has to offer. This first pair is closest to the foot rub fantasy boots, but they’re all pretty fantastic.

Vintage slouch boots from boutique Nancy’s Next to New (starting at $25)

Cute cowboy boots (starting at $25)

Suede riding boots (buy now for $50)

Frye red leather shearling flat boots (buy now for $140)

Animal Planet: Caring Can Begin with Your Footwear

In my experience, we can judge humanity largely on how they treat – and interact – with animals.

Case in point:

VeganChic.com

If you are dating a man who has no animals, wants no animals, and shuns your animals – pretty likely, he will not anytime soon want to be making babies with you.

In fact, I’ve seen studies where serial killers have been researched based on their childhood activities – and in many cases, they mistreated or downright abused animals.

This summer, I was visiting a former friend, and she related a story to me about how her BFF had recently owned a puppy. Apparently, after living in her home for the duration of a year, the puppy got a little bit wild and they tried to return it – the store wouldn’t take it back… so they abandoned the defenseless animal at a fire hydrant in the middle of the night and drove away.

“Isn’t that hilarious???” my former friend asked me.

“Uh, no…” I responded. I was repulsed.

That was the last time I saw that friend. A few days later, she “disposed” of me in very much the same way her friend had disposed of the puppy. Ultimately, people who have disregard for others simply have disregard for others…puppy or person. And that is why sociopaths start off by nailing puppies to walls, and men who do not like kittens ultimately ain’t going to be your baby-daddy.

While I’m not saying that my love and appreciation for our furry friends has limited my enjoyment of, say, leather, or the occasional late-night buffalo burger, I will say I’d never ever disrespect any living, breathing creature with feelings – I’d treat them with all the love and care any of God’s creatures deserve – no matter if they get a little inconvenient for me at times.

That said, I am blown away at the level of cuteness found in vegan footwear these days – take my new pink patent peep-toes, $32.99, from VeganChic.com. Consideration comes in all forms, to all degrees, but if I can exhibit a little bit of species-consciousness at the same time I’m showing off my pedicure…why wouldn’t I?

London’s Great Dane

It’s hardly surprising that Camilla Skovgaard is kicking arse in the world of shoe design today, since she shares her Danish heritage with the likes of design geniuses Arne Jacobsen, Georg Jensen and Mssrs Bang and Olufsen.

Beginning your design career in Paris as an apprentice in couture with Balmain can’t have been a bad start either. But it was her move to Dubai, to work for a fashion house at the tender age of 20 when her love-affair with shoes really started. Witnessing first hand the resulting disasters when bad shoes were paired with the most beautiful couture outfits . . . “it was the lack of taste in women’s shoes that I saw in Dubai that initially set me on the footwear path. I gradually came to recognise the crucial importance of the right shoes if the final look is to make any sense” . . . she was galvanised into moving to London to learn the art of shoe design at London’s esteemed school for cobblers – Cordwainers.

Her BA Hons was followed by an MA at London’s Art School, working with Matthew Williamson as shoe designer, winning a number of prestigious awards along the way. Her first collection was snapped up by SAKS 5th Avenue before she’d even graduated!

In 2007 she was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Scholar Award for contributions to excellence of modern and traditional British craftsmanship. Collections for Matthew Williamson and Pucci followed.

Edgy embellished glads

And today her contribution remains excellent, modern and traditional in the sense that her designs are a juxtaposition of hyper-sexy (with funky fetish influences) and sporty (wearable craftsmanship supported by technical function and attention to detail).

Silver chain embellished strap and signature corrugated rubber sole

Her collections regularly receive the highest accolades from the world’s most revered critics and titles – she has more column inches to her name than the highest of her gravity defying heels – but it is perhaps her commitment to consistently delivering high levels of quality (she still designs all her collections and oversees product development and production in Italy and China), class and impeccable fit that differentiate her from many of her peers.

Boots of architectural genius, fit for any city dash

Oh – that, and the fact that her signature black rubber soles are the perfect antidote to stressful city life. With these little darlings on your feet, its like running for the bus in your sneakers – but a whole lot more chichi!

You can find Camilla’s shoes at Harvey Nichols, Paul and Joe and at West London’s hottest new concept boutique The Convenience Store as well as online at Camilla Skovgaard.

Rain, Rain Come More Often!

I have been sort of half-heartedly in the market for a pair of wellies ever since my daughter got her Hello Kitty rain jacket/boots/umbrella combo and started to actually be happy when we had a rain storm.

“Mommy!  Look!  I can wear my kitty boots!”

I figured she should not get ALL the fun splashing in puddles and keeping the mud off her socks.  But I have never owned a pair of rain boots that really worked for me.  Snow boots?  Yes.  Fashion boots?  Yes again.  But rainboots always struck me as a bit dowdy and silly, which is funny considering the spate of non-stop rain we have had here in Boston.

Besides, my lifestyle is such that I am in a shoe rut.  I hate flats because I am short and also because my jeans are always dragging when I wear them, but I spend most of my time at parks with my children, on long walks and scooping them up to carry them from place to place.  These are not good heel-wearing activities.

So, Wellies, with their marginal heel and ability withstand all kinds of weather and dirt consistencies, seem ideal.  And these Wellies, in particular, would allow me to remain both practical AND fashionable.  A rare playgroup combo, indeed.

Ok, so they Burberry and they are $300, which is a bit pricey given all my shoe money now goes to my children.  But I will buy either these or a good knock off of these.  And when I do I will be counting down the hours for the next rain storm.

Spoilt for Choice

It’s that time of year again.  The days are getting shorter, the nights are drawing in, the British summer’s been and gone – all 16 days of it – and we’re already suffering from Christmas creep!

So hurrah for the new Autumn, Winter 09 season.

Autumn/Winter 09 Knitwear

Textured, snuggly, sloppy and sleek knits to lust after; coats in a multitude of guises; hot, hot, hot accessories and the most intoxicating footwear I’ve seen forever!

With such an amazing array of fabulous fashion trends on offer this season, where does one begin to choose iconic new footwear staples?  From the department store meccas to the quirky shoe boutiques across the capital, acres of stunning shoe and boot displays are heaving with a mix of lusciously sexy opulence (mouth-watering colours, sumptuous textures, delicious intricacy) and edgy full-on ‘gloth’ drama (buckles, studs, distressed leather) a la Marilyn Manson.

 

Kurt Geiger's 'Skittle' boots

Boots are everywhere and with a plethora of designs from ankle-biting shoeboots through to lady-garden grazing thigh-highs, and everything in between, its hard to imagine owning any outfit that won’t pair beautifully with one of this season’s trends.

With my particular passion for boots, I’ve already discovered how brilliantly my recessionista wardrobe can be stretched with the addition of one pair of shoeboots . . . soft dove grey with towering heels from Kurt Geiger and my long sought-after Fiorentini+Baker biker boots.

 

Okay, so the biker boots have been on my wish-list ever since ‘im indoors bought the male version about 3 years ago.  At the time it seemed so wrong to be sporting ‘his and hers’ – just a little too ‘Posh and Becks’ – but now he’s moved on to John Varvatos Converse and rebonded with a particularly beaten-up old pair of Belstaffs, I feel I can now legitimately possess my very own pair of F+B ‘Eternitys’.

 

Celebs do F+B 'Eternitys'

And yes, they may be a little last season, or the season before, or even the one before that, but as they brilliantly transcend most other classic biker boots in their very existence years after launching, and since they help me carry off ‘left-bank effortless casual chic’ or ’stormtrooper goth’ as my father referred to me the other day, (he may remember stormtroopers, but I’m not entirely sure he knows what a goth is!)  I think they are THE best choice for Autumn/Winter 09.

 

 

eBay Quick Fix: Ankle Boots

Today I stopped denying autumn’s approach. Today my fall J.Crew catalog arrived. It’s a brief but magical time when I can layer cozy cardis over my cutoffs. Only one type of shoe completes the mood and will last straight through to next summer: the ankle boot.

For a lover of the rugged look, might I suggest these lace-up granny boots from eBay boutique Vintage and More:

And for the classic fashionista, saddle brown suede Ralph Lauren booties from Shoedresser boutique.

Over-the-Knee Boots: Not Just for “Working Girls”

I remember passing the time in the downtown mall/bus terminal, circa eleventh grade, gazing at the pairs of thigh-high patent boots displayed in the window of a lingerie shop. At the time they seemed so glamorous, so tough yet feminine. (Little did I know the store was frequented by ladies of the night.)

Over-the-knee boots are back — and this time for nice girls, too. Even Glamour Magazine noted the trend in an online blog (though the writer does wonder if the style is “is a bit too Pretty Woman“).

Two Lips by Kitty Kat

Apparently readers aren’t worried about the “working girl” connotation. First, five out of six styles that Glamour spotlights are already sold out. Second, readers responded with raves like, “Ok, so I was flipping through the April 2009 issue, and I saw a picture of these AMAZING over the knee pink suede boots that I am DYING to get” and “I’m in love! Victoria’s Secret had a pair for 100 bucks. they had the perfect heal plus you could just fold down the top and make them knee highs.”

Tall boots by Giuseppe Zanotti

Glamour readers are not the only ones trying on the trend. Says Fashionising.com: “Over-the-knee boots: they may yet be one of the biggest fashion trends in 2010. We touted them as one of the year’s biggest shoe trends only in mid-May, and yet we’ve already spotted them on everyone from Natalia Vodianova to Kristen Stewart.”

boots by Bronx at Victoria's Secret

And Coutorture.com reported this spring, “Over-the-knee boots were all over the Fall 2009 catwalks, in styles that ranged from stocking-like to trouser-like in their appearance … these boots will undoubtedly cost quite a bit when they hit the retail floor.”

A fetish-inspired style by Alexander McQueen

Cost is a detractor: Most styles on Zappos run over $100, and those that don’t tend to be fashioned from polyurethane. Very Pretty Woman. Another downside is wearability: this is a style that veers easily into fetish gear. (That’s fine if that’s your thing, but it’s a big departure for ballet flat fans…) Or, as Blogger Splendicity points out: “Though I’m not sure about this trend being able to translate from the runway to real life, designers are churning out these tall boots.”

Eve by Dolce Vita

Blogger ShoeGoddess offers up one idea for how to wear her pair of tall Dolce Vita Eve boots: “The cut-out in the back of the boot ensures that you get that full over-the-knee look, but you won’t be claustrophobic at the same time,” she writes. “Flat boots literally work with everything, but I especially like to pair them with skinny jeans.”