Sunday, October 7, 2012

Boots. Go Short? Or Go Tall?

I had a rather disappointing wardrobe moment this weekend.

I finally found a great pair of boots for fall that would fit my calves, so I ordered them. After waiting a week, I ran home with great anticipation to get my package and try on what I expected to be these amazing boots that I so carefully selected. They zipped up with ease, which was a huge confidence booster, but when I looked in the mirror I was disappointed. No, I was more then disappointed. My amazing new boots made my legs look larger then they are.

We’ve all had those moments where you have such great expectations of a particular piece of clothing. Either you saw it in a magazine or on the rack, and knew you had to have it. But when you tried it on, it looked nothing like what you pictured in your mind. My knowledge of plus sized fashion comes from me personally having a ton of these moments in my life.

So I returned the boots in store and am now going to let you now what I learned.

When it comes to boots for women with large calves, you need to be particularly picky about your boots. Boots are made with balky fabrics, that’s the nature of these types of shoes. Because of that your need to be careful of how high the boots come up on your leg. My mistake was picking a mid height boot that stopped just under the largest part of my calf. Because boots cling to legs in order to stay up, this is a horrible place for boots to stop. They can look tight on a women, and they draw attention to the width of your leg.

My suggestion is to find either an ankle boot or a knee high boot. That way the eye is drawn to smaller areas on the leg. It’s the same idea as putting a belt around the smallest part of your waist. You want people to look at the small parts on your.

With an ankle boot look for something that sits just below your ankle bone. It’s usually the smallest part on your ankle. If you can find a boot that is actually a little large in this area that would be even better. That makes a person subconsciously think “hey, her ankles are to small for that shoe”. If you can’t find a shoe with a little room, that’s ok. I have large ankles myself, so I never have shoes that are roomy on me. I still manage to rock it though.



For knee high boots there isn’t much to specifically look for. If anything try to find a boot with a zipper versus a pull on. I can never get pull on’s to work for me. The only thing to watch for is to make sure you don’t have a band and buckle over the small part of your ankle. You want a good definition there and a buckle will add bulk.



As with all other parts on you, you want your boots to emphasize your curves, not add bulk. So try on different styles and see what ones look best for your height and shape. I personally like buckled boots with a heel, but I love when women can pull off a flat riding boot. It’s just unfortunately not for me.

For those who have to order wide calf boots online, don’t be afraid to measure the circumference of your leg to be sure a pair of boots will fit. It’s also a good idea to order from someplace that has physical store locations. That way, if something doesn’t work out, you can return them to the store. I personally like DSW, Maurices, Lane Bryant and Carson’s for this reason. If you’ve found any other stores that have Wide Calf boots online, let me know in the comments!

Happy hunting!
<3 Lindsay

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