New York Boot Report

As the responsible and worldly (and frankly awesome) marketing team that we are, we took it upon ourselves to visit New York and make sure the fashionables there were on the up-and-up. Turns out they were and then some. In fact we found the women (and, yes, the men) dressed to their stylish nines. (And that was before we spotted Zac Posen outside Chelsea Markets; we still cover that jacket … but we digress.)

We would never call them fashion victims, but it definitely seemed like most of the populace had taken some shrapnel from the boot bomb that exploded somewhere south of Hell’s Kitchen. Boots, boots, boots were everywhere and every height and everybody couldn’t get enough of looking at each other and hating them for their footwear while saying with a smile, “Great boots!”

Pulled over skinny jeans, worn over tights, worn under sweater dresses and trench coats that would make Burberry jealous, the boot reigns supreme here. Slouchy, hard and polished, destructed, motorcycle, cowboy, roper, riding … the look is definitely here and we love it. A tall, clean boot adds instant grace to a look; distressed, harnessed leathers build up attitude; cowboy boots and your other Western varietals lend a laidback chic.

Which makes it all the more exciting that shearling is cropping up in greater numbers as the temperatures drop up in the northern hemisphere. Sam Edelman, Ugg, Manas and La Canadienne are just some examples of labels that are adding woolly details to high boots. We find the effect charming, a kind of Northern Chic that adds a rustic verve to the sophistication of the long boot.

Take up the call and do more of the same, we say. Buy some tall boots (knee or higher, please) and wear over jeans or cashmere leggings and be sure to mind the Gap: they have a pretty nice trench that plays into the menswear trend and works beautifully against a boot. We’re looking for sophistication here. Tailoring. Polish. Decorum. Dressing like we care how the world sees us, and, more importantly, how we see ourselves. This is the focus of fall in 2008. We saw it coming and stocked up; we’re glad New York has followed our lead.