What I wore today--featuring Stuart Weitzman Arlington Boots

Confession time: I read a lot of preppy style blogs, but I'm not really the Southern Prep/All Lilly All the Time/Pink and Green type. I'm more the "High WASP" type that LPC blogs about.

I grew up in New England where you wore Lilly in the summer--maybe because it reminds you of family vacations to places where it's warm all year round. You would break out your sun dress printed with monkeys drinking piña coladas and your husband would wear four-paneled Brooks Brothers "Fun" pants. You were on vacation, and this is how you signaled to the world that you knew how to enjoy yourselves.

But my people did not live where it's warm all year round. We deal with serious amounts of winter weather. The verb "to summer" only has currency in places where summer is a brief respite in an otherwise chilly climate. And therefore, I have an atavistic love of cotton turtlenecks worn under wool sweaters, plaid, camel hair coats, duffle coats--basically, the whole L. L. Bean-cum-Brooks Brothers vibe.

I try to fight it. I try to be Prep With an Edge, as blackbird puts it. But as soon as it gets near Christmas, all bets are off. I pull out my Christmas socks, jewelry, and scarves. I go mad for plaid. I even start trolling the internet for the Winter Wonderland prep wear of my childhood. Does L. L. Bean still make Norwegian sweaters? Where are the Tyrolean jackets and Fair Isle sweaters d'antan? Mostly gone.

Which is maybe just as well. I went to a holiday boutique recently in Lake Forest, Illinois, which is the epicenter of preppiness in these parts. And I ordered myself a pair of these.

Needlepoint loafers by By Paige

And in my internet trolling, I came thisclose to ordering myself a pair of these

Beachcomber Corduroys at Castaway Clothing

And if I had, I probably would have worn the loafers with the cords. No, really.

But then I noticed the cords were bootcut. Pffft! I might have standard boring preppy taste in preppy holiday attire, but I draw the line at buying a pair of bootcut cords, because hello? Out of style. OK, I realize I'm being ridiculously inconsistent.

Anyway, today's outfit was an attempt on my part to show you my new boots, which meant wearing a skirt. And I picked out one that is plaid, and warm and cozy, because this morning, it got below freezing for the first time this season. And then--well, I tried to rein in this Christmas-crazed tradition-loving northeast prep part of my personality, I really did. You can let me know whether you think I succeeded.

Fuzzy black watch plaid skirt, Talbot's last season (similar), navy cotton Bailey cardigan, Vineyard Vines, gray scoop neck t-shirt, Gap, gray wool blend tights, Vermont Country Store, black nappa boots, Arlington by Stuart Weitzman

Here's how Talbot's styled the skirt last year.

See how fuzzy?

Gold pendant and eBayed Hermes bangle. Hey, at least I'm not wearing pearls.

Here's a back view of the boots--sorry about the graininess. I was trying to show the elastic.

For outside, I added my Brooks Brothers leather trench and some Nordic glittens (what J. Crew calls fingerless glove/mittens) I found these in Lake Forest, which means they're preppy.

It's not every day you see a Chanel bag combined with mittens!

Sigh.

I've come to the conclusion that if I think I've escaped my roots? I'm sadly mistaken.

Shopping for boots when your calves aren't a standard size ... and how I found a pair

I don't know why, but I've never been that crazy about boots. This seems odd, because I tend to be completely nuts about anything ridiculously expensive, and the average pair of boots is ridiculously more expensive than the average pair of shoes. I can't really explain how I overlooked this opportunity to blow wads of cash. It might be because I have muscular legs, and once I put on a few too many pounds, most boots refuse to zip over my calves.

Anyway, a few days ago, J. Crew was offering 25 percent off everything on their site. I decided to forgive J. Crew's stylists for the insane combinations of crap they put together for their catalogs and actually buy something. Maybe.

So I asked whether anyone out there on the internet had anything to tell me about J. Crew's wide calf boots. And answer came there none, except an inquiry from blackbird, who, like my friend Joke, likes to remind me from time to time that I am not actually deformed and should perhaps not abandon hope of fitting into something in a normal size. (Joke is usually referring to The Balcony, but the point stands.)

So then the J. Crew sale was over, and I was ready to abandon hope all over again.

But then I got an email offering me some great savings at ShopBop, a site I'm usually not even aware of. But they had these Stuart Weitzman boots.

Stuart Weitzman is a brand that sort of flies under the radar. The shoes are very high quality, and they do narrow and wide widths. I've had good luck with Stuart Weitzman shoes in the past. The last seems to suit my foot, even when I buy the normal- rather than the wide-width styles.

I'd heard that Stuart Weitzman's 5050 boots (the shaft is half leather, half elastic) had a lot of fans. The Arlington boot also has some elastic in the back. Not as much as the 5050, but enough, I hoped, to get around my calves.

So I ordered them, and they showed up today. I got my normal size, a 9M, and they're wide enough across the metatarsal. And the calf fits perfectly. And the black elastic is is NOT HIDEOUS, I swear.

Stuart Weitzman "Arlington" knee boot

I'd show you the boots on, except as soon as I tried them on, I fell madly in love, and now it's too dark to get a decent picture of them. But imagine me sitting with my legs straight out, crossed at the ankle. From time to time I move my toes or flex my feet and hear that lovely creaking sound that new leather makes.

The back view, showing the elastic

So if you have difficulty wearing knee-high boots, whether your calves are too narrow or too wide, I'd suggest you check out boots like this.

I also suggest you shop at Zappos. I say this because Zappos includes a lot of helpful information about the boots they sell, including the shaft height and circumference. And there are helpful reviews--in the case of really popular styles, like Stuart Weitzman's 5050 boot, 72 of them. 

Also, quite a few of the Stuart Weitzman boots are currently on sale.