BOOTS FOR EVERY OCCASION THIS SEASON

Comfort, practicality, style, cosiness… name another shoe that simultaneously ticks so many boxes as boots – no, we can’t either. This autumn, having well and truly emerged from our loungewear chrysalis and left our beloved shearling-lined Birkenstocks at home, we’re looking to designers’ imaginative takes on our favourite silhouettes to find the pairs that can best express our personal style in every eventuality – from reimagined riding boots to the new, sleek knee-highs, wellies worthy of the runway and, of course, the best heeled boots for partying well into 2022. Whatever the occasion, we have you covered…

WINTRY WALKS

Picture the scene: it’s a drizzly October day, and you just trod in a muddy puddle in your brand-new boots. Game Over. Except, the pair in question is Bottega Veneta’s eye-wateringly bright Puddle boots or Ganni’s rubber Chelsea boots or the exclusive-to-Selfridges Balmoral boots from Hunter. Now imagine a crisp, ultra-cold winter afternoon: are your toes frozen? No, because Jimmy Choo and Valentino are dressing up their most practical pairs – think hiking and combat influences – with fluffy puffs of shearling. Game changer.

BACK TO WORK

Perfectly timed for the return of the commute, Safe For Work boots are also making a big comeback. In line with the expressive mood we’ve seen across the AW21 womenswear collections, though, there’s nothing stuffy about these smart pairs. Unorthodox heels at Attico, sharp angles at Christian Louboutin, Gucci’s signature Horsebit making the leap from loafers, and Fendi going for gingham – designers are daring us to put our most characterful foot forward.

DECEMBER DANCE FLOORS

Eighteen months of club anthems with nowhere to play them, sparkly heels sat collecting dust and festivities postponed have left us with plenty of pent-up party spirit. Making up for lost time, Balenciaga is throwing shapes (have a scroll through below to admire those slanted heels), while Christian Louboutin and Jimmy Choo are draping jewellery across their ankle boots, and Amina Muaddi’s high-shine, high-heeled, thigh-high Danielle design is getting us in high spirits.

WHO KNOWS?!

There are always the inevitable days when your weather app is all over the place or, even though IRL plans are a thing again, you don’t quite know where said plans will take you. For such days, we have two multitasking camps to pick from: on one side, there’s an influx of equestrian-influenced boots from the likes of Proenza Schouler and Jimmy Choo, which walk that line between office appropriate and evening plans. On the other, we have head-turning takes on the most versatile buzzword in the boots world: Chelsea. Our favourites come with a splash of colour at Bottega, the jagged heels of Chloé’s Betty boots, and Alexander McQueen’s chunky Wander pair. How to choose? It’s just a case of deciding what best says ‘you’.