WIW 11.05,20 [two with the 'other' black booties]

Ok ladies, here they are. The 'other' black booties, which were actually the first black booties, in two outfits that I wore to work. As I mentioned the other day, this pair is throwing me a bit. While I generally avoid masculine footwear these were very refined so I thought they'd work for me. I actually bought them in spring but didn't wear them all spring/summer, finally pulling them out for their first wear just earlier this month.

#2, 11.05 - Probably too ambitious for the first outing with them, but my thought here was to pair with things that make me particularly happy (the culottes and the faux fur); it would have been well within my comfort zone to pair with tall heeled sleek boots, so flat masculine booties ended up feeling like a real stretch. Rich autumnal color palette of navy, rust, and black. Hair up to keep the neckline open for the turtleneck and furry vest, and cherry-pink lip gloss for a softer-stronger lip color. Doesn't show well in the photo but that little leo clutch is ponyhair so I've got lots of furriness going on there.

  Newer: culottes, booties, clutch
  Older: tissue turtleneck, faux fur vest, tights, earrings, sunnies

#3, 11.20 - Today I thought I'd be a bit less adventurous with the rest of the outfit. I enjoyed wearing olive with loads of white and bits of black this past spring/summer, and am also enjoying extending that concept over to fall/winter as well. This time I wanted to really minimize the black to help me get over the booties, so up went my hair; buttoned the shirt all the way up and pulled the collar out for a little preppy 70s touch. I rarely wear long earrings when my hair is up, but today I felt it needed a little something extra there. Finished with a deep rusty red-orange lipstick. I liked the idea of having the outerwear be black-and-white so I pulled out this faux fur trimmed black coat my MIL gave me over summer and paired with my little striped clutch.

  Newer: sweater, booties
  Older: silk shirt, jeans, earrings, coat, clutch, sunnies

#4/5 - Detail photos.

Objectively I like both outfits, particularly the second, but certainly felt much more out of sorts in the first. I'm not sure if that's due to me adjusting already or if it really was the outfit. More importantly though, I did find the shared components -- hair up, faux fur, retro sunnies, strong lipstick -- particularly interesting because they're all rather glam. I think that'll be the key for these booties for me, not that I'll need to pair with something necessarily girly but that I'll need to ramp up the glam. You won't hear me complain about that! What do you gals think?

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome.

PS: I got these at Forever 21, and am sure they are based on some designer shoes. Anyone know? (Denise?) I'm curious!

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19 Comments

  • Sveta replied 9 years ago

    Hmmm, I have mixed feelings about these booties. They definitely have some cool vibe to them and I quite like them with skinnies but not so much with the culottes. Paired with opaque black tights and midi length culottes (and fur vest)  they give me some "witch" vibe - sorry! :-(
    I really like the second outfit - cropped sweater, olive shirt, white jeans, cool booties - yum! :-)

  • Karie replied 9 years ago

    Those booties are fabulous, but I do prefer the second outfit very much over the first. I think wearing them with skirts/culottes/dresses will be a look that's harder to pull off than wearing them with pants.

  • Jaime replied 9 years ago

    I agree with Sveta that the combination of opaque tights, the shoes and the orangish color of the culottes has a bit of an unavoidable witch/halloween vibe. Nonetheless, you look glam as can be with fur around your face. I have a secret weakness for that look. And I love the culottes and shoe style individually. The second outfit totally works with the shoes. I am thinking Tabitha Simmons for the bootie "inspiration".

  • Firecracker (Sharan) replied 9 years ago

    I really like those culottes on you! Also love the cropped sweater over the bright shirt and white jeans.
    These booties do look easier to style with pants--the second outfit is easy to love, while the first one has an arty and edgy feel that may be more of an acquired taste. I do like it, and I can't say I actually prefer one outfit to the other. Maybe I like the culottes outfit a little more, for the unexpectedness of it.

    I wonder if you might also try a bare legged look (nude stockings or nude fishnets?) with the booties and culottes--just curious, because I think the color of the culottes might lend themselves to that treatment. I think the booties are almost more shoe-like--at least that's how they look from the side. I imagine that may be part of what takes some getting used to; from the front they are more bootie-like and from the side more shoe-like, so I can see that it would create some debate over how to wear them.
    fwiw, I think the pointy toe of the booties keeps them quite feminine.

  • Joy replied 9 years ago

    Agreeing with everything that Sharan said. You look especially glam with a "fur" collar. You are in the advanced styling group.

  • Sal replied 9 years ago

    I love the boots, they are a great shape.  I love the details in both outfits- hairdo, glasses and fur.

    I prefer the boots with the culottes; I think they look great with the polo and opaques and think this is a fun fashion forward look.  Very cool.

  • chouette22 replied 9 years ago

    I am with Kiwigal and find the first outfit very fashion-forward. You look great, but I totally understand that you did not feet completely at ease - it would have been the same for me. The second outfit is awesome too!

  • Aubergine replied 9 years ago

    I think the booties work in both outfits, but really prefer the first outfit aesthetically. It's just so almost-over-the-top glamorous! And I love the color combination, while the colors in the second, and the whole cropped sweater over button-down look, just aren't my thing for whatever reason.

    For me, I think the booties work in the first one because the vest and culottes are both such statements that having a third statement piece as the shoes somehow balances it out, while the fact that they're black shoes worn with black tights still keeps it streamlined on the bottom.

  • Sara L. replied 9 years ago

    I think the booties are great but are such a statement that finding the right outfits might be a bit of a challenge.  I like both outfits although I prefer the jeans.  I really like the cropped sweater over the button down shirt. 

  • replied 9 years ago

    Interesting how divided the opinions are here. I really like the first outfit too - and don't get a witch-vibe from the dark tights/shoe combo at all. Yes, Tabitha Simmons -alikes for sure:) You have established the ability to make your combinations look intentional,whatever the pieces and colours and textures are. That is what makes your look different from others who simply throw together and look a mess. The details remove all doubt, and to me, those culottes and fur and tights are wonderful - I wouldn't do it, mostly because i don't have that skill and am always more concerned about figure flattery - but I know enough to appreciate it on you. Anyways - Aubergine's comments about the cropped over button down resonated with me. It's not my thing either -on anyone. I do like the colour of the silk blouse -= that green with your dark coat and boots and hair - boom!

  • replied 9 years ago

    I like both outfits! Lisa makes a good point about how you always think about the details of your outfits and they look intentional. I also like Firecrackers idea for possibly using nude hose with the culottes? Oh, and I'm a big fan of cropped sweaters over shirts :)

  • Aida replied 9 years ago

    Thank you all very much for the insightful feedback, I really appreciate it! So interesting to hear the splits on these two outfits. Even though the first look was a little less loved, I think I will continue to experiment with the look a bit. Once I get my cream culottes hemmed, I think they would work better with those than with the rust ones. Though I don't really get "holiday" connotations from any color pairing personally, I can certainly see how they come up.

    Jaime, ah yes that looks quite close thank you! Interestingly enough, I actually prefer the details on the F21 pair; with the zips on the sides and the little heel cutout.

    Sharan, interesting idea on trying with bare or faux-bare legs. Quite honestly I haven't really thought of that because I so rarely wear black shoes with bare legs! I think that, as you said, with the bootie-from-the-front-and-shoe-from-the-side look it could work.  And that might be a better pairing with the rust culottes, as well. Of course I'll have to wait until spring to try that, but I'll definitely keep it in mind!

    Aubergine and Sara, interesting though on the shoes being a statement, because I have just been thinking of them as "better-than-basic" black booties. Clearly my filters are skewed to the dramatic ;)

    Lisa, thank you for the very sweet comment along with your thoughts on the outfits themselves <3

  • kellygirl replied 9 years ago

    Love both of these. The culottes outfit is so playful. Aida, you really look like you have fun with fashion! It makes me smile. Adore the cropped sweater outfit too. I would love the be able to pull that one off!

  • catgirl replied 9 years ago

    Ok, cropped sweater over long citron, plus those boots?  I die.  You can send those booties to me anytime!  I am not as fond of #1 because it pushes a few of my buttons with the colors. I think the shoes need to be worn like Fluevogs - they remind me of the Swordfish style, with a bit of swashbuckler to them.  Huge fan of furry toppers on you!  :)

  • Neel replied 9 years ago

    #2 is absolutely beautiful. You pull off that cropped sweater with button down look with panache while the rest of us here are struggling with it :)

    Now the shoes ... I absolutely love the shoes. I love all masculine style shoes, so it isn't really a surprise. With pants this one is a no brainer. You only have to keep the top feminine which I see you have figured out. With outfit 1, I have to agree with FireCracker in that it could look stellar without the tights (or may be nude hose?). I think it would look smashing with your flowy shorts and peddle pushers too. It is just about a bit of skin show I guess. Or I think letting your hair down (if it wasn't for the fur vest and t-neck), could have added the right amount of girliness to the outfit. The soft curls of your hair would have been the perfect juxtaposition, I am guessing.

  • Suz replied 9 years ago

    Oooh, yeah - Una hit on something with the Fluevog reference for sure. 

    My own feelings on these outfits are just about as mixed as the comments! On the one hand, I love #1 best for its luxe drama and its balance of lights and darks -- but on the other hand, I do get a slight "witchy" vibe from the shoes with the black tights, as well. 

    And while I love #2 in theory, I expect I would like it a bit better in a different palette with darker bottoms -- but that may be my personal stuff coming out there. For me it would be about leg lengthening. Not that you need it! And not that I never wear light bottoms with dark booties -- I do. It's just that I always feel a bit "off" when I do it, LOL. 

  • Lisa replied 9 years ago

    I really like the booties, especially with the skinnies.  Maybe I'm influenced by the cold in my area, but for the coulottes, I want to see a taller boot covering up the leg.

  • Aida replied 9 years ago

    Thanks for more great input ladies!

    Una, I think you're right about needing to treat these kind of like Fluevogs. I've stopped thinking of these as a basic black bootie (because for me they don't work that way) and instead they're now a wildcard item. Re-framing that helps quite a lot! I have more ideas for them now, particularly with the thought of treating them as a "pop" of darkness.

    Neel, you know, since I don't wear particularly feminine or girly tops I think that I'm not very comfortable wearing a proper feminine-masculine juxtaposition with these shoes. I tend to have items that lean a bit one way or the other, but are more central along the spectrum. So instead I'm thinking I need juxtapositions more along the lines of structured-unstructured, severe-glamorous, and hard-soft. I do love the idea of trying with shorts, I'll have to give that a go. I am particularly drawn to the idea of pairing with a luxe soft slouchy top.

    Suz, I'm pretty uncomfortable in light bottoms with dark shoes too! Even with the dark hair to bookend. Today I tried very hard to make dark shoes work with my otherwise light outfit, and ultimately I gave up and popped on light gray shoes. At least I know what to do about it :)

  • JenniferAnne replied 9 years ago

    I think you knocked it out of the park with all these outfits. Love it!

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