Reader J wonders:
I have a question I’d love to see addressed on your blog (or maybe you can just give me your $.02): can I wear riding boots to work? If so, how? I am in court every day, but it’s juvie so it’s not like I have to wear a suit every day.
Hmmn. Well. Honestly? My $.02 here is that no, you really should not wear riding boots to court. Certainly not with leggings or skinny pants, and definitely not with miniskirts. The “librarian in the 80s” look of a knee- or calf-length A-line skirt, fitted jacket, and riding boots might work… but something tells me that’s not what you have in mind. You can, of course, wear them beneath trousers. (Pictured above: Frye – Dorado Riding (Bordeaux Textured Full Grain) – Footwear, $458 at Zappos.)
I guess my gut reaction is stemming from the fact that these boots are originally intended for riding horses. Like pants intended for yoga, and leather jackets intended for motorcycle wearers, they may occasionally be acceptable for a very, very casual day at some offices — but court is not one of those places.
I’ll let the commenters weigh in here… ladies? When can and can’t you wear riding boots to the office? Am I wrong to group all “intended for” clothing into one bucket?
Amazon has some great deals going on right now on shoes — significant discounts, plus there’s a deal going where you can get an additional 25% off with a purchase of more than $50. These leather flats were $84.95, now marked to $33.98 (with free shipping), plus another 25% off if you buy more than $50 worth of goods. They’re available in green (pictured), pewter, black, and red, sizes 5.5-11. Miz Mooz Women’s Twist Flat
(P.S. My suggestion for shopping the sale (because it can be a bit overwhelming) is to narrow it as much as possible — for example, for me I chose Women’s, then 7.5 or 8, then “at least 50% off” — and then I went to the “Brands” page and right-clicked (Open in New Tab) for every brand I wanted to see with those specifications.)
We’re liking these comfortable flats from Dr. Scholl — heralded by a number of readers in this post as being super comfortable. We like the slight point to the toe, the circular buckle, and the number of different colors available — our favorites are these bronze ones (on sale for $56.70), but Zappos also has them in gunmetal, grey plaid, gold foil, and beige (Dr. Scholl’s – Graduate (Bronze Pulled PU) – Footwear
). Endless also has them in a number of pastels, a red, and a few animal prints; in limited sizes they also have two black pairs (prices range from $38.47 to $69.95), and Shoebuy has much more sizes of the plain black ones available for $68.
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Reader Z wrote in to us about these lovely flats: “I just got these in today, and they’re beautiful! I have the black – it’s subtle and work appropriate for people who can wear flats, and the quality is amazing. Can’t beat the price.” Nice! The purple/brown (pictured) strikes us as an interesting shoe to wear with brown/khaki/beige/caramel outfits, and has plenty of sizes left. (The black, unfortunately, only has lucky sizes left.) Both shoes are around $83 right now at Endless — on sale from their original price of $150. Lacoste Women’s Belvoir 150 Flat,Dark Purple/Brown
Today’s reader mail comes from an injured reader –
I am a junior partner at a smaller firm in Pennsylvania. I am also a mother of two young children and therefore, on any given day, can be seen carrying my 8 month old in her carseat/carrier, holding a file in my other hand, with my laptop bag strapped across my chest and purse on my shoulder, prodding my almost-three year old forward with my knee as necessary. And of course, I commit this balancing act in heels. Unfortunately, I think this routine has taken its toll, and on Monday, I woke up with such tremendous back pain that I literally could not get out of bed. After four days on the couch and some visits to the chiropractor, I am finally mobile again. However, he has cautioned against wearing heels for a while, until I am feeling 100%. I am concerned about upcoming court appointments – the climate here is fairly conservative (judges have commented on female attorneys wearing pantsuits before, noting they are “inappropriate” for court) and I wonder how flats will play in court. How should I handle this? Should I say something, even informally, to make the court aware of my back issues? Apologize for the flats? Ignore the whole situation and hope that no one notices? I just feel like I won’t look professional enough wearing flats with a suit for court.
Feel better soon! To answer this Q, we asked a friend who had foot surgery — her doctor similarly put a blanket prohibition on heels. Her thoughts: “I think flats are totally acceptable. I wore them for months after my foot surgery. It was only when I was wearing my sneakers for 2 months after the operation that I would say something to judges or attorneys. The flats, however, should look as professional as high heel shoes which can be difficult to find.“ We agree 100%.
If you know that the local judges do not like pantsuits, then continue to wear skirt suits — a number of readers on a recent post commented that they preferred to wear flats with pencil skirts, so you may want to try them with skirt suits like that. (If anyone can remember which post it was, please point us the way.) For our $.02, a more professional flat should be: a) made of good materials (skip anything with canvas details, for example), b) not have too many embellishments (avoid floppy bows or the “bejeweled” look, for example), and c) for court, should probably be in a dark, sedate color. If possible, look for a shoe that has a slight point to the toe — the rounder-toed ones tend to look a wee bit like slippers. Pictured above: Nine West – Misty (Black) – Footwear
, available at Zappos.com for $59 (with a fairly good rating from the 4 reviewers).
Readers, what are your favorite pairs of flats (brands, styles, etc.)? Any tips for wearing them with skirts?
6pm.com has one of the perennial reader favorites in today’s sale: Stuart Weitzman.* We’re liking this interesting pair of flats, which have a gradient effect. They’re available in brown and red as well, and a fairly good number of sizes considering that they’re 50% off. (Some prices are up to 85% off, but lucky sizes only). If you haven’t shopped 6pm.com before: it’s owned by Zappos, and gives you 30 days to return purchases (but you have to pay return shipping). Not bad for deep discounts on one-day only sale items. Stuart Weitzman – Stringalong (Coal Degrade Patent) – Footwear
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* Yes, yes, we know — this is our second featured pair of flats this week! We try not to that, but a) we really like ‘em, b) you guys really like SW, and c) we are sick and have been working around the clock on that pesky “real job” anyway. Cough, cough. Excuse us while our head explodes…
