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The Hunt: Comfortable Ankle Boots

The Hunt |

comfortable ankle boots for work 2020 Update: We still think this is a fun discussion of comfortable ankle boots, but you may want to check out our more recent post on stylish booties for the office. Sure, we all know what basics professional women are supposed to have in their closets, but if you’re buying one for the first time or replacing one you’ve worn into the ground, it can be a pain to find exactly the right incarnation in stores. In “The Hunt,” we search the stores for a basic item that every woman should have. We’re far enough into winter now that you should have had time to pull out all of last year’s boots, as well as perhaps some from this year, and — if you’re like me, at least — you may be wondering, “Why do I not have any comfortable, simple boots?” I thought I’d throw together a few selections of that utilitarian classic, the ankle boot. No, they’ll never be runway material — but they’re perfect for a commute, a day on your feet, or just generally throwing on when you can’t be bothered with higher heels. As I started writing, I realized that Endless.com is having a crazy sale that ends today — 25% off all purchases over $100, and 30% off purchases over $200 on bags and accessories — so I threw in Endless comparisons where I could. Enjoy! (Pictured above: For those of you looking for a size 37 boot in the $750 range, note that Bergdorf Goodman has this pair of Manolo ankle booties on sale… had to share!)
Naturalizer - Instant (Black Leather) - FootwearIf simple, comfortable, and inexpensive black boots are what you’re looking for, these Naturalizer boots just might fit the bill — they’re only $109 at Zappos. (Note that Naturalizer has limited sizes on sale for $99, and Endless has limited sizes for $99.) Naturalizer – Instant (Black Leather) – Footwear
Very interesting — I’ve never heard of this brand before (David Tate), but this boot has more than 100 positive ratings on Zappos. They look like very walkable, comfortable shoes, and if anyone’s looking for a burgundy ankle boot, look no further… (They’re also available in brown.) All three colors are available for $119 at Zappos, while Endless has the black for $109 (plus 25% off today), and the brown for $76.96. David Tate – Vera (Black Leather) – Footwear
Clarks - Gallery Art (Black Nubuck) - FootwearI’m always a fan of Clarks shoes — they’re simple, comfortable, and generally classic. Note, though, that the stitching on these Gallery boots may make them a bit more casual. They’re $139 at Zappos, but with the Endless sale they come down to $104. (Note that both Zappos and Endlesshave the brown pair on sale for $111). Clarks – Gallery Art (Black Nubuck) – Footwear
BeautiFeel Women's Sophie BootI really like the brand BeautiFeel as far as comfortable shoes go — they tend to be more fashionable, but they’re built like sneakers on the inside. These suede boots (they also come in black leather) seem lovely. They’re $275.95, but with the 30% off they come down to $193. BeautiFeel Women’s Sophie Boot
Stuart Weitzman - Leisure (Black Suede) - FootwearThese Stuart Weitzmans look like nice, simple wedge boots — comfortable and just a wee bit edgy. They’re $262 at Zappos, but if you buy today on Endless they’re an extra 30% off, which brings them down to $225. Stuart Weitzman – Leisure (Black Suede) – Footwear
Arche Women's Muriz Ankle BootI’ve heard tell of Arche shoes for years but I hadn’t actually owned any myself until a crazy Ideeli sale earlier this year ($69 for $375 sandals, thankyouverymuch) — and just simple sandals were ridiculously comfortable. These boots look like the kind you’ll have for years: incredibly soft leather, the legendary Arche comfort, and a totally standard heel/toe. They’re $425 at Endless, but with the discount of 30% they come to just under $300. Nice. Arche Women’s Muriz Ankle Boot
Like our round-up of basics? Check out other recent installments!  

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About Kat

Kat Griffin is the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of Corporette. You can read more about her here.

Comments

  1. Ellen

    Clark’s are great!!!! My dad had a pair of Clark’s Wallabee’s and he swore by them. Now I have a pair of black ankle boots and they are great. Also their not to expensive either. I found out Alan was trying to get rid of my shoes. Thanks for stopping him. He is so cute, but my shoes are very important to me.

    • Eponine

      Oh God, it’s back. Damn it. I thought it’d go away after slipping up last week.

        • Ru

          I think it was on the weekend thread where “Ellen” signed off at the end of its post as “Alan”. Much hilarity ensued.

          • Ru

            Oh and someone found the same troll with the same exact style of posting on another website.

          • Eponine

            Not just another website, but an NYT article linked to in the comments on Corporette, and the troll’s comment there was signed as Alan. It was pretty evident that Alan is a creepy guy who assumes the identity of his imaginary girlfriend, Ellen, and gets his jollies posting here. Hopefully he will go away.

      • michelle

        love the Taryn Rose ones, I find them usually overpriced but this is a good price for them – if I didn’t already have 3 inch heel black ankle boots I’d get them. BTW I disagree with the anti-ankle boot group; I find higher boots awkward under pants (but do agree you want the pant leg to cover the top of the boot even when you sit or it looks silly). I wear ankle boots a lot with dress pants in the colder months, just find it much more comfortable than knee boots and warmer/better footing than pumps.

  3. lawyerette

    I generally don’t have much use for ankle boots here in the northeast. If it’s cold enough that I want boots, I’d rather wear calf or even just-below-the-knee boots under my work pants as they keep me much warmer than ankle boots. Anyone else?

    • AtlantaAttorney

      I am in the South, but I also don’t have much use for these. I’m with you – either it’s cold enough for ‘real’ boots, or I just stick to my regular heels.

      • Lawgirl

        Really? I hate the feel of knee boots under dress pants (weird, cold, scratchy, just off). On the other hand, knee boots with skinny pants *tucked inside* feel much warmer IMHO, but aren’t really office appropriate where I work (except on Fridays). When there’s a foot of snow (or I’m going skiing), nothing else ca compares to my Columbia Bugaboots. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

        • lawyerette

          I guess it’s just different preferences Lawgirl. I know what you’re talking about, but I do prefer it rather than having the tops of the boots show when I cross my legs. Another difference is that my calf/below knee boots are actually very close-fitting (not in a tight way, but only room for tucking jeans/pants with the stretchy elastic), so I don’t have that feeling you describe very much.

    • NYC

      I was just thinking that I don’t understand ankle boots. Is the point that they are more substantive than a shoe/pump but less of a commitment than taller boots? When you cross your legs, can you see the top of the boot? I think that would be weird. Nina Garcia put ankle booties in her 100 list, so I am trying to understand.

      • Bonnie

        They provide enough coverage that snow, sleet, etc, won’t get into your shoes but are more comfortable for the whole day than long boots under pants.

      • E

        For me, and those who have very muscular calves, calf high or knee high boots can be very difficult to find. I use my ankle boots for the look of boots under my dress pants in the winter. I do not have the mojo to figure out how to wear booties with skirts. I am afraid of the stumpification that would ensue.

    • Lyssa

      My thoughts, as well. Plus, it makes me feel awkward when I’m sitting and my pants are a little shorter so that the tops of the boots show. I don’t know why, but that just seems really bad looking to me (same with showing too much of my sock if I’m wearing casual shoes). I’d want at least calf-high boots, if I’m going to wear boots.

      • Anon

        Agreed. I have never found a pair of ankle boots that I felt comfortable in. That and they just make me think of the 80s. The whole ankle boots and booties trend completely escapes me.

    • Eponine

      I love ankle boots with pants. Knee boots under pants is just too much stuff on my legs. A shoe with pants means exposed ankle/top of the foot, which makes me cold. Ankle boots are the happy medium.

      • Midori

        Exactly. Ankle boots are for “too cold not to wear socks” but “not messy enough to justify snowshoes or knee boots.”

      • Anon

        Yes, I love ankle boots. Granted, the ones I wear have about a 6″ shaft, so generally don’t show the tops when I cross my legs. But I think they are much more comfortable then taller boots.

  4. E

    I got a pair from Franco Sarto from Nordstroms last year…can’t find them on the website now, but something like this:

    http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/3107800?origin=category&resultback=3618

    Only without the buckle/braid detail. Very simple, totally plain and super comfortable. I live in the PacNW, and having leather boots that I can wear in the rain is critical for winter. I wear these all day in clinic and find them very comfortable.

    • Chicago K

      Also have a pair of Franco Sarto’s from the winter before last that sound like the same ones you are describing. They are starting to fall apart a bit inside (the padding as worn away so some screws are exposed) but I like them because they provide a clean line under pants that does not show my socks at all, and I can walk in them when needed.

  5. L

    These all look uncomfortable to me. If I am looking for winter boots, I am looking for something like Sorel or the North Face, not these ankle boots. I would need something flat in order to navigate ice, etc.

    • L from Oz

      Indeed – I wore my hiking boots on the weekend, and still had a couple of hairy moments. Since my work involves changing buildings frequently, I can only wear sensible shoes right now. I do have ankle boots, but I only wear them in November and March, as a rule.

  6. Associette

    I like the Stuart Weizman’s, but the others look incredibly frumpy and ho-hum IMO. Sorry!

      • Love

        I love these boots and agree that they are a much cuter option! For me it’s not just the heel, it’s the way these boots kind of dip right around the ankle and are much shorter than the boots featured in the post. I actually think they’re more versatile, as they look cute with tights and dresses as well as with pants. Boots like the ones featured only look right with pants on me. I walk to work, though, and wear more wintry boots to commute, so I can see how something like this wouldn’t work for someone who doesn’t change shoes!

      • Jen

        these are technically “booties” which are more a shoe than a boot. Cute but not the same in my opinion.

    • AIMS

      Agreed.
      I am not a fan opf the stumpy heel. I don’t think it does anyone any favors and a wedge is much more comfortable & more modern looking.

      • Lawgirl

        Love your link to those Cole Haan’s, @Bonnie. BUT…. I can just picture myself hobbling to my car in those 3″ heels, praying that I don’t bust my a**. Which is exactly what I did when it snowed in DC last week and I wore heels to work >:-( Wedges are definitely more stylin’ than stumpy, granny heels, but snow/ice overrides cuteness every time in my book. Sometimes a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do! ;-)

        • Bonnie

          That’s why I usually wear flat boots to the office and just wear heels around the building and back and forth to court. I’ve wiped out too many times!

          • K

            I should have worn boots into the courthouse last week and changed once I got there. My feet were SOAKED from the snow by the time I got inside in my heels. At least when I soaked them on the way out I could crank the heater in the car! Makes me miss the dry snow in Colorado as opposed to east coast slush!

  7. Anonymous

    All others than the first pair look like a cross between (1) which boots and (2) orthopedic shoes. I think they’re the worst bunch of items ever posted on this blog.

    • Louise

      As someone who actually needs orthopedic shoes, I would give my eye teeth to be able to wear *any* of the pictured styles. Sigh.

      • Anon

        Ha! One day, all of these women will get older, hurt their backs, or maybe just find themselves 9 months pregnant…

        • UnSub

          Yeah, but until then, I’m stylin’ in the Cole Haan’s and leaving the ortho lookalikes till I really need them! But, no offense to those that do :)

          • Anon

            And I don’t begrudge you — I did it too. But take heart — as you age, you’ll find yourself wearing all sorts of things you *never* thought you would wear, and looking fabulous in them.

          • Or...

            Or maybe you’ll be like my 60-year-old mother who still wears heels much more like the Cole Haans than the other shoes posted. Everyone’s body changes differently as they age. (Obviously she did switch to flats during the end of her pregnancies, but she was back in her heels in no time!)

          • Louise

            No offense taken. I wish strong, healthy feet upon you for the rest of your life!

        • Another Anon

          Not everyone gives up their heels when pregnant. I wore stilettos until the very end of my full-term twin pregnancy.

  9. shoequestion

    Shoe question: I’m a bridesmaid in a wedding in January (but in South Florida where it’ll be warm). We’re wearing purple floor-length satin dresses and I had bought a lovely pair of Kate Spade purple heels to match. However, I wore them once and they killed me after 2 hours, as in: could not take two steps without pain.

    I’m now considering wearing 2″ strappy silver sandals that have a flip flop-type front and a back strap. Bride says we can wear “whatever we think is appropriate,” do we think that’s appropriate? (with a pretty pedicure)?

    • Lyssa

      It sounds fine to me, as long as the bride doesn’t want you to match or anything. (I picked out a dress and told my bridesmaids to make their own choices on everything else- life’s too short, you know?) I guess you might want to make sure that you won’t be the only BM in sandals, since it is January, but I’d bet in South FL, that’s not an issue.

      When you said purple dress, the first thing that came to my mind was silver. I think it will look great. Hope you can return the Kate Spades, though.

    • Corporate Tool

      I wouldn’t wear something with a thong in the front, but that’s just because with dancing, it will often rub you the wrong way. Can you buy a pair of silver/purple/black flats to change into for dancing? I often wear heels for the ceremony and/or pictures, and flats for the rest. It can sometimes be an issue if your dress is hemmed very long (danger of tripping on it in shorter heels), but I find it worth the risk.

    • SF Bay Associate

      Have you tried putting ball of foot pads in your Kate Spades, or other Foot Petals assistance? I’m on the hunt for purple heels and it would be a shame if yours ended up in the back of your closet after you were successful in finding them! My Kate Spade Marli Too heels needed ball of foot pads, and now they are awesome.

      I agree that silver shoes would also look great, and that flip flop strap is a bad idea. Since it’s floor length, why not wear flats? I was just at a black tie wedding with bridesmaids in floor length dresses, and some of them wore flats. It was total genius.

      • Makeup Junkie

        I agree, your shoes sound fabulous, and I would try to make them work!

    • shoequestion

      The reason I’m not wearing flats is because I have one of those bunionette things someone posted about before here. I *can* find flats I can wear, but it’s hard/rare so that’s whyi did the flip flop thing (which I would have to try out I admit, but I bought them because flip flops are usually my most comfortable shoes).

      The shoes by the way, are the Kate Spade Christa slingback pump, which are lovely and I really do hope to wear again (maybe after an operation!)

  10. Ennkay

    I’m a big fan of Everybody, a lesser-known Italian brand. Yummy-soft leather, slightly offbeat styling, tons o’ comfort. I’ve been wearing these ankle boots all year (hey, summers are cold in the Bay Area!): http://www.endless.com/Everybody-Massa-Womens-Bootie/dp/B002DUEA56/ They’re much more flattering than the photo suggests, and they look good with trousers or skirts. Check out the other Everybody ankle boots, too.

  11. NYC Lawyer

    I love these ankle boots from La Canadienne:
    http://www.zappos.com/la-canadienne-rumer-black-leather

    In fact, I already had the knee-high version of the same boots:
    http://www.zappos.com/la-canadienne-ramona-black-leather

    I bought the ankle boots as well because I don’t always like wearing knee-high boots under pants — sometimes it can be too hot, and sometimes they just don’t really work if the pants are skinny.

    Anyway, I love both of these boots because there’s enough of a heel to look feminine and a bit dressy, but not so much that you can’t wear them comfortably all day long. And La Canadienne boots are the best for a cold, wet climate: warm without being bulky, and always water proof!

  12. AEK

    I have no use for ankle boots but can appreciate the look.

    Threadjack, please: Does anyone else bristle at being called “young lady”? Two (male) judges have referred to me this way recently, and it has also happened with (male) opposing counsel. I’ve been practicing for 6 years, am in my early 30s, and don’t look especially young, and for that matter am not always a “lady.” I don’t hear “young man” ever. I take it as unwittingly condescending at best, dismissive at worst. Thoughts?

    • lawyerette

      I agree. When that’s happened to me I have usually smiled and said, “Thank you young man” or “Wow, no one’s called me that since I was a teenager”

    • Anonymous

      I’m the same age as you and take it as a compliment. Life’s too short to get upset about a judge or older male calling you young and female (no dis or bad connotation associated with it).

      When people mention things like this bothers them, I ask, Why? It’s ajudge, you cant do much about it. If it was a collegaue and you called them out on it and I was there, as a young lady myself I would just think “sheesh, there’s more important things in life to get upset over. Get a life and get over it.”

    • L

      Agreed, I don’t like it. It’s the little things that keep us from being thought of as truly equal to men. Calling them “young man” in return sounds like a great idea. If you could get away with it, “old man” would be even better! :)

    • Corporate Tool

      I don’t like it, but I can’t find a comeback that is remotely respectful. Saying “young man” or even worse “old man” marks you as “that woman” who doesn’t have a sense of humor, too uptight, etc. If it’s a supervisor, and it happens a lot, I’d mention it once in a private conversation, but otherwise not sure what you can actually do about it other than shrug it off.

      • Eponine

        Big smile, wink, and call him “young man” even if he is nowhere remotely young. It’s friendly enough that it doesn’t leave you seeming uptight, but it gets the point across.

    • AEK

      Agree with those who think there’s no appropriate response. I gave up on stuff like that when my polite suggestion to a male colleague that the 30-year-old law student interviewing for an intern position was not a “girl” didn’t go over very well:)

      @ Anon, I also agree that it’s not worth getting “upset” over (and I don’t), but I also do not think it’s a compliment.

    • Ru

      It bothers me, too, as well as the random “sweetie” and “hun”. Drives me bonkers. I don’t say anything but I do smile and walk away…but after reading those links Kat posted, maybe I’m giving away power by smiling?

      • JessC

        “Young lady” doesn’t really bother me. As Anonymous at 5pm pointed out – I am both young and a “lady”. But the “sweetie”/”hun” thing does really annoy me. There are very, very few people for whom I would consider myself their “sweetie” or their “honey”.

      • Samantha

        In a professional setting, I’ve never been called ‘sweetie’ or ‘hun’ and am sure I wouldn’t like it if I was. But in other settings (in a supermarket, e.g.) I wouldn’t mind either ‘young lady’ or ‘hun’ etc. Often it’s a nice older lady (sometimes southern) who is saying that in a friendly, almost maternal way.

    • D

      I really like the heel shape! It looks sturdy but avoids the orthopedic vibe some lower heels can give off. I might just get these…

  15. Rock

    ALL of these are THE. UGLIEST. SHOES. EVER. Can you say orthopedic? Not chic, ladies. between this and the sponsored posts, i’m ditching corporette.

  16. Leslie

    Sofft is awesome! They make the best ankle boots that are sooo comfortable. You can buy them at Zappos…

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