Eclipse ‘Bottine Agnes” ankle boots, £40
I’ve talked quite a bit recently about my mission to stock up on some more “sensible” shoes this year, and while I’m not sure quite how “sensible” a beige upper can ever really be, these Eclipse ankle boots are the latest step in my plan. These also come in black and brown, but as some of you may recall, I’ve also been on a search for pale-coloured boots recently, so these killed two birds with one stone, which is how they came to find themselves being added to my Sarenza order this month.
Shoes like this are a little bit of a departure for me, because I normally stick firmly to either heels or flats. I was actually quite surprised by how much I like them though: they may not be the fanciest footwear in my collection, but I love the colour, which is exactly what I was looking for, and I think they’ll work really well with my pastel coloured jeans and washed-out denim on casual days when I know I’m going to be doing a lot of walking.
On the subject of walking: I actually wore these the day they arrived, to walk the dog and then run some errands around town, and when I put them on I quickly discovered that I’m so unused to this height of heel that I basically had to re-learn how to walk in them, as embarrassing as that is. For the first few minutes, I was kind of picking my feet up like a pony, until my brain finally caught up with the fact that the heel wasn’t where I expected it to be, and I started walking like a human being again. I have the same issue with the other pair of low-heeled boots I bought this year, so I guess the type of shoes you wear has a bigger effect on how you walk than I’d thought!
With that small learning curve out of the way, however, I found these comfortable and easy to wear. I ordered my usual size 4, and would say they’re true to size. They’re not real leather, but don’t feel cheap either, and they didn’t require any breaking in. I actually wore these out on a rainy day, and also walked through the woods in them, which was probably a little bit reckless of me, considering the colour of the upper. These photos were taken when I got back, though, and as you can see, they survived without incident: the uppers seem fairly hard-wearing, and any small marks should wipe off fairly easily, so I’m hoping the colour won’t be quite as impractical as it might seem.
My main challenge now will be getting used to styling these. As much as I like them, one of the reasons I don’t normally buy this style of shoe is because I always feel like low-heeled ankle boots make my feet look disproportionately large. I’m not really sure why that is: I don’t think my feet are particularly big for my height, and the boots are a nice, close fit, but it’s something I’ve noticed with basically ever pair of boots I’ve tried in this style. I’m hoping it’s just a case of my eye needing to adjust to a different style, and NOT me looking like Bigfoot, but I guess time will tell! While I work it out, I’m very tempted by the camel version…
[Disclosure: these were purchased using a gift code supplied by Sarenza. All opinions are my own.]
They are really nice! Although I would be tempted to get rid of the tassel; it would just annoy me.
The color might not be too rain/mud friendly, but these are pretty sensible while still being cute and not boring. I need something like this! (but maybe in a different color, because I’m a klutz who walks into puddles). As Tracey mentioned, the tassels might get annoying when you walk… could you let us know if they do? 🙂