Fornarina ‘Norah’, £211

I seemed to spend an awful lot of time last winter hunting for a pair of tan boots to replace an existing pair that have seen better days. To be completely honest, I know the attentions of a good cobbler will be enough to get my old boots through another winter, but tan boots are such a winter staple that it doesn’t hurt to have a pair “in stock”, as it were, does it? (Please tell me I’m not the only person who finds a pair of shoes/boots they love, and then instantly starts to worry about what they’ll do when they finally wear out?)

Last year’s search was doomed to failure: I found plenty of tan boots, of course, but none of them were exactly what I was looking for, so it looks like the hunt will spill over into this winter, too. These Fornarina ‘Norah’ boots aren’t quite right either: like most people, my biggest problem with knee boots is finding ones that are a good fit on the calves, and these look like they have a slouchy cut, rather than a more fitted one, which I prefer. Still, they do have a nice, casual feel to them, and as long as the slouch looks intentional (As opposed to simply looking like a bad fit), I think they could work really well over jeans.

I really like the contrast of the leather and suede on these – such an easy way to make a pair of boots more interesting – and although the heel is high, it looks sturdy enough to be relatively comfortable, too.

Buy them