thinking about fashion: my fabulous little black chelsea riding boots

I was just thinking this rainy, grey, London morning, while my husband was doing two thirds of his triathlon training in the gym (running and cycling - he doesn't like swimming - he said between the two of us, we could do a triathlon), that I haven't been posting about fashion for ages.

Just because I don't post about fashion, doesn't mean I don't think about fashion. In fact - curious to find how often women think about fashion - I found these statistics in a refinery29 piece: on average, women think about fashion 91 times a day. Not 90, not 92, but 91.  Now, granted, that's women in the UK, and aged between 18 and 25 (presumably the number decreases with age - but judging by some of my friends, I'm not quite sure). And that's not counting women in some parts of the world who are dealing with, uh, survival, for example.

But it's still a lot more than men think about sex. Men, it turns out, don't think about sex nearly as much as we think they do: only 19 times a day - how ironic is that! The digits are reversed! - and nearly as many times as they think about food (18), closely followed by sleep: 11 times. None of which surprises me. Women think about all of the above less than men (see the Telegraph article if you want more details, I'm too lazy to quote it all now) but that's probably because they're too busy thinking about fashion.

Which is also why this new platform that's emerging - this LookBible, a kind of Pinterest but solely for fashion images - is so fascinating. It's currently invite only. But the guys who launched it, based on the discovery that their girlfriends are spending a lot of time online, thinking about fashion - are really nice, and if you ask politely, I'm sure they'll say yes.

I think a lot of the reason I'm thinking less about fashion at the moment is because my feet are sorted.

Shoes are so important: not as important, I guess, as survival, food, shelter, ELECTRICITY (as a lot of my NY/NJ/CT friends have discovered recently), or even sex, but they still really make or break a look. I bet the top of most women's wish lists (besides more, or better sex) is probably, at any given point, a certain pair of shoes.

And what's most important, once summer is over, is the right little black boots.

But I got that sorted, on holiday, on the North Fork of the end of Long Island. Because while my family's summer home doesn't have a town, a post office, or even a place to buy milk, it does have the cutest, 200 year old white clapboard church with pretty stained glass windows. And twice a week in summer, they have a thrift shop.

And I bought - for TWO U.S. DOLLARS - these black riding boots, seen above. Also called Chelsea boots - which my husband decided, out of the blue, that he wanted to revive, about four years ago - way before it became on trend (couldn't find them anywhere, gave up) - but now they are everywhere, in every variation.



Of course, had I not found those when I did, I could always find some alternatives. Clockwise from top left: Chloe, for £690, the glitter Miu Mius (£495),  those gorgeous Givenchy, at a whopping £800, and the quasi-dressage riding style 'leather monk-strap ankle boots' by Jil Sander (£535).

But my favourites of the Chelsea boot options are probably this lime-green soled black leather pair, with bright yellow zippers, from  Esquivel, a steal at £452.



Then there are so, so, many black boots, currently available at Net-a-Porter, that even if my fairy godmother said 'pick whichever you'd like, darling, it's on me' - even if my fairy godmother had a GUN TO MY HEAD, I'd still not wear them. I'm happy for Christian Louboutin that he's won the right to sue anyone selling red soled shoes, but sorry, Chris: red soles with black boots just doesn't float my boat. And I'm really not feeling the platform, cloven hooded silhouette anymore - certainly not with these designs. Even tho these are the more simple and conservative range of what's on offer, I'm starting to realise I don't really like boots with heels. Period. Is that just me? Where do you stand on the issue?

If anyone feels like whiling away a few hours - my God! it's after noon! - please send me a link (in the comments, or via email) or your favourites on the Net-a-Porter little black boots list.



And I realise I've mainly been focusing on Chelsea boots: there's a whole WORLD of options in the slouchy, or motorcycle, Cuban, or military boot range, which also appeals to the flat footed who walk amongst us. (Burberry, for example, did the PERFECT pair of ankle boots, and I do love the leather and snakeskin pair of ankle from Pierre Hardy: they're like the sixties boys' winkle pickers, slim and sexy) AND riding boots.. and let's not forget Wellies. But I think each of those deserve their own posts. I do, however, quite like the slouchy ones by Isabel Marant, £365, and while the Gucci 'brogue style Chelsea boots' are nice enough, at £495, are they really £493 nicer?





Which brings me back to my own incredible find.

I've since rubbed natural almond oil into them - they're as good as new, and fit like a glove. And a week after I found those at the church, someone donated the same pair in a beautiful shade of maple: a nice, nutty, warm brown. And then I kept finding these other amazing things.. a fabulous sixties coat, and a pale, lime green Barney's v-neck jumper... and a pair of black Converse, with the sweetest aqua and white trim..  I don't think I spent more than ten bucks in total.

So I am completely covered, style wise. It's like going thru a fresh lime phase, or sweet chili sauce: if you love something, you start to discover that there's nothing it doesn't go with. All I have to decide in the morning then, is which Chelsea boots to wear, and that's easy: if I'm wearing black, I go with the brown, and pretty much everything else, I wear with the black. This way I'm not too matchy matchy, but I'm bang on trend.

Which then frees me up to think about other things.