A evo sto kaze
Daily Mail
Thigh-high boots are the next big thing
but who will dare to wear them?
By
Claire Coleman
Last updated at 10:48 AM on
30th July 2009
Cars are hooting, men are wolf-whistling and women are shooting me the sort of looks that could not only kill me, but could also maim anyone within a three-metre radius.
Why? Because I'm walking down my local High Street in a pair of next season's must-haves.
Unfortunately, this happens to be the sort of thigh-length boots last seen on Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. In fact, that's not strictly true. They were last seen at the autumn/winter fashion shows.
High life: Claire Coleman attracts attention as she walks through London in thigh-high boots
From Hermes and Prada, who created a gaiter-like version, to Hussein Chalayan and Stella McCartney, whose perforated pair (in faux leather, of course) looked like a pair of patterned tights, thigh-high boots were the look on the catwalks.
Celebrities haven't exactly been slow to buy into the trend. Remember Madonna in her Louis Vuitton numbers at the Costume Institute Gala?
You might also have seen Rihanna prancing around in a flat Chloe style, or Rachel Weisz, who was recently photographed in a pair of skin-tight leather ones from Alexander McQueen.
Now, the High Street is starting to showcase its own versions of the look.
As ever, Topshop has been quick off the mark with its bottom-grazing Britany boot (£120), which comes in classic PVC and a rather smarter nubuck.
Appreciative glances: The £120 boots from Topshop provoked sneers from most women, except a fashionable young lady in a boutique
It is already so popular that the first shipment has sold out online. In a bid to assess the wear ability of this fashion look, I resolve to gauge the reaction in my local area.
Climbing into the boots - and you do have to climb into them, rather than slip them on - is the strangest sensation. It's like getting into a pair of waders or pulling on a pair of rigid stockings.
Although they look high, with a five-inch heel, they actually conceal a hidden platform, which effectively makes them a far more manageable three inches.
At the top, a notch of elastic is meant to make them fit snugly. Which they do, for all of 30 seconds.
As soon as I start to walk, I feel them wriggling down my thighs, giving me a Nora Batty-esque appearance, which I decide to embrace, rather than fight.
Now the question of what to team them with. Obviously, anything brightly coloured or Lycra would look far too cheap. But I'm sure there must be an elegant way of wearing them.
After all, when Andy Sachs, the heroine of The Devil Wears Prada, rocked up to work in Chanel boots, the gasps they elicited were all of admiration, not disgust. (Although I'm not quite sure that the Daily Mail office is quite as fashion forward as Runway magazine.)
I decide to take inspiration from one of the most wearable looks on the catwalk. Vivienne Westwood teamed he her long boots with simple, belted dresses in neutral shades, so I plump for a plain cream dress, cinched at the waist with a wide belt.
I like to think that with the black nubuck boots, I'll be channelling a sort of Mary Quant-esque, Diana Rigg (of The Avengers) look. Well, I might like to think that, but I'm not sure the denizens of South London are entirely au fait with catwalk trends and fashion history.
First stop fashion: Worn with a demure knitted dress, Claire works the booted look for every day wear