STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

lynnie · Chanel

boots for skinny calves?

cc · Marc Jacobs

I also have chicken legs so I can understand how frustrated your friend is.

In my experience there are 3 options:

1. Constantly searching for boots that fit. I lucked out last year and found some suede wedge boots that don't totally hug my legs but they don't look like wellies on me either.
Synthetic stretch boots are usually a good option although I sometimes even have trouble with these because my ankles are really small and stretch boots are much more prone to bunching. Steve Madden is usually a good brand to try. I know a few girls here had luck with the style "Coyl."

2. Find boots that she loves and fit ok and get them taken in. It can be expensive (I've paid $50-70) and cobblers can't work miracles (it's usually difficult to take the ankles in a lot, for example) but this is a good option if she thinks she'll wear the boots a lot.

3. Try to get boots custom made. Someone posted this UK site a while back - www.duoofbath.com - which has boots in a large variety of calf sizes. Obviously this is expensive as well (shipping alone is £20.00) but it might be worth it.

Another trick that I use is wearing legwarmers underneath my boots. I scrunch them down to fill up the extra space. I live in NYC so this also serves to keep me warm so it might not help if she lives someplace more temperate.

dot · Marc Jacobs

I have no experience with skinny calves, but Sigerson seriously makes the skinniest boots in certain styles. I look at them and wonder if my arms would even fit.

halleybird · Hermes

Welcome to my life! Even those Steve Madden ones that fit everyone else were too small for me. Where I live, we only have about 2 months of boot weather, so I can't justify buying very expensive brands or paying another $50-$100 to get them taken in (plus, I don't think I've ever even SEEN a shoe cobbler in this city, and I've lived here my whole life).

I agree with cc, and also suggest:

-reading reviews on Zappos. I love that Zappos lists the calf circumfrence on a lot of their boots, and the reviewers will tell you if they run small.

-getting a good stretch leather, because they tend to be smaller. I have these from last year, and they breathe/feel/look just like real leather, but they're very skinny: http://www.zappos.com/n/p/p/7152493.html