Monday, September 24, 2007

Fall Trends: What To Wear With Booties & The Like

Okay. The other day, FashionBinge reader JP remarked:

"Those shoes... with what would you wear those? Skirt? Dress? Pants? Jeans? Please enlighten the unfashionable."

The shoes to which she was referring are these Salvador Sapenas from Asos.com:

Now, first, JP, there's no possible WAY you could be unfashionable because YOU READ FASHIONBINGE! But, I understand that naked feeling that comes with loving a shoe but having NO idea what to wear with it and just ruing your fucking abs for not being tight enough to allow you to wear JUST the shoes alone.

So... my take on what to wear with booties (and bootie-alikes, because the aforeblogged aren't technically booties, but whatever...)

1.) Skinny jeans or slim, fitted cigarette-style pants.

2.) A black skirt between mini- and pencil-length with thick black tights: NOT pantyhose, please, God, no. Not pantyhose. Unless you are well over 5'9". Nothing makes one look shorter than "stumpifying" oneself by wearing a dark mini, exposing lotsa flesh via pantyhose and then sealing the deal with some ankle-swallowing booties. GAH!

3.) Slightly baggy pants, i.e: menswear trousers that we're seeing a lotta. PLEASE don't mistake wide-legged pants (which so often suck) for BAGGY menswear trousers.


For instance...

OBNOXIOUSLY WIDE-LEGGED:
Lovely on Katie, maybe not on you...


UNDERSTANDABLY WIDE-LEGGED:
($285, Diane von Furstenberg, Nordstrom)
There's some flare here, but you're not swimming. I definitely wouldn't go any wider than these with a bootie.


($59, Gap)
As boring as the Gap can be, this is what I'm talking about. Roomy, but not so wide that you can sneak someone into the movies with you.



($325, Diane von Furstenberg, Nordstrom)
Now, DVF's "Gavin" pants are theoretically great, but are they bootie-friendly? No. See, I threw that in there just to see if you were paying attention...



($178, Diane von Furstenberg, Dianiboutique.com)
JUST the right amount of slouch! LOVE these! And the cummerbund is perfect for the tucking in of a button-down, or hiding a Bordeaux belly.



($135, J.Crew)
First of all, NOOOOOOO to the navy shade shown here (the black isn't bad though) and DOUBLE no to the cuff. I'm just posting these to point out that the overall shape is nice. The fact that these are available in red makes me wanna stick my head under my pillow and cry all season.


Okay... next... skirts....
($555, Herve Leger, Intermix)
Granted, this skirt is gorgeous, the only way Herve Leger should justify charging this much is if he held the patent on pencil skirt, which I'm fairly certain he does not. Regardless, this is a beautiful staple for every season, especially Menswear Mania of Fall 2007, and it ain't hard to find a lookalike for a tenth of the price. Anyway, the bootie is parFAIT with such a skirt, y'all, though you can't deny the hawtness of a stiletto or a solid-colored pump with a 2"+ heel, dig?



($264, Robert Rodriguez, eLuxury)
Just a few inches higher, and this skirt would be practically perfs.



($78, Gap)
Dudes, high-waisted black skirt + BLACK tights, and your legs are SOOOOOOO long it's practically wrong!


($15, American Apparel, Yque.com)
Okay, the fact that this is described as cotton and "spandex" and "skorts" IS slightly scary, but the cut's the thing here -- yes, this piece is super short, but you automatically de-sluttify when you pair your booties with covered-up black tights. It sorta says "Yes, I can be slutty... but not right now. No... never that. Not now at least. But I'll call you."



SKINNIES!
You can never been too skinny, right? Hellloooo... we're called Fashion BINGE, so we oughta know... seriously though... I'm curvy and have found I can pull off skinny jeans -- all about the comfy low-rise... And with a tunic, you can totes hide your unfavorite "prob areas," even though they're probably not really much of a problem at all. Anyway, let's look at some top skinny pants to wear with booties, kay? The rule of thumb is... the darker and longer the better...


($325, Ralph Lauren Black Label)
Love the scrunch and the monochromage here. Makes the booty super sexy and the star of the show, y'all. Don't love the price, but you KNOWS I found the good shit for you...



($59, DKNY, Macys)
Deliciously dark!



($69, Dereon, Macys)
Tina Knowles has given us PLENTY of reasons to NOT take her seriously as a designer, but these skinny jeans are fantastic. The contrast stitching on the seams: very smart.



($29, Forever 21)
I can't even get into how awkward these feet and sandals are making me feel, but I do love these jeans.


($36, Wet Seal)
I'd have to see this so-called "coating" in person, but from here, these look nice, especially for that price.


Finally...
($387, Luella, Net-a-porter.com)
I think much more than a body, you gotta have balls to wear leather pants. No... wait... yeah... mainly, you just have to have huge balls to wear leather pants. While I usually have a strong pair, I don't know if leather pants-wearing is in my wheelhouse, but if I had to wear a pair, I'd make 'em these. And see??? GREY BOOTIES!

Byeskies!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love this post! Please continue to help us, the fashion-retarded.

Mary-Kate Hopkinson said...

uh, yeah, i'm gonna have to disagree with the shiny wet seal skinny pants for anyone larger than a size negative four. i agree with the skirts-and-tights and skinny pants recs, though. the only problem is: HOW do you know whether or not the tights you purchase are truly going to be "opaque" or not??? i submit that you cannot know. discuss.

JennyPf said...

It's confusing that there's another FB reader named JP. :/ But like the other JP, I appreciate the call of the bootie.

Lindsay said...

your blog makes life better. thank you for the fashion advice while cracking me up in my little desk chair.

Anonymous said...

You guys made my night! Thanks ever so much for responding to my question in such detail. I am now less unfashionable ;-)

Anonymous said...

Just found you here! Great blog and great post - though I really don't like the Wet Seal pants either, and leather, in my opinion, is always wrong unless worn soft, very expensive and very classically tailored. In fact, if anyone can point me toward a nice, knee-length, pleated leather skirt for the office I'll be eternally grateful...

Unknown said...

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!

Nicola said...

Thank you for this post! I am new at this whole "being fashionable" thing and am trying a few new looks. I recently purchased these really cute medium brown ankle boots but have NO idea what to wear with them! Help!!

Nicola said...

Thank you for this post! I have recently tried to change my look a bit and be more fashionable. I bought these really cute medium brown ankle boots but have NO idea what to wear them with! Please help!

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