Fictional Reader Mail (and a Real One!!)

First up, the real one. The lovely Bec writes:
Shoegal, my work ankle boots are nearing the end of their life and so I need some comfortable hardwearing shoes that I can wear socks with (my feet aren't built for the Northern climate), what would you recommend?Shoe-shy of Guiseley

If you take a look at her excellent blog, you will see that she is trying to live ethically and this therefore rules out many of the stores I would immediately go to. However, not one to be easily deterred, I have still come up with some ideas.

Dear Shoe-shy
I know you work in the city centre and this involves walking a fair bit so you won’t want much of a heel. (I would advise a small heel as opposed to flats though as this will make the footwear look more professional.) As I am not sure of your budget, I have kept my recommendations to around £50. Mary-Janes are huge at the moment and this pair from Clarks have a fairly low heel:

In a lovely shade of burgundy (because you don’t have to stick to black), they are £39.99.

Sticking with Clarks, if you want to replace your boots with more boots, there are a couple of options:

£39.99
£44.99

A knee high boot is a versatile option, perfect for keeping the rain out (and we get a lot of that in the North!). They can be worn with skirts or trousers and always look smart. This pair is from Marks & Spencer and at £65.00 they are excellent value for leather boots.

Turning to Shoewawa for inspiration, I recommend you try Beyond Skin for ethically produced shoes. They are not harmful either animals or humans and their footwear is produced in England. However, you will be paying a price for the ethics, as many of the styles are around £150.
Shoegal

And now for the questions taken from the referals page of my stat counter:

Are brown tights with cream shoes OK?
As long as the tights are not too dark a brown, and there is cream somewhere else in the outfit then yes. However, I don’t think cream shoes are really the best choice for the autumn winter season. Couldn’t you go with brown shoes and cream tights instead?



Where can I buy suits for tall gals?
My favourite sites are Long Tall Sally and Tall Girls. Miory also has some lovely suits in long lengths. Check out any of the links in my ‘Shops I Love’ section.



What outfits go with grey tights?
Loads of things! My favourite at the moment is a denim skirt and grey sweater with boots. Grey is a great alternative to black and will go with practically any colour so have some fun and experiment! Whatever you put with it, you’ll be bang on trend as grey is a hot colour this season.



Is it OK to wear nothing over leggings?
No, absolutely not! It is never OK to wear any trouser garment with nothing on top. But for the purposes of this reply I shall assume you mean ‘is it OK to wear leggings without a dress or tunic over them, just with a regular top?’ In which case, my answer would be: No, absolutely not! Leggings are supposed to be an alternative to tights and you wouldn’t wear just your tights as your lower garment, I hope. So stick to putting a mini skirt, tunic or dress over those leggings and you will continue to look fab.



Can I wear brown shoes with black tights?
Yes, so long as you are wearing something else brown and something else black in the outfit. It used to be considered a huge fashion faux pas to wear brown and black together, but the rules have changed in the last few years and I think it looks quite chic. However, you should never wear a brown outfit with brown shoes and black tights: people will think you got dressed in the dark and took the wrong pair of tights out of the drawer.