JCrew Collection Calf Hair Metro Boots

Sizing: TTS

Quality: well-made, leather everything. Calf hair is terrific quality and I ordered two pair out of risk-aversion; both have perfectly matched patterns.

Pros: great pointy toe, supportive heel, albeit slim, easy on and off. They definitely look expensive and feel we-made.

Cons: takes a lot of guts to wear pointy cheetah print boots. Fashion victim?

Styling: I definitely see these working with black leather leggings, camel coloured pants, skirts and also dress pants.

They are definitely va va voom. My casual styling choice would be a standard creme chunky cardi, white/cream tee, black leather leggings and these shoes. 

To dress up, a camel coloured sweater dress (cashmere or cable) or with skinny dressy jeans and camel topcoat.

Don't wear anything else cheetah on when approaching these shoes.

In artificial light, last night.

Low light in my room this winter morning.

Covered seams with a velvet ribbon.

Still the natural light in my room, but angle makes a difference.

Your thoughts, sil vous plait?

(And we'll talk about that coat in just a minute...)

Calf hair oxfords

Sizing: these are TTS. If you wear them without socks a half size down will also work well. Online reviews said they were huge, so I ordered with an assurance of returning one size. I put the size 6 sole-to-sole with my 2013 monk strap oxfords  in size 6, and found them to be identical.

These shoes are well-made. Some pairs in calf hair inevitably don't match right - that's a pet peeve for me. That was the case with the 5.5, where one foot was darker and the pattern was off. The six is perfect. They are beautiful and don't feel OTT to me. I think they're keepers - but I do have a gazillion calf hair shoes.

The 5.5 size is pictured here, with the slight differences in shade and pattern

I think the shading is like what's pictured in the Xmas catalogue though.

The two-coloured pair

Suede Bartlett boots

Sizing: TTS. I bought my usual size 6.

Pros: made of supple soft suede. Feels silky to the touch. Trendy heel

Cons: upper is too soft for my taste (can wrinkle upon wearing) and the nose of the shoe is unimpressive. 

Returned.

Block heel like go go boots

J Crew Studded Lace Up Gladiator Sandal, 6

Colour: bright gold

Pros: comfortable, thick sole, easy to put on (you need only adjust the laces once, and subsequently work to tie up the loose ends alone), lovely mirror metallic gold; gives a true gladiator vibe.

Cons: no cushioning in the insole. 

Sizing: TTS

Verdict: definite keepers. The gold is delicate and not at all OTT or cheap. They are delicate but sturdy and look beautiful with pants and maxis, alike. Total keepers.