There are fashion trends and there are fashion staples. Then there’s the place each season where staples take a trendy turn.
My favorite fall staple is the boot. I love the versatility of boots, as well as the variety. As I’ve often told my long-suffering and not-easily-swayed husband, it is simply not possible to have a single pair of boots. There’s black riding boots, brown riding boots, shooties, western boots, knee-high…the list goes on and on.
Boots can work a bit of fashion magic as well. They instantly increase the chic factor of any look. And, if you’ve got a collection of cute dresses, a few pairs of tights and a pair of boots, you’re pretty much set from a style standpoint for fall and winter.
For this fall, boot styles are all over the map, but a there’s strong movement from girly to masculine footwear. Distressed granny or motorcycle boots are super chic (for us children of the ’80s, think lace-up boots a la The Limited’s Outback Red).
And, of course, Goodwill is a great place to find vintage, authentically distressed footwear at a fab price. I stumbled upon these fantastic camel suede western boots at Goodwill last fall.
I don’t know what I was on the hunt for that day, but it certainly wasn’t boots. These bad boys called to me from across the store. I am certain it was shopping fate, since they fit me like a glove and cost only $3.49. No lie–when I wear these boots, I can count on being stopped at least once twice a day by someone inquiring about where I got them.
When you’re on the search for thrifted boots this fall, keep a few things in mind:
- Try to limit your search to natural products. Synthetic materials do not age as gracefully as leather or suede or even canvas.
- When in doubt, try on even if the shoe is marked smaller or larger than your normal size. Often pre-owned shoes are already broken-in and stretched a bit. If the fit is almost there, try adding shoe inserts from the drugstore to customize the fit a bit.
- Conversely, don’t force a fit. If the shoe doesn’t fit at Goodwill, it won’t fit at home (this applies to new shoes as well).
-Rachel Sutherland
Editor’s Note: This post was written by guest blogger and Goodwill shopper Rachel Sutherland. Stop by our Contributors page for more about Rachel.
Those are fabulous! Great find!
Lisa