These Boots are made for walking (even in the snow)

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A lot of fashion trends don’t quite make it to Maine.

For instance, how many women do you see teetering around Bangor in Manolo Blahnik stilettos? All your friends say they have leather pants, but how many people have you actually seen wearing them? And while most of us could use a “Moulin Rouge”-style corset, especially after a late-night breakfast run to Dysart’s, they weren’t exactly crowding the racks at the mall this fall.

But this season is different. Winter’s hottest accessory was custom-made for Maine and it’s the perfect blend of fashion and function.

“Boots have been totally in this year,” said Valerie Steele, curator for the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. “Since they entered into the fashion repertoire in the late 1960s, they have come in and out with hemlines. This year we’re having a big boot year.”

There’s no shortage of styles to choose from. In addition to the standard black leather knee boot, shoe stores are packed with ankle boots, booties, high heels, flat heels, narrow heels, chunky heels, wooden heels, rubber heels, suede, leather, pleather, fur, tweed and rubber in shades of burgundy, red, camel, chocolate and winter white. With all these options, it’s hard to choose the right boot, and even harder to decide what to wear with it.

“Primarily, it’s about getting a nice leather boot,” Suze Yalof Schwartz, executive fashion director at Glamour magazine, said by phone. “This is the best season ever for boots because all the designers at every price point are doing the same boot.”

That means you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get the look you’re after. No matter where you shop, you’re bound to find boots that look identical with vastly different price tags. So you can invest in something with staying power – a pair of tight black or camel knee boots with a substantial heel – and still have enough left over to try out some of this season’s more daring looks.

Schwartz said pointed-toe boots with a lower, shapely Sabrina heel are popular, as are black “platypus” boots with an aerodynamic-looking molded rubber heel. Pastel tweed styles are starting to show up, but they haven’t made it here yet. And in New York, Schwartz has seen people wearing a striking combination – big, furry apres-ski boots with dresses.

“As far as being in a very cold climate … they are fashion right now,” she said.

We live in an area where people wear L.L. Bean boots under evening gowns, so this shouldn’t seem like too much of a stretch. If you have a pair kicking around in the closet somewhere – and you know you do, especially if you were around in the ’70s – dust them off.

“You could probably save money this season,” Schwartz said, laughing.

You could also save money if you skip the pointy booties that have crept into the stores this season.

“It’s a little ’80s and it’s a little over,” Schwartz said.

Ditto for the bright colors.

“Color is really hard to wear,” Schwartz said. “If there was color, it was camel and burgundy.”

Black is as popular as ever, however – especially in more traditional styles. In Maine, tight leather knee boots are still the top seller. Younger shoppers favor a tight boot with a high, chunky heel, while professional women prefer a more tailored style with a narrow, high heel.

“These are worn more for fashion and not function,” said Kathryn Knight-Wise, general manager of Filene’s in Bangor.

Shorter boots that come to the mid-ankle are practical and fashionable. Just don’t wear them with a skirt.

“I love ankle boots, but I think they’re best worn with pants,” Schwartz said. “I – and I’m speaking for Glamour – think high-heeled ankle boots look sleazy with short skirts.”

But tall boots are different. Even though they cover more, there’s something sexy and stylish about them, especially if there’s a bit of bare leg peeking out at the knee.

“Most people find boots attractive,” Steele said. “They lead your eye up the leg.”

Boots have long been associated with sex and power, Steele said. The fashion historian, who published “Fetish: Fashion, Sex and Power” in 1996, said that in the early 1900s the only women who wore boots were gardeners, equestriennes, and dominatrixes.

“Even as late as the 1960s, it wasn’t seen as appropriate to go walking down a city street in your boots unless it was raining,” Steele said. “From the 1920s on, the females most associated with boots were prostitutes.”

Go-go boots changed all that. Now, it’s perfectly acceptable for women of any repute to walk around town in knee-high lace-up boots. But while boots no longer carry such heavy sexual connotations, they do still foster a sense of power.

“The history of boots goes way back,” Steele said. “Traditionally, they’re associated with soldiers marching. Boots are associated with strength, and that makes sense, because they protect you.”

Here, we soldier on against the elements. And while boots protect us from the cold and snow, we need to protect them, too. The most effective way to keep your boots looking new is to apply a silicon-based waterproofer before you wear them. Be sure to wipe them off as soon as you get inside. If you don’t, you’ll need to buy salt-stain remover, which will eliminate those unsightly white stains that creep up the bottom of your boots. And if your boots get wet inside, use a boot tree to dry them out. Don’t stuff them with paper.

“The worst thing in the world is to put newspaper in the boot because newspaper holds moisture,” said Red Fowler, who owns Yankee Shoe Repair in Bangor.

Like every other trend in fashion, boots are cyclical. If you take good care of them, you’ll be able to throw them in the back of your closet and dig them out again in a few years, when they’re back in style.

“Put your boots away, because in a couple seasons down the line, they’ll start to look hip again,” Steele said.

Editor’s Note: Special thanks to Filene’s in Bangor for lending us the boots for our photo shoot.

Glamour Dos and Don’ts

In the tradition of her magazine’s popular Dos and Don’ts column, Glamour’s executive fashion director, Suzanne Yalof Schwartz, offers tips for what to wear (and what not to wear) with this season’s hottest boot styles.

. Don’t wear high-heeled short boots with a skirt.

. Do wear high-heeled knee boots with a mini.

. Don’t wear bright colored boots with anything.

. Do save bright color for your clothing.

. Do wear a tight knee boot with a knee-length pencil skirt or A-line skirt.

. Do wear ankle boots with pants.

. Do invest in a pair of tight, knee-length, camel-colored boots with a substantial heel (“They look great with everything.”)