Boots on Parade.

I must confess, I have a total boot fetish.  I think they are the most fabulous clothing item since the prehistoric loincloth! I see a beautiful pair of boots and I become short-breathed and tingly inside.  Thank goodness I have quite the eye for absurd bargains via thrift stores and estate sales!

Here are some of my own private boots that I am so proud of (that I'm parading them like 4 year old beauty queens)...

This is one of my favorite all-time finds. I found this pair of vintage Frye boots in mint condition at an estate sale here in Alabama. The greatest part- I spent all of $3 on them! They're in need of some polishing now (note the little scuff mark on the left toe, how embarrassing), but I am so deeply proud of this pair.  I've searched all across the Internet to try to put a date on these.  I'm guessing they're from the 1960s-1970s.  They predate the double F on the outside of the boot.  The inside has a gold stamp in the sole that says "FRYE de luxe" and the side of the inside is stamped in black: 7 1/2B ISI6039 FRYE 219 Authentic." Ahhhh, love.

This is a sentimental pair of boots.  They belonged to my grandfather, a true New York cowboy--fashion designer, manufacturer, horse and dog breeder, New Yorker, transplant Alabamian.  He was a tiny guy, only wearing a 9B shoe size.  I like to wear my cowboy boots big (it just feels right), so this is the pair I claimed when he passed.  The shoemaker has made no stamp other than the size and a few measurement marks (in pencil) and a stamp of the date they were completed-JUL 25 1983.  I only wear these a few times a year, and they still smell like my Grand Joe's  boot closet.

These are my new hot rock boots that I simply can't take off! They're Stuart Weitzman, and, I'll admit, cost more than I should have spent...but I had been dreaming of them for weeks (yes, really dreaming about them).  And they were 50% off.  They have definitely paid off.  I feel super sexy in them, look super tall in them, and guys think they're the hottest thing since sliced bread.  (Okay, I don't really know when guys thought sliced bread was hot, but it must have been a really long time ago because I've never really heard it, thus rending these boots the hottest thing of the century!!)

These are my first keep-'em-forever-worthy boots I ever bought.   It was December of 2002 and I had just moved to London with a pair of Chucks, a pair of black strappy stilettos, and nothing more (shoewise).  In a pedestrian city filled with snow, I needed a flat pair of boots.  I stopped in a random store in Richmond that was having a sale, and my absurdly great shoe fortune began.  These are made by Dick Boons.  I've never come across them anywhere else (or even on the Internet so far).  They are the most comfortable shoes over.  The shape, sole, color, buckle (Oh, the buckle...), and even the stitching are so sleek.  I've worn these babies to hell in a handbasket and back, and while they have scuffs, waterstains, and more, they could never be more perfect.

These are my most recent addition--a pair of barely worn Tod's boots.  They're too new to me to have any great stories, but I'll add they were a thrift store find and cost $4.  I'm considering selling them on eBay, but they're so streamlined! Hmmm....

These are another estate sale find.  They really are that worn out.  They're my prerequisite one and a half sizes too big.  I loved the color and the extremely squared toe and the piping is a nice touch.

I bought these amazing vintage English boots for my husband on his birthday this year.  He, too, is a bit of a boot collector.  We got them from this fabulous lady, Debbie Jackola at ShoeConsignOnline.com.  She was a pleasure to work with and we recommend her to anyone!