Boots

Shaft Height and the Opening Your Calf Needs

Shaft height tells you where a boot ends on your leg, and the top opening tells you whether your leg gets that far. A good listing for a tall boot gives you each number, the shaft height and the opening measured around the top. Run a soft tape around your calf at its thickest point, over the jeans or tights you plan to wear, and compare that number with the opening, not with your shoe size. Short western boots are a different case. Shafts of 9 to 10.5 inches are typical for them, and they end below the point where most calves widen, so the opening rarely decides anything and the hemline does: a shaft that short is cut to be seen under a dress or a cuffed jean.

How Pull On, Zip and Lace Up Boots Fit

How a boot opens decides how exactly it has to fit. A pull on cowboy boot or a chelsea has neither zipper nor laces, so the instep does all the holding, and the first day's fit is the fit you live with, since a man-made upper gives far less than a hide does. A pull on boot should resist a little as your foot goes in and then sit snug over the instep, and a small lift at the heel while it is new is normal. A side zipper removes that struggle, which is why knee high, slouchy mid calf and combat boots so often carry one. On a lace up combat the zipper is the door and the laces are the adjustment, so tie them to your foot once and leave them tied. Many boots come in half sizes only up to 9 and whole sizes beyond, so if you wear a 9.5, take the 10 and add a thicker sock or an insole: extra room can be filled, and a tight man-made boot cannot be stretched.

What Faux Suede and Faux Leather Do in Bad Weather

Faux leather and faux suede, the main man-made surfaces, behave differently when the weather turns. Faux leather has a sealed face that sheds a shower and comes clean under a damp cloth, while the nap of faux suede holds on to water marks and road salt until it dries and can be brushed out. Neither one is waterproof unless the listing says so, because water gets in at the seams and the zipper long before it gets through the surface. A snow boot sold as waterproof usually pairs a quilted nylon shaft with a toggle at the top that closes the gap where snow gets in. Whatever gets wet, dry it slowly at room temperature with paper stuffed inside, since direct heat is hard on the glues and coatings a man-made boot depends on.

Start with where you want the shaft to end, check the opening if it is a tall boot, and let the entry tell you how exact the size has to be. If what you want is the height without a shaft around it, the heels are one shelf over, and everything from sneakers to work clogs sits under Shoes.