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. The tall styles here list both: shafts from 11.5 to 16 inches, with openings between 14 and 16 inches around. Measure the fullest part of your calf over the jeans or tights you plan to wear, and compare that number with the opening, not with your shoe size. The short western boots are a different case. Several list shafts of 9 to 10.5 inches, which 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 no zipper and no laces, so the instep does all the holding, and the fit you feel on day one is the fit you keep, 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 the knee high, the slouchy mid calf and all three combat styles here have one. On the lace up combats the zipper is the door and the laces are the adjustment, so tie them to your foot once and leave them tied. Most pairs are made in half sizes 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

Every upper on this shelf is man-made, and the two main surfaces behave differently when the weather turns. Faux leather has a sealed face that sheds a shower and wipes clean with 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. One puffer snow boot here is listed as waterproof by its label, with a quilted nylon shaft, a faux fur lining and a toggle at the top that closes the gap where snow gets in. Whatever gets wet, let it dry at room temperature with paper 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.