Helloooo everyone and TGIF! As you all know from yesterday’s post, the arrival of autumn spells out big trouble for my bank account. A recent trip to Kohl’s and Target with my beloved mother left my wallet a little less fat but my wardrobe all of the better for it. Take a look at my new boots from the brand Candies, which Kohl’s offers, and let’s discuss:

First of all, in my defense – I haven’t bought myself a non ankle or combat style boot in literal years. The last time I bought actual knee high boots was on Valentine’s Day in 2015, so this purchase was a long time coming. Why, you might ask? The answer for a long hiatus between boot purchases, is that I actually have a really difficult time finding “actual” boots that I like. Why, you might ask? It’s not like I have a problem buying anything else! Lol, sigh. Let me explain. Ahem:

1. I have expensive taste. Sue me for it. The boots that I do happen to like are usually close to or above one hundred dollars. As much as I love shoes, I’m not comfortable spending that much.
2. This is a really personal preference when it comes to footwear, but I absolutely despise rubber soles on shoes. I’m well aware that many of the shoes featured on my If The Shoe Fits series has them and, believe me, I’m not thrilled about it. But rubber soles on boots are a bit of an eyesore for me, and I refuse to purchase ones with them.

In my perfect world, literally every heel or sole on a shoe would be covered with cloth or made with funky material like wood, cork, or see through plastic. However, I know that this is just not feasible, because rubber soles on boots during inclement weather is a nonnegotiable staple for obvious reasons. I realize that, but it doesn’t mean that I have to like it! Therefore, I’ve always avoided buying, and even looking at boots to purchase because it’s just too damn hard to find what I like for a price that I’m comfortable paying.

(This is the part where the world pauses for a second, because the boot world as I know it is about to change forever.)

Pre Mind Blown Monologue: I love the shoe department at Kohl’s. I would say that about forty percent of my shoes are from there, forty percent are from TJMaxx, and the remaining twenty percent is from other various locations. I think that Kohl’s has a fantastic selection of brands and styles and the prices are, for the most part, extremely reasonable thanks to sales and coupons. While browsing through the shoe selection, I wasn’t really anticipating buying anything until…

MIND BLOWN.

My leisurely amble through the shoe department led me to my new boots from Candies. Guys…It really was love at first sight. These boots had EVERYTHING that’s important to me in my “Buying Boots Guidelines”:

• Must be black
• Must be at least knee high (These go up to the lower part of my thigh.)
• Must be made from non-animal materials (These are pseudo-suede and man made.)
• Must be heeled
• Must not have a rubber sole

These Candies boots checked off literally every single thing on my Buying Boots Guidelines. Not only that, but I got these babies that were originally about one hundred dollars for sixty bucks. Fifty to sixty dollars is my cut off point when it comes to buying anything, but I prefer to stay well under that. However, because I own a whole two other pairs of boots, one pair that is two and a half years old and another that is four years old, I was okay with spending up to my price limit. This doesn’t happen very often, but it really has been a while since I found a pair of boots worth buying and I realize that around sixty dollars is very decent for a new pair of such high quality.

What I love about these boots, aside from the jet black color, CLOTH COVERED HEEL, and cruelty free material, is the length. I’ve never owned an above the knee pair of boots before and, I say this very rarely, but these boots made me feel sexy. These babies hit solidly at my lower thigh but are shorter than mid-thigh. I’ve always wanted a high, heeled pair of boots but never found one that I liked so much until now.

These boots made me feel good. Sexy is a look that is never a priority when it comes to how I dress but, man, I felt it in these shoes and it was definitely a new feeling – but I liked it. I was wearing a mustard yellow maxi dress and a moto jacket when I tried these on and I loved how I looked. These boots were edgy and cool but they gave off a glam and sultry vibe because of their length and, I don’t know…I felt good in them.

Another plus to these boots is their shape. They’re form fitting without being skin tight, but they have just enough slouch to give them edge as opposed to more sex appeal. Had they not had that extra give, I don’t know how comfortable I would have been in them.

Of course I’m looking forward to pairing these with one of my many black skinny jeans from my black skinny jeans collection for a sleek silhouette, but I never thought to pair boots like these with a maxi dress. I absolutely loved it and I genuinely can’t wait to style these with maxi and knee length dresses in the fall. And a cool moto or distressed jean jacket is a definite must with these bad boys, too!

I realize that I just wrote a freaking novella on these boots but I just couldn’t help it. I’m really happy with this purchase and they are going to look absolutely stunning with my new coat from yesterday’s post, to boot! (AYYY, see what I did there?!) 😉

So there you have it, the newest issue of If The Shoe Fits: Candies Edition! How would you style these boots? What are your own guidelines for boot shopping? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah