About boots and 'bootcuts'

I have a confession to make: I absolutely looove thigh boots. I don't mean over the knee boots, I really mean the long ones, that look like leather leggings with shoes. But thigh boots are a bit risky: you don't want to end up looking like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. I like them worn in a classy, stylish way, with a pencil skirt or a dress.

Olivia Palermo wearing thigh boots in a perfect way

But beautiful and affordable thigh boots are very hard to find. Last season, I had a major crush on these beauties from Roland Mouret, but they were waaaay to expensive.

Roland Mouret thigh boots

Two years ago, I bought my first pair of long boots: a pair of black over the knee boots in an incredibly soft leather. They weren't exactly what I was looking for, but at that moment, they were 'the closest thing'. The problem is: I have very long legs. So the boots already were a bit short from the beginning. And because they were made of this very soft leather, they started to slip down very quickly and after a few times, they hardly covered my knees and I had to pull them up constantly. Result: my boots stayed in the box and that was a shame...

So I decided to take them to the 'shoe surgeon' and to turn them into ankle boots. And that was one of the best decisions I have recently made: now, I wear them constantly. I wear them so often, that I already had to take them to the cobbler for new heels.



Before...

... and after. Tadaaah! My 'new' ankle boots!

In the meantime, I met Pol Engels from Biography. This Antwerp based designer graduated from the Antwerp Fashion Academy alongside 'the Antwerp six' designers like Martin Margiela, Dries Van Noten and Ann Demeulemeester.  Over the years he also earned a solid reputation as Jan Fabres theatre costume maker. Pol is always in for a challenge, and because I couldn't find my ideal thigh boots, I asked him to design a pair for me. I sent him a picture of the Mouret boots as an inspiration. And after a couple of months, the big moment had come: last Sunday, I could go and pick up my custom made pair of thigh boots... and they are superb! They are so beautiful and sexy, but still classy, they fit like a glove, they are long enough and they are so comfortable! And last but not least: the price was very fair!

My custom made thigh boots by Pol Engels

Pol doesn't sell his shoes in stores (anymore), but you can order them on his Facebook page Engels-Strijbol Biography and in pop-up shops. In March or April, I will be organizing a Biography pop-up shop myself. I'll keep you posted!