autumn

While we all trade our tank tops for sweaters and our shorts for jeans, we cannot forget to change our footwear, too. While it’s easy to overlook and emotionally painful to say goodbye to those super cute flats for a few months, wearing season appropriate shoes can up your style game- effortlessly!

When we dress for fall with in our favorite jeans, comfy sweater, and maybe a scarf or beanie or other seasonal accessory of choice, we are actively participating in the season. But, when the shoes are not right, it can make the outfit look mismatched. Obviously this extreme, but would you wear flip flops in the winter?? It’s all the same- out of season is just that.

Trading in flats for ankle booties puts the final touch to a fall outfit. There’s something about showing your feet that points towards spring and summer, and putting on a season appropriate equivalent of a flat takes that warm weather edge off of the outfit.

Ankle booties are just as comfortable as flats. Here, I’m wearing my most recent buy- a pair of suede American Eagle zipper ankle boots. While I usually prefer a pair with a small chunky heel, I thought these were super fun since they are suede, cheap, and feel like you’re wearing flats. The suede adds such a warm, autumn/winter feel to an outfit for me since it is a material rarely worn in the warmer seasons. So, this was a major draw when bootie shopping. Secondly, the price is awesome- $30! I found these in particular at a Payless shoe store, but AE.com or American Eagle stores have a really great variety of booties (ankle, mid calf, and knee high) for incredibly reasonable prices. And the best part- it feels like wearing regular flats. So, these are like a transition bootie, when you’re not quite ready to bid your flats farewell for awhile or not quite ready to embrace a typical leather boot.

My favorite thing about these is the zipper detail. The zipper on the outside is nonfunctional, purely for looks. But the zipper on the inside is fully functional, which makes it very easy to tuck your pants in over your socks. And even if you’re not into tucking in your pants, you can roll them up just a little above the top of the bootie, so you can still show off the zipper detail without tucking in. Or, wear them under pants so you don’t see the zipper, or even with a casual dress or skirt- with or without tights. These booties are so simple, which makes them incredibly versatile.

And even though they are simple, the metal of the zippers is enough to add to an outfit that is otherwise plain. I love wearing these with black skinny jeans and a black sweater. The metal breaks up the black on black on black, but is simple enough to keep the outfit minimalist chic.

In these photos, I’m wearing them with a comfy pair of skinny jeans from Forever 21 and a soft, slinky sweater from Aerie. It was a chilly day where I was, and the booties fit the sweater better than flats, tying in the two textured pieces but keeping them separate with the jeans. Fuzzy sweater, suede bootie, smooth denim- perfect!

Personally, I don’t think there is such a thing as too many ankle booties. You can have the basic versatile pair like these, a dressy pair with a heel, and a street friendly pair that’s more durable, usually leather, with a small chunky heel for support. They’ll all find their places in your closet, and they’ll take your fall fashion game to the next level without even trying.

Go ahead, find yourself a pair (or three) here.