The Black Ankle Boots Search

Today we're going to start at the bottom, with the feet, which is not a place where we normally start. I had been looking for a pair of black ankle boots for a long time. You would think this would be easy task, what with the vast amount of choice out there, but no. I can be particularly fussy when it comes to footwear, knowing exactly what I want and I became obsessive in the search for some reasonably priced black ankle boots. My criteria was a black leather ankle boot with a mid-height block heel in an almost sock boot shape. I find boots that hug the top of the ankle so flattering that I wasn't prepared to settle for anything looser. Of course, I have already found my perfect black ankle boots in the form of these lace-up beauties from By Far Shoes, but at €465, I'll have to save up a while for those!

Finally, after months of searching, I came across these ones from Zara. Although online it didn't look like they came up high enough on the ankle, at just £70 I thought I'd give them a go. I'm so glad I did because I just love them! They are the perfect height on the ankle, they hug the leg just how I wanted a pair of black ankle boots to and the heel is just the right height for walking around in all day. They are so comfy and £70 for some real leather boots is damn good.

Thanks to being so snug on the leg, these Zara boots look particularly good with skirts and dresses as well as cropped length trousers, such as these dungarees. There is the perfect gap between the top of the boots and the bottom of the dungarees which is so flattering. Plus, this is will look even better come warmer weather when I’m not wearing tights under everything and can actually flash a bit of ankle!

You've seen these blue denim dungarees countless times on here and over on Instagram, styled for both day and night as well as in both minimal looks and more seventies-inspired outfits, which its shape lends itself to so well. This cream knit with rainbow stripes on the shoulders is a genuine seventies piece that I picked up for super cheap because there’s a teeny hole on the front. I love how it looks layered under the dungarees, even if the straps interrupt the rainbow, I quite like that, and of course the dungarees hide the small hole! It’s funny because I had been looking for a retro rainbow jumper for so long and then I found two at once - this one and the navy turtleneck that I wore in my recent Bold In Paris post. Like buses, like rainbow knits, I guess!