A Discussion on Open Toed Booties and Romans

One of my favorite friends Michelle (of the VP post fame) sent me this charming cartoon from Natalie Dee:

With it, she asked

Michelle: Louise, how do you feel about open toed booties?

Which led to an afternoon of emails back and forth.  Enjoy.

Louise: I love them!  Well, I love peep toe pumps, and since open toed boots are their cousins, I like them too.  I think the peek a boo is sexy, much like cut aways in shirts or dresses.  Sexy in a non threatening, not too revealing kind of way, which is the best kind of sexy in my book.

Michelle: Sexy? Perhaps. However, I generally associate boots with cold weather. At least with a cut-out shirt or dress, you can throw a jacket on, but they do not make jackets for your booties, and even if they did, that’d be weird.

Louise: As much as I love the image of jackets for your booties, I agree, there is the weather problem.  And yet I think the weather problem is purely in terms of precipitation, not temperature.

For instance, you wear sneakers year round, but probably not the same pair.  You have sneakers for running, sneakers for fun adventures, sneakers you only wear when it’s hot out, etc.  Why not have boots that function the same way?  Like sneakers, the boot covers your whole foot, and some boots are better for cold weather and some boots are better for going out dancing.  The open toed bootie is great in spring, fall, warmer days, cooler days, and any day in between where you want to look fabulous and give your height a boost.  I would not wear them in rain, however-  I would wear my rain boots and bring my booties to work.

Michelle: I find this difficult to counter, so I will conclude by saying that open-toed booties remind me of a fawn’s feet.

Moving onto the asymmetrical, draped dress, what are your thoughts? Let’s not take Natalie Dee’s version too seriously and just go with the basic concept.

Louise: With the dress I think she might have better argument.  There are many horrific orange colors out there, and you have to be so careful with the draping of anything.  In addition, asymmetrical cuts often remind me of the awful handkerchief dresses from the 90s, which need to remain burned.

That being said, they aren’t all horrible.  Draping is often very flattering, if you shop carefully, and I’ve seen some really pretty asymmetrical dresses recently.  They are eye catching with that unusual hem, and in heels (or open toed booties), they make your legs look like sky scrapers.  The dirty orange isn’t the worst color either.  It looks much better on us pale folks than bright orange.

Michelle: First, to say that something should “remain burned” implies that becoming unburned is an option. So I am now imagining a handkerchief dress rising from the ashes, like a phoenix. If this ever happened, we would have to warmly welcome back the handkerchief dress trend, lest we offend the gods.

I like drapey dresses quite a bit, as long as the draping is simple and doesn’t require maintenance while you wear it (‘darn that sash, it won’t stay where I put it! oh my folds look a mess!’). Additionally, if it is any day other than Halloween, I would advocate for not looking like a slutty Roman.

As for oranges, I like a nice dark orange in the fall…although anything that can be considered “orange doodoo color” should perhaps be reconsidered.

And I would like to add that Natalie Dee is a genius. Open-toe booties or no open-toe booties – I would opt for leggings and a wolf t-shirt any day.

Louise: Agreed.  So long as it is unlawful to look like a slutty Roman at all times.  Even on Halloween.