Please help me grasp at the last threads of my fading youth

November 20, 2007 9:08 AM

I'm looking for a pair of boots that I've wanted since 1988: Black leather 10-strap winkle pickers. The thing is, I've found them--but I don't want to buy them from the UK. NOT UKist

The reason why I want to buy them in the US--either online or in a brick and mortar store within the NYC vicinity--is because I have difficulty finding boots that fit over my calves. I want to be able to return them without having to pay a buttload of money.

But I can't find them anywhere outside of the UK (or Germany), and I'm a pretty adept googler. The closest I came was a store in PA (can't find the URL now) that used to carry them, but alas, no more. I've noticed this season that high boots with buckles seem to be in style, but I haven't come across anything I really like.

I'd be cool with a pair of boots that meets some if not all of my criteria. Here they are in order of importance: 1) Black leather 2) Multiple straps with buckles 3) pointy toes (aka winkle pickers or pikes) 4) low(er) heels 5) mid-calf height. (Oh, and also, I don't want the nu-goth style boots with giant platform heels; I'm already too old for the ones I want--nevermind those.)

This is an incredibly specific and possibly quixotic plea, and I'm willing to accept that my demands are impossible. If so, can anyone recommend a good US shoe store that carries different styles of winkle pickers?

posted by veronica sawyer to clothing, beauty, & fashion (9 answers total)

Possibly useful, it sounds like custom might be the way to go.
posted by rhizome at 9:43 AM on November 20, 2007

This pair seems to meet most of your criteria.

Other, more distant, possibilites are: these, these, or these; there's also this pair, which is labeled "wide calf" (if that's your hard-to-fit problem).
posted by bassjump at 9:49 AM on November 20, 2007

...you could just measure your calves, the boots have a max circumference of 35cm for the ladies boot - if your calf is narrower than that at its widest point - they should fit.... unless you have really oddly shaped calves.
Where-ever you get them from, it would save a lot of hassle to know your calf measurement.
posted by missmagenta at 10:12 AM on November 20, 2007

I'll be damned, bassjump, those Dollhouse boots are really close. I swear they must be new to Zappos because I just checked last week and didn't see them. Good find. I wish the buckles were silver instead of gold. (I know, I'm an ingrate.)
posted by veronica sawyer at 11:57 AM on November 20, 2007

(I would very much like to thank you for adding winkle picker to my vocabulary. Good luck finding the boots.)
posted by mumkin at 11:59 AM on November 20, 2007

measure your calves and contact the vendor with the measurements - get them to confirm if the boots will fit you or not!
posted by koahiatamadl at 1:56 PM on November 20, 2007

Pennangalan are marvelous to deal with. I can understand why you don't want to have to pay shipping both ways if the fit is off (as they point out, the shipping is expensive), but if you contact them about measurements, maybe you can work out if they'll fit.
posted by crush-onastick at 2:12 PM on November 20, 2007

My calves measure about 36.5 cm, which isn't really all that wide--but somehow the shape of my legs makes it hard to fit into boots. (One time I forced a boot zipper all the way up and had to get pried out by the salesperson. Never again.) Even though the 10-strap boots are 35 cm max, I'd be willing to take the risk of ordering them and having to send them back--just not a $50 overseas risk.
posted by veronica sawyer at 3:32 PM on November 20, 2007

Oh, and thank you for your answers!
posted by veronica sawyer at 5:38 PM on November 20, 2007