High arches, low spirits.

September 19, 2012 9:00 AM

I love the look of Frye Veronica Slouch boots. I cannot get my high-arched foot into a Frye Veronica Slouch boot. I am sad. What (high quality, brown leather, made to last, damn sexy) boot can you recommend with a similar look that can accommodate my arches?
posted by lizifer to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (9 answers total)

What aspect of the boots make them impossible for you to wear? Is it the lack of side zipper, or is it something else?
posted by elizardbits at 9:02 AM on September 19, 2012

Response by poster: It's to do with the narrowness of the ankle, I think. I've owned and loved these pull-on Frye Campus boots, so I know it's possible to find a pull-on, no-zipper, knee-high boot that I can get my foot into. I'm looking for something that has no zipper, comes as close to the Veronica Slouch as possible in style and quality, and has a slightly wider ankle.
posted by lizifer at 9:13 AM on September 19, 2012

There is a wide calf version of the Veronica. It's probably a little wider in the ankle too, although the calf might be too big for you.
posted by kimdog at 9:49 AM on September 19, 2012

I've had similar problems with the Veronica. Are they properly broken in? Do you point your toe when pulling it on? Do you always unbuckled it before putting it on? Sound like stupid questions, I guess, but they are nice boots and it would be shame to not try everything.
posted by pickypicky at 9:53 AM on September 19, 2012

Are you *sure* you can't get into them?

The reason I ask is that I have a pair of Frye men's boots. The first day I got them I spent literally half an hour pushing and pulling and bending the boot trying to get my foot inside. I was all set to send them back. The good news is you will break them in over time, and (if they're like mine) once you actually get your foot inside they will fit great.
posted by drjimmy11 at 11:17 AM on September 19, 2012

Is the slouch boot equipped with a loop for a boothook? Along with a bootjack, boot hooks are necessary equipment for English-style equestrians with tall boots. IME, you only *need* hooks for a tall boot, equestrian or not, during the first year or so until the leather gets properly broken in.

I'd recommend tall boots as an alternative, but they tend to be shiny and the slouch boots you linked are distressed. Heh. I guess you could always ask a local rider to chuck them in a tack trunk for you and carry them around for a few weeks. That always distresses my boots sufficiently to make me swear a lot while polishing them.
posted by Concolora at 11:46 AM on September 19, 2012

I bet you could have the instep stretched a bit by a cobbler.

By the way, I have skinny little feet without a lot of height to the arch or instep, and I had to go up a full size for the Veronica Slouch compared to my other Frye boots. They're sized inconsistently with the rest of the line.
posted by padraigin at 1:14 PM on September 19, 2012

You probably don't want to do this to such nice/expensive boots, but as a fellow lady with high arches, i've had success by taking the boots to a shoe repair place and have them insert a zipper. (You need to be able to at least get the shoes on once to tell if they fit for that approach, though!)
posted by Kololo at 3:12 PM on September 19, 2012

Not a boot suggestion, but if it makes you feel better, I have the Veronica boots and they hurt my feet something awful. Of course I still wear them, but I need to have three bandaids at the ready to avoid a day of misery.

And so I'm not totally useless, here is a Steve Madden boot that looks very similar.
posted by missjenny at 10:59 AM on September 20, 2012