Things we love – riding boots

I’ll be honest – I don’t really need your help to know if I love these:

Frye Paige Riding Boot from here

Because I do. And so does my friend Emily. (Hi Emily!!) But try as I might last year I just couldn’t shove my high-arched foot down into them without a zipper. Here’s hoping Emily has more luck!!

But every girl should own at least one pair of riding boots. (Or two pairs. Or ten pairs. There’s no judgment here.) So here are some of the ones I’m lusting after this year:

Enzo Angiolini Porcelain Boot

Hooray for a side zipper! And I know a lot of you (*cough* Emily *cough*) aren’t sure about a gray riding boot, but I think you’d be surprised how versatile gray can be. Especially this color which is more of a brownish-gray anyway.

Lucky Brand Andrea Boot

Now I am usually anti-black riding boot. I always think they look too much like heavy motorcycle boots. And heavy-looking boots equal heavy-looking calves. And no woman wants that. But I actually think these black boots might work because they have just enough western detailing in the buckles, stitching and soles to avoid any Hells Angels overtones.

Enzo Angiolini Dame Boot

Normally I like my riding boots like I like my college football uniforms – simple, traditional and not all junked-up with a lot of superfluous (fancy word of the day!) embellishments. But despite the fact that these buckles might be the boot equivalent of the stupid stickers teams like Ohio State and FSU put on their helmets, I can’t help but love them anyway.

Indigo by Clarks Leslie Sharon Boot

And here’s the Alabama/Penn State version of the boot above – simple, classic and will be in style forever.

And just in case I miraculously develop skinny calves and flat arches this Fall:

Frye Melissa Button Boot

Sigh.

So that’s my riding boot wish list for 2011 (so far anyway – I reserve the right to add to/amend this list at anytime over the next few months). I’m not even going to put a Do We Love It poll at the bottom of this post because if you don’t love riding boots you might be dead to me.

PS – this is just the first of many, many boot posts to come so prepare yourselves. Boot season: it’s the most wonderful time of the year.