I recently became obsessed about the idea of a red boot. Not sort of pink raspberry like the Dansko boots I have and love, but true red. To complicate matters is my 17 1/2" calves and the fact that I need a 100% man made boot, because I'm vegan. Then I found this model at one of the vegan on-line stores, but they weren't available in my size. A bit of searching later and I found them, in my size, at Amazon, and for cheaper.

( May I present the Sugar Guitar Hero Wedge boot? )

I'm trying to make a decision between to pairs of boots. One is from Torrid, one from LB. The ones from Torrid look like they'd be way more comfortable standing in for 8-9 hour days...but I'm a bit wary. I've been reading a lot of your posts about Torrid boots and most of them reassured me much about the quality...But, I don't mind spending the money to re-sole them if needed, because they'll last a lot longer after that anyway, I'd assume. But I was just wondering what youre opinions were. Here are the ones I'm considering, just for reference:

http://www.torrid.com/torrid/store/product.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302035992&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442183121&bmUID=1223684820159

http://www.lanebryant.com/pagebuilder/lane_bryant_product_page?pagesize=3&my_nav=apparel_accessories&cat=accessories_shoes&subcat=footwear&item=1684778

If any of you have either of these, I'd love to hear what you think of them!

Thanks!!!

I tried once before, and Duo Boots were out of my size. I'm looking for a basic black lace up boot. Sadly, I can't really pull off lacing up regular width boots, as my legs are just too big. Not out of this world, but I certainly don't like the look of barely laced up.
I hate the idea of the stretch insert that's in most pairs of wide calf boots. I am dead set on lace up.  I would prefer flats or small heel, but something modest wouldn't be too bad either. Please help.

(I would consider buying used if someone had something in a 10 they were willing to part with)

I wasn’t up to anything special on this gloomy afternoon, so I decided to play dress-up with some of the new clothes and shoes I got in the last week.

( Many images of size 12/13 shoes and boots and some dresses behind the cut. Also, many stupid dances and facial expressions, because lately no one even smiles in their OOTDs, and dressing up should be fun. )

Yesterday, I posted about my Torrid Hannah boots getting holes in them after about 15 wears over a 1 month period.

I sent them an email and got no reply, so I called them a few minutes ago because I'm impatient and because the heels are so worn down at this point that I have slipped and fallen while wearing them twice now! NO GOOD.

The woman I talked to at customer service said that the holes "sound pretty normal for such heavy use." I repeated that I had only had them for 1 month, and she restated that it was normal for these godforsaken boots to have HOLES in them after about 15 wears! She wouldn't issue a refund or credit, but told me that I could ship them back and that Torrid would "inspect" them, after which I am supposedly going to be receiving a call about what happens next. I suppose that means they either give me a new pair or ship them back in their current condition.

Either way, I am royally pissed (yet again) at how shoddy their merchandise are and how expensive they are. I have come to believe that price and quality have an inverse relationship at Torrid. Worse, I would love to stop shopping there, but I cannot find another pair of boots in that price range that I like. Does anyone have experiences with the Lisa boots?

Anyway, so for those of you who plan to take advantage of their 30% off sale in the next few days, be forewarned before you sink your money into those shitty boots!

as promised, i am reviewing the boots that were asked about in another thread.

a little about me and my feet:

i love love love heels and wedges! i wear a size 9.5 shoe and often shy away from anything taller than an ankle boot as i most definitely have a plus calf at just under 20" around. my feet are abnormally thin and bony compared to the rest of my 5'4", size 26/28, 46DDD-46G frame.

about the boots:

in the foot, i almost wish i'd gone down to a 9. they're very roomy, but not uncomfortably so. they lace up and have an inside zipper as well. the boot closes over my calves with no problem and doesn't gap at all. my only complaint is that i had to move the buckle to the furthest hole, and even then it barely makes it across (the buckles are purely decorative and are Velcro'ed into place). for someone who lives for shoes, i'm ecstatic with my purchase. they're extraordinarily comfortable! they've a little thickness to them, but not so much that i feel like my feet are sweating to death.

all in all, i definitely recommend these! i wish they came in brown - i'd break down and own brown shoes, goth scene points be damned!

pictures soon! i'm late for a dinner date as it is and i couldn't tell you where my camera is if my very soul depended upon it...

EDIT: the boots are definitely suited to a wider foot than mine. not uncomfortable per se, but definitely something that i need to adjust to. and sorry to those of you who asked which boots - when i originally made the post, the word "boots" in the first line was supposed to go to the link. in my haste (even though i was still late), i completely put in the code for image instead of a link.

and now, instead of doing my homework in a timely manner, i shall respond to the replies...

So, for the last month, I've been obsessively wearing the Torrid Hannah boots. I've probably worn them between 2 and 4 times a week because with an insole, they are comfy to walk in and I love how they look with my dresses (see examplies 1, 2, & 3).

To my dismay, this morning I found 2 holes in the bottom of each boot's sole. On the left, there was a hole near the ball of my foot. And on the right shoe, there's a hole smack dab in the middle of the heel! Not good, especially given that getting them repaired will probably cost as much or more than the cost of the brand new boots.

I understand that city streets are tough on shoes, but to have holes in the soles of boots that you've worn a maximum of 20 times? Not ok! I wrote Torrid customer service and am waiting to see what they'll do.

I also bought 2 Lane Bryant dresses recently. ( Reviews and pictures under the cut! )Since I've been on a mission to convert my wardrobe to all dresses, I realized that in order to get the versatility of pants and shirts (i.e. you can wear them in many different combinations, which is harder to pull off with dresses), I've been trying to buy a lot of dresses in black. That way, I figure I can pair them with different cardigans, scarves, and accessories so I could potentially get away with wearing the same dress many times without anyone noticing.

Generally, I'm just real glad summer is over, because when it's hot and sticky outside, the idea of wearing anything "extra" (i.e. accessories) makes me want to crawl out of my skin. This means that fall is great for me since I am happy to wear my hair down, wear scarves, necklaces, and layer!

And the first time I've gotten out my tights and knee high boots!  Yeah!
( Pics )

Have any of the big footed among you ordered from this site?

https://www.gwynethshoes.com

They have shoes up to size 14. And it's so refreshing to see big shoes in colors other than black and diarrhea brown.

I'd appreciate any feedback any of you might have on the quality of the shoes and your experiences with the company. Thanks in advance!

ETA: Would wearers of large shoes kindly contribute their suggestions and recommendations for good stores and websites?

Back story: I have been on a quest to find flat brown boots for wide feet and calves for years. A few weeks ago this reached fever pitch when I pledged to exhaust all of my resources in my quest. Because I live in Australia, this quest is made significantly more difficult seeing as we live on a big brown island far away from anywhere in particular with an incredible dearth of plus size fashion. Considering we are apparently either second or on par with America for the amount of fat people (per capita? I don't know, the news media likes to exaggerate this) the plus size fashion industry is not only laughable but practically non-existent.

I'm lucky enough to be friends with _icandy_ who is an awesome photographer. She has roped me into being in one of her more elaborately staged photos before (nude, so er, no fashion to speak of) and today she offered to take some photos of my outfit!

( Three photos )

Okay lovely ladies, I need some advice here.
Like many people who post here I am in search of fashionable knee high boots that would fit my large calves.

I have settled on a few different pairs that I like from duoboots.com, but if I am going to spend that much money on a pair of shoes/boots, I'd like to hear some personal stories about how well they are made/how long they will last.
I don't mind paying more money for a quality pair of boots(and with the conversion to Canadian dollars plus shipping this is going to be an expensive purchase), but I'm just wary that the boots may only last me a few months and I'll still be paying off the credit card for purchasing them.

Does anyone have any advice on Duo quality?

when i was in the UK this summer, I toddled off to DUO Boots to try stuff on.  I had my calves measured....i was told what foot size i was in their sizes.  I even tried on some boots (the Almeria, which fit but which i wasn't enamoured of the look of).  I didn't buy any though, b/c they had their "new line" coming out end of August 2008.  So I waited.  I perused the new line.  I entered into extensive discussions with DUO Boots folks to be sure that the boots i picked would have a sufficiently wide footbed for my foot.  And FINALLY i settled on a pair of boots and ordered them.

Well, kudos to DUO for speed of international delivery -- they were at my home in less than a week!!!  Sadly, however, I am unable to get my feet into the damn things =(  That is, they look to fit well enough, but squeezing my foot in over the heel cap etc isn't working for me.

Do i take the risk of asking a shoemaker/cobbler to stretch them?  or do i send them back and continue my quest for boots?

I'm a 9.5 (or 40), wide foot, 20"/50cm calf.  All i want is a pair of nice black preferably leather dress boots.  Does anyone have any suggestions?

So, over the past few months I have seen many a style of ankle boot worn with dresses and skirts. I'm at a loss - if I ever do that I look like a complete dork who picked the wrong shoes.

What are your guidelines for wearing ankle high boots with skirts and dresses? Is there a magic length of skirt that works for you? Do you always wear a fabulous pair of tights?

Sometime last week, a couple of you lovely ladies asked me where I get my wider-calf, leather, knee-high boots. Well, I almost always find them on ebay. There are several pairs in my size (10 W, X Wide Shaft) up for sale on there right now. My last pair came from David Tate (use it for searching) and they lasted for about a year of 3-4x/week wear. My current pair is from Cloud Walkers and the back third of the boot is made of a medium-weight nylon or lycra--which just accommodates my 18.5" calf. They are better made, better fitting and of better leather than the David Tates...but the Tates were still a good find. These Cloud Walkers are awesome. The second time I wore them, I walked around Old City (Philly) w/ friends, went to dinner and then danced for hours at a goth club...which means LOTS of stomping. My feet were fine. Did I mention they are awesome?

Happy Hunting!

I turn 35 this month!!! and I want some cowboy boots super bad. Just for fun wearing, not for actual riding. Although if I found some that were riding quality I would wear them someday.

But I have 17.5 inch calves!! and I wear a size 11. Any suggestions? I would like black or red, or black and red. I want like a pointy style toe for a dressier look, not rounded. Hoping to wear these out for dancing and such with a full skirted dress. No fringe! I can't afford Lucchese boots or anything crazy expensive like that but I can spend $100 - 150. I thought maybe i could find some short boots, maybe like a 9" shaft or something that would not go so far up my leg and I could wear something narrower. Anyone have any experience with western boot buying?

ETA - what do you guys think of these?

I thought that there might be some Fatshionistas who don't also frequent the Chronicle message boards and who might appreciate this amazing resource:

http://www.chronicleforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=60308&highlight=womanly+sized+riders+unite

It's an exhaustive thread about riding clothes for larger women. Lots of leads on boots, chaps and half chaps, breeches, vests, you name it. For those more interested in the fashion than the activity, per se, it would also be useful for hunting down equestrian-style boots for larger calves.

Enjoy!

(In case for some reason the link doesn't work, the board site is <http://www.chronicleforums.com/forum/index.php>, and the thread is entitled "Womanly-sized riders, unite!.:)

I was wandering around the mall today with my daughter and came across Wild Pair, a shoe store I hadn't been to before.  Their clearance rack caught my eye and I found these boots.  They had one pair left in the store and they were in MY size!  I tried them on and they fit beautifully.  They are dark brown, almost black.  Since they aren't made of leather and they have a nice gripe-y sole I can wear them in wet weather and still look presentable for the office.  And best of all, they were only $15!!  They are on sale on the website for $19, plus S&H, which is still not a bad deal.  There were lots of other boots on sale too.  It's a good time to pick up some nice deals.

I'm psyched to wear these with my pretty brown dress tomorrow.  I need some extra motivation to go to work on Mondays :-)

So, I finally found some boots on widewidths.com that have both my small shoe size AND huge calf size. I placed an order a few hours ago. I just got a call of an apology that those were out of stock and should have been taken off the web a week ago. She then offered me the same boot in a WW or a M, explaining the differences. I went with a WW, as I do prefer socks to tights. Apologized again, and wished me a nice weekend.

I am extremely impressed with that level of customer service. Just thought I should share a positive experience for a nice change of pace. :)

So historically, We Love Colors plus tights have had some pretty awful reviews on here, but I remember that they were doing some test runs with new product. And recently, I've seen a few fatshionistas model some of their tights in their OOTDs.

My question is: has the quality gotten any better? I am itching for some hot colored tights, but I want to know if it's worth my $9 + shipping.

On another note, I've been really happy with the boots I bought earlier this winter, and I wear them all the time now! For the other fatshionistas with 19" calves, I highly recommend them for comfort and fit. ( Click on through for my life in boots! )