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"I&amp;amp;#8217;m back from Europe with fresh ideas for our next LOFT collection, a zillion pictures of stylish women and emerging fashion trends and&amp;amp;#133; I have a confession. I promised myself I would just soak up the stylish city that Paris is, get inspired, write, take pictures&amp;amp;#133; and just window shop. I&amp;amp;#8217;m sure you can guess by the guilty tone that I caved. OK- Let&amp;amp;#8217;s just be honest with each other from the beginning&amp;amp;#133;I came home plus one&amp;amp;#133; new pair of Yves Saint Laurent boots. I know&amp;amp;#133;I know&amp;amp;#133;trust me I&amp;amp;#8217;ve already felt guilty, justified them as an &amp;amp;#8220;investment&amp;amp;#8221;, felt guilty and re-justified. In my head any outfit I could imagine seemed infinitely better when worn with the boots. What is it about buying something that you love so much that gives you that rush like you&amp;amp;#8217;ve just worked out for hours? I mean I had mentally sold myself to the point where I was actually thanking the sales associates for selling the boots to ME- the &amp;amp;#8220;chosen one&amp;amp;#8221;. How could I be so lucky to be the ONE allowed to have these wardrobe-changing epiphanies in my closet. You&amp;amp;#8217;d think I had won the lottery&amp;amp;#133;or been hypnotized. Just writing this and imaging myself watching this situation go down&amp;amp;#133;me drooling in a chic YSL boutique in Paris, insisting on wearing my new boots out of the store but of course I still need the oversize box AND bag so I can &amp;amp;#8220;carry it around&amp;amp;#8221; all day--empty, mind you--really, do I know this girl??? To say I got wrapped up in the moment is an understatement. It&amp;amp;#8217;s Paris--where everything seems more glamorous (except Bank of America shutting off my debit card after I bought them because of &amp;amp;#8220;excessive charges abroad&amp;amp;#8221; for my own fraud protection). But alas, how do you say no? It&amp;amp;#8217;s Paris&amp;amp;#133;and during the holidays? Wreath lined streets, the smell of fresh baked chocolate croissants in the early morning, strolling by the home of Christian Louboutin? Forget it&amp;amp;#133;I never had a chance. Add in a few light snow flurries, maybe an afternoon glass of vino&amp;amp;#133;and I suddenly was Ralphie in A Chistmas Story skipping down the streets of Paris clutching tightly to my new Story Red Ryder bebe gun ..aka..YSL &amp;amp;#8220;friends&amp;amp;#8221;- smiling ear to ear. I wasn&amp;amp;#8217;t planning on buying them- I really wasn&amp;amp;#8217;t&amp;amp;#133;Everywhere I turned&amp;amp;#133;women turning easy, everyday looks glamorous just by adding their own infusion of personal style by way of the perfect boot. From the intensely sculptural Balenciaga heeled bootie on display in Le Bon Marche (Paris&amp;amp;#8217;s go-to department store for stylish women) to more wearable versions of the winter boot like the amazing girl I ran into while she was shopping wearing a tweed short and a tall boot, to the woman standing outside the caf?\uFFFD next to our hotel made cargo pants look sophisticated with an ankle boot... to the to the cute French girl stepping out for a coffee sporting a slouchy short fringe boot with a long oversize menswear trench, and even the girl who yelled &amp;amp;#8220;atencion&amp;amp;#8221; (French for &amp;amp;#8220;watch out&amp;amp;#8221;)- as I was about to get hit by a Vespa speeding by- was making a tiered skirt look very grown-up with a flat boot&amp;amp;#133; I got the message loud and clear - from the long to the short of it: new boot (focused on detail, interesting height, new fabrications and structure) is a winter essential. So when I walked into the Yves Saint Laurent store, just like so many other shops along Rue de Grenelle they had boots lining the shop window. What caught my eye about my particular boots was the unusual height. In New York this fall, I&amp;amp;#8217;ve seen a lot of tall boots and the ankle bootie is definitely having its moment as well&amp;amp;#133;but leave it to YSL to take a winter staple to new heights. Their boot hits mid-calf. I love wearing them (well with everything-LOL) but this new height especially looks great with a cropped pant, meaning that you can extend the life of your favorite late summer/early fall pants into colder months. Winter can be an especially long season dressing has a tendency to become boring and intensely systematic. So here are some ideas from Paris (that don&amp;amp;#8217;t include a trip to YSL) that will mix up the way you&amp;amp;#8217;re rocking your favorite boots this season: What rules? White denim has become seasonless so don&amp;amp;#8217;t be afraid to pull them out during the winter. The crispness looks great tucked into an equestrian-like tall boot Sometimes it&amp;amp;#8217;s all in the details. I love how this bow sock adds little girly side note to a more masculine boot. Try a monochromatic look. Match your boot to your look except for one statement pop of color. I love that her accessories and clothing are all black except for a polished shot of bright orange. Brown and black can coexist. A brown boot looks modern with a full black skirt. Loving plaid for fall and a slouchy tall black cuffed boot is the perfect compliment for a cute winter cape coat. What do you guys think of these boot ideas? What are some of your favorite unexpected ways to wear boots this winter? And are you as in love with my new purchase as I am?? Read my first guest post on Slaves to Fashion to find out more about me! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/fashion/blogs/dressed/2008/12/get-the-boot-unexpected-ways-t>