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Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Obsession: Stacked Heel Booties With a Leather Ankle Strap

I'll admit it. This year's obsession (and part of last year's obsession) has been the bootie.  I know they've been around a while, but I'm specifically obsessed with the shorter, wood stacked heel style with the wrap-around leather strap at the ankle.  They're gorgeous.  While catching up on episodes of the last season of Dexter (nail biter, btw), I couldn't help staring at Deb's shoes every time she was on camera.  Pretty much the entire season she was rocking these shortie heeled booties with skinny jeans and a button down -- and kicking some major criminal butt, in Miami, I might add.  I mean, booties are cute but in the Miami heat?  I'm skeptical but intrigued.  Okay, so the show was great too but I became obsessed with finding that specific type of bootie.

Debra from Dexter, Season 8  Check out the booties I was obsessed with!  She rocks them with a striped shirt and skinny ankle jeans. 
Just Deb, doing her kicking-butt, Miami cop thing with style!  She did do a lot of button downs and striped shirts with skinnies and her coveted booties that season.  See how cute those booties look in the second from the left picture?

Another image with the actual bootie, which, as it turns out, is the exact same  bootie (same brand --Rag and Bone--and color scheme)  I fell in love with in Georgetown without knowing! 

Then I fell upon the Rag and Bone booties shown in my Polyvore collage below.  They caught my eye while I was walking in Georgetown with my husband on Valentine's Day earlier this year and I could not stop thinking about them!  You want to know the really crazy thing about those booties?  Those Rag and Bone booties are exactly the ones I was salivating over in Dexter!  Seriously! The same color (they do come in other options) and everything.  I found out through some Internet research while looking for pictures of Deb's shoes.  So, apparently I've been obsessed with these Rag and Bone booties since I first saw them grace my television screen.  I must have had the exact style ingrained in my brain.  However, since they were a whopping $495, I opted for something a bit more affordable at the Steve Madden store and found some very cute burgundy booties with a similar style to them.

I love, love, love this style and look forward to rocking them with skinny jeans and a button down, just like in the Polyvore collage below.  I've also got to dust off my aviator sunglasses, because those seem essential to the look as well.  It's so effortless and casual but so on-trend and even… dare I say?... elegant!  Or at least the lady who rocks them will feel that way with all that confidence she'll have from looking super darn cute!  I highly recommend this style bootie for everyone come spring, fall, winter and maybe even summer.  For those warmer months, pair booties with a shorter skirt (perhaps white denim) and denim jacket to showcase those legs you worked so hard for and create an adorable night out or date night look.

I also wanted to increase the versatility of my booties so I experimented with wearing them to work, pairing them with a fitted navy cardigan, pencil skirt, and tights just to add some edge to what could be a very nice but very basic work look.  Here is what the end result looked like:


Navy cardigan from H&M.  Black pencil skirt from J. Crew.  Tights from Amazon.com. Burgundy booties from Steve Madden.  

I love how this look turned out and will definitely rock it again!  I really love the burgundy hue of the booties too, but have to get creative in the summer with them because they don't tend to match too many of my brighter colored summer staples. If I do find an awesome look that works with the booties this summer I will include a post on that as well.  I don't know if it's obvious at first, however, these booties also have a strap around the ankle in the same burgundy suede material of the bootie.  It's a perfect affordable option!

Also, there is a hidden surprise in the background, specifically, that's my baby son in his little walker behind me.  It only took a second to take the selfie of my outfit and I kept a close eye on him from the mirror I was taking the picture in.  Also, in case you're wondering, there are no stairs in our condo so it's less of a hazard to have a walker around, but in any case, I always have an eye on the baby at all times.  I'm sure he'll find that quite annoying by the age of 12 and really annoying by 15!  Mommy loves you little one!

Anyhoo, if you're game, try this look below on for size.  I added a fun floral blouse to bring in some more color (and the florals trend)  from another favorite place of mine, Mod Cloth, and just love how this look can be construed as so simple and casual but so put-together, elegant, edgy and even whimsical.  A great place to get some whimsy incorporated into your style is Mod Cloth.

Since I am trying to be more discerning with my purchases, I am only recommending things I would buy and love myself, and trust me, if you don't have these booties, you can't go wrong with them!  If you do decide to get a pair or wear the ones you already have over again, try some looks and let me know how you rock it.  Happy dressing!



Elegantly Casual, Casually Elegant


Chiffon blouse
modcloth.com


Citizens of Humanity jeans
beckleyboutique.com


Rag & Bone leather boots
lagarconne.com


Liz claiborne handbag
jcpenney.com


Linda Farrow aviator sunglasses
$755 - profilefashion.com