The Kinsey Report.

So, it took me a long time to get on board with the thick chunky heel that everyone and their mother has been wearing for the past year.  I much prefer the slender, sophisticated silhouette of a traditional heel, or the sleek slope of a wedge.  But then I discovered the Kinsey boot by Rag + Bone ($595).  The front of the boot comes up higher than all of those suede ankle booties that have been all over the place, which creates a more interesting profile…and also, that buckle!  Ah-mazing.

Check it out:

Yes, yes, and yes.  That buckle on the side makes the shoe.  It satisfies my inner “downtown chic” aspirations while nodding to hippie slouchness.  Very Rachel Bilson.  Mine are in glorious brown leather.  And my first instinct was to wear them “down” — parka/anorak ($110 — though I rock my Barbour quilted utility coat all.the.time), simple striped tee ($50), distressed denim ($209), dem boots ($595):

Finish with a statement making bag (Givenchy, $1,330):

And these sick shades (wood frames!  so cool! —  SH Wood Shop, $145):

I also feel like a simple look like the one above looks best with delicate gold jewelry — the kind of item that looks like it’s “been in the family” for awhile or that you’ve picked up at an amazing jewelry shop in Rome or that your mother had made for you for some important, meaningful moment.  I regularly wear a small gold cross necklace (Jennifer Zeuner, $154) that holds specific sentimental meaning for me:

Alternately, love with this mah-jor black fur trimmed coat (Joseph, on sale for $1,584); a marled gray sweater (Duffy, $188); black skinnies; and the Kinsies in black ($595):

I’d thrown on this fab glen plaid cashmere scarf (Yarnz, $218), too:

This matte gray Givenchy ($2,810) would complete the look with panache:

{This cracked-leather Alexander Wang would also kill it.}  I’m also imagining transitioning these booties into spring, with this great denim peasant blouse ($78), white skinnies, and some lucite shades (Ray Ban, $160):

Kind of love it with a good ol’ Alexander Wang Rockie tote ($875):

Are you into them?!  Thoughts/comments/questions/concerns?

P.S.

My book, Small Wonders, is now available for pre-order! This is a collection of essays, musings, and list poetry on the art of paying attention, noticing love in its smallest denominations, and finding the miraculous in the mundane.  It is an extension of the writing here on the blog, and is organized around the themes we often discuss here: the dance of motherhood, inheritances and intimacies, the natural world, and the wide world of language. I am so proud of it and hope you will find it a worthy companion for your legato-style mornings.