Review: A Tale of Two Booties

This is my final review of the items I ordered from the Nordstrom Preview sale (If you're interested you can check out my other two reviews: here and here)

After my break-up with the Tory Burch Riding Boots last week, I was in serious need of a shopping pick me up.  You know what I mean, something to remind me why I like to get up and dressed in the morning.   But after so many failed purchases, I didn't want to get my hopes up about the last two items that I ordered--the Joe's 'Saki' bootie and the Clark's 'Rosepoint Dew' bootie (in black).  At the last minute, I decided that the 3rd Bootie I'd been considering, the Sam Edelman 'Pippen', looked a little too much like a man's shoe for my tastes.   

Booties have been on my shopping wish list for a while.  Unlike riding boots, in theory they should be a little friendlier for those of us with shorter calves. Some would disagree saying that they cut off your leg line, but I feel that you could say that for almost any style shoe.  And, I love how they can be used to toughen up a girly outfit (at least, if I'm to believe what Pinterest tells me). I felt that they would be a really versatile piece that I could use across several seasons.

The first booties I ordered, the Joe's Saki booties seemed like exactly what I needed to fulfill all my Pinterest dreams.  They had that nice worn-in look so I could pretend like I'd just come back from a wilderness trek (even though they were delivered to my door steop without me having to move an inch).  And they had a slightly western feel that was really fun.  It was all hugs and kisses until I tried them on:

Remember when I mentioned that booties were petite friendly? Not these.  Or at least, not if you have bird-like ankles.  No matter what angle I looked at them from, it looked like the shoe was eating my foot.  And, while the shoe itself seemed to be a really nice quality, the top part of the bootie (that flacid leather part) came up a lot higher than I was expecting, which really did cut off my leg.  P.S. I don't actually have a club foot, the picture just turned out weird.

After yet another failure, I didn't have a lot of hope for the second pair.  Especially given Mr. C's less than enthusiastic response when I showed him the picture--he muttereed something about "schoolmarmish" and "clunky".  When they arrived, I actually made sure to try them on when he wasn't around just so he couldn't gloat when they didn't work out . . . except . . . I loved them.

Clark's Rosepoint Dew Bootie

These are some of the most comfortable shoes I have ever put on.  I feel like I could walk in them for miles (and come September I will be testing that theory while I sprint to and from classes).  The leather is incredibly soft and I'm hoping that with some suede protecting spray, that they will last.   They look super tall in the picture, but the wedge is only 2 and a half inches high and they offer a lot of support inside (I had been having trouble finding wedge booties under 4 inches . . . I've tried wearing heels that high all day and it just doesn't work for someone who's kind of a klutz.  I mean, I run into walls and trip over waste baskets just wearing flats at work.  Along those lines if you see a fashionable helmut, I probably need to start wearing one)  The one criticism I have is that the laces look a little cheap and are a little long.  I think I might just buy some replacements.

I tried them on with a pair of skinny black pants and a blazer and they even won Mr. C's grudging approval.  I'm envisioning wearing them with a black tweed skirt and tights in the winter and, using them to dress down some of my sundresses for fall. A win at last!!!!

As an aside: These a lot like the J.Crew MacAllister Wedge, which I'd been considering but couldn't quite pull the trigger on. There was something about crepe style wedge that didn't win me over). But the Clark's had a leather wrapped heel, which I felt was sleeker.