Hey there boo-boos!! Have you missed us!? We have MISSED YOU! We like to speak in the royal we as though we had an entire devoted staff working on this blog when really it’s just little ole us.
Let’s be mindful of how sexy-sexy our footwear’s getting out there, okay? Because it’s one thing to be stylish and pizzazzy and with-it, and another to look like we’re moonlighting at Miss Mona’s All-Night House of Lovin’ (discount if you bring a friend!).
High-heeled boots are just plain sexy, so that’s a dose of cayenne to the ministerial image right there.
These are just scary. No one should be wearing a heel or a toe like that in ministry, ever:
These gorgeous Ralph Lauren boots (for a mere $950!! *choke*) are a stunning color and style but I’m sorry, no on the stiletto heel. They’re just too glam:
These are better, but if you’re rocking them with a shorter skirt or dress and leg showing with bare hose, please back into the closet and try again. That’s too hot for a pastor: wear opaque tights and save the flash o’ gam for date night:
These Steve Maddens are so cute I can’t stand it. The rounded toe makes them less aggressively hoochie mama, the buckle is super-pretty, and they’re classic. These would look fabulous with a dress (Don’t you LOVE the grey color? So hard to find!):
General guideline: if you could conceivably stab someone in the jugular with your heel, don’t wear it for anything church-related.
Here’s footage of an ACTUAL BTFM reader, the Lovely and Reverend Diane Miller, purchasing a wonderful pair of Frye boots in Portland, Maine:
That is a really beautiful and classic boot. She’ll have those for decades.
So PB, what about boots for men? That is, if one does not want to look like a hippy all the time (a perpetual desire amongst some of our colleagues).
[Let me work on this! Good question! Do you mean like boots that are a step up from the duck boots popularized in the preppy era by LL Bean? – PB]
….Also, as someone who has recently fallen in love with What Not to Wear and Stacey and Clinton, you should market your skills to do a version of the show for ministers. It’d be BEYOND fabulous, and while this blog is the advice-column-version, I’d LOVE to see you In Action. 😀
Has the show ever featured a clergyperson? I know that the British version did, but they don’t even show that on BBC America anymore. It would be very interesting to see what Stacey and Clinton did with one of us. I would keel over and die if they showed up to sweep me off my feet for a week. I could use the money, even the advice, but I hope I’m not that bad off. Anyone remember when they used to make-over men as well, haven’t seen a man on WNTW in eons, but I don’t watch that often. I miss those days. I need backup to tell my husband not to wear things with holes and to buy an actual SHOE, not just ratty sneakers. Sigh.
Exactly PB! Also instead of hiking boots. Of course, as a preppy and a Mainer I have had both hiking and duck boots, myself…
…actually, even nice hiking boots…
A young Episcopal clergywoman in St. Louis was made over on WNTW this past October. Should be airing sometime after the new year!
Hey, fun pictures from Portland! Love the boots. Kiss of Peace.
Sigh. Are you REALLY, REALLY sure about the Ralph Lauren boots. Even if the rest of the outfit is very demure? I’m picturing a light tweedy suit and a turtleneck in a great rich color and hair swept up in classic neat style. I dreamed about those boots last night. I could never afford them, but can’t a girl dream? [I know. They’re absolutely amazing. But I just don’t think they’re appropriate for clergy. I’m going to stick with that. I think they’re distractingly sexy and although I don’t like it any more than you do, they push the envelope too far. They communicate sophistication and glamour and money and elegance, but they also communicate desire for sexual attention and impracticality — like can you see running down a hospital corridor in those? – PB]
Question on the boots/skirt/hosiery issue. When you say “shorter skirt,” do you mean any skirt cut above the top of the boot? I think I may have offended on this front, but I think I generally use boots as an opportunity to wear a dark textured or patterned pair of tights. Is a flash of flesh colored kneecap the kind of thing we avoid? [YES- PB] I can’t imagine the skirt getting much shorter, but I guess if the boots are not as high as the pair I retired last season, you might run into problems.