At 64, I joined the line-dancing class at the community center in my rain boots. This is a letter about the boots I wore the next week
Six things these soft blue suede boots get right that my garden rain boots and sensible black ankle boots never did, from a retired teacher who signed up for something new and then realized she had nothing to wear on her feet.
Catherine Laurent · McKinney, Texas · 5 min readI am 64, and in September my sister Jean talked me into the Tuesday night line-dancing class at the community center in McKinney. I went along expecting six of us in cardigans. There were twenty-two, and every single woman in that room, most of them older than me, was wearing a pair of proper western boots. Tan ones, black ones, one magnificent pair in red. And there was me at the back, in the only thing I owned with a heel, which was my old garden rain boots, because I had panicked at the front door. In Texas. At a line-dancing class. So this is not a review. It is a woman who went back the following Tuesday properly shod, saying why.
The boots I am writing about are the Hailey, soft suede ankle boots from Novira Dallas, a small boutique that dresses women our age. Mine are the blue, a soft, washed denim color that I would never in a million years have chosen for myself. Jean, who never lets me get away with anything, sent me the link the next morning with one line: "Blue ones, Nance. Don't argue." She was right, as usual. When Novira later asked if they could share my letter, I said yes, on the condition I could be completely honest in it.
Here is what forty years of sensible footwear taught me. When you get to our age, shoes become purely practical. Black ankle boots for winter, flat shoes for summer, rain boots for the garden. Nothing is ever chosen because it is fun. And then you sign up for something new, something joyful, and you realize you have spent so long buying shoes for getting from A to B that you have nothing at all for just enjoying yourself.
I had a pair of shoes for every errand in Collin County. I did not have a single pair for having fun.
The Hailey is the first pair of boots I have ever bought for the sheer joy of it, and having worn them for a month, to line dancing, to the farmers market, to trivia night and on a long walk round the lake, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
Soft suede in the loveliest washed blue
The suede is soft and has a gently worn, washed look, as if you have owned them for years. The blue is a soft denim shade rather than anything loud, and it turns out to go with almost everything I own: jeans, navy, cream, gray, even my brown corduroy skirt. It is the most cheerful thing on my feet I have ever owned.
Woman at the farmers market: "Oh, I love your boots." First compliment on my footwear since about 1987.
A low, stacked heel I can actually dance in
The heel is a low, stacked block, just enough lift to feel like a proper boot, but nothing like a heel you wobble on. Two hours of grapevines, kick-ball-changes and the Tush Push, and I was steady the whole way through. I have given up heels entirely for years. These do not count.
Got through "Achy Breaky Heart" without falling over, which in this class counts as an achievement. Jean was very proud.
Pull tabs, so they go on in seconds
There are little pull tabs at the top on each side, just like a proper western boot, so you can hook a finger in and pull them on in a moment. No laces, no fiddly zips to wrestle with on the stairs. At my age, I have come to value a boot that goes on while I am still holding my handbag.
Late for the bus. Boots on in about four seconds. Made it. Geoff did not believe me.
A soft, slouchy shaft that does not dig in
The shaft is soft and gently slouched around the ankle rather than stiff and tight, so it moves with you and does not dig in when you bend or sit. I have never got on with stiff boots that rub at the ankle bone, and these simply do not. They felt comfortable from the first wear, which I did not expect from a western boot.
Market in the morning, class in the evening. Never thought about my feet once in between.
Not just for dancing
I bought them for Tuesday nights, but they have quietly become my everyday boot. With jeans and a sweater for errands, with a midi skirt and a cardigan for lunch, with a denim dress to trivia night. They make a perfectly ordinary outfit look like I have thought about it, which, at 64, is a small miracle.
Trivia night. Our team came fourth. My boots came first, according to the host's wife.
Five colors, and an honest word on sizing
The Hailey comes in blue, brown, pink, black and gray. I will be honest about sizing, because I promised I would: the sizes on the product page are not labeled US or EU, and there is no size chart yet, so if you are not sure, ask Novira's team before you order. They are happy to help. And there is a thirty-day money-back guarantee if they are not right.
Jean has ordered the pink. Of course she has. We are now known at the community center as "the boot sisters."
These boots, against what I had in the cupboard
Most of us do not buy shoes for fun after a certain age. We buy them for errands. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
Bought for the garden or the rain
Black, black or a different black
Stiff at the ankle, rub by lunchtime
Laces or zips to fight with
Never once chosen for joy
Soft suede in a washed denim blue
A low, stacked heel you can dance in
A soft, slouchy shaft that does not dig in
Pull tabs, on in seconds
Bought because they made me smile
About the price
The Hailey is $105.95 at the moment. The website says that is down from $235.00. I will not pretend I know what a pair of suede boots ought to cost, but I can tell you I have paid more than that for sensible black boots I never once looked forward to putting on.
I will pass on what Novira told me, which is that they are a small shop selling directly, and the sale is on for the fall stock. Their words, not mine. They also take a bit more off if you buy more than one item, up to 20%, which is how Jean's pink pair ended up in the same order as mine.
Shipping was free and tracked, and there is a thirty-day money-back guarantee if they are not right. With a class every Tuesday, that is what got me to press the button.
to choose
guarantee
US delivery
If you have just said yes to something new, a class, a club, a dance, a trip, and realized you have nothing on your feet that matches the feeling, these are the boots I would hand you myself, while your color and size are still there. Go on. Kick up your heels.
Nancy
Hailey™ · Suede Boots
Fall sale · bundle and save up to 20%
- Soft suede with a washed, worn-in look
- Low, stacked block heel
- Western pull tabs, on in seconds
- Soft, slouchy ankle shaft
- With jeans, skirts and dresses
- Blue, brown, pink, black and gray
- FREE tracked US delivery & 30-day money-back guarantee
Not sure of your size? Ask Novira's team before you order.
About the writer. Catherine Laurent is 64 and lives in McKinney, Texas with her husband Geoff and a spaniel called Biscuit. She taught second grade for thirty-one years and still cannot walk past a library.
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