The Definitive 2011 Guide to Women's Boots

Neglecting to mention shoes when you are speaking of fashion is becoming a serious mistake. Shoes used to be considered just another accessory, as something that was simply supposed to go with your outfit like a hat or a handbag. But now shoes are a fashion item of their own, with top designers turning their attention to designing shoes, with shoes having specialized fashion shoes and with shoe designers reaching the fame that was once reserved only for the high fashion designers.

Of course, the main driving force behind the success of shoe designers is the consumer, and women take the obvious cake when it comes to buying shoes. It's therefore no surprise to hear that the market for women's shoes is not only bigger, but also a lot more diversified. And this is especially true when it comes to women's boots.

When we think of fashionable footwear, boots are probably pretty low in our list of priorities. We are used to seeing stylish heels and flats but boots are something that always have a more practical aspect to them, and often we consider practicality as something that doesn't necessarily go hand in hand with fashion.

But times are definitely changing and nowadays practicality is as much a part of fashion as innovation is. And this is why boots have become one of them most important elements of Fall-Winter fashion for this year and a woman that doesn't have a stylish pair of boots in her wardrobe this year is definitely missing out.

When we look at trends for boots this year we quickly realize that there is not an established style that overwhelms all others. This is a clear reflection of the times that we live in as well. While in previous decades fashion was something that a majority of people - especially the younger generations - followed almost blindly, nowadays there's a myriad of different styles and different "scenes" that each have their own styling guidelines. This is why you will see many different types of boots in this year's collections, from high boots to vintage heels and even boots with knitted detailing. And, of course, deciding what to get is going to depend on your fashion sense and on the general use that you'll give them. What is definitely not fashionable anymore is to limit boot-wearing to rainy days -what's in is to wear them in any chance you get.

by: Rory Hamilton