30 September 2005

Bootie Call

Woolenstocks booties

What is it about comfortable footwear? So hideous, yet so addictive.

Take the Doc Marten. Or the clog. Or the Birkenstock. Awful to look at and murder on the calves, but impossible to take off. And then, of course, there’s the Ugg boot — as in Ugg-lee, especially when reproduced in Barbie pink suedette with acrylic shearling. (Are people blind?)

Now there’s the Woolenstock, a heart-warmingly charming and unbelievably cosy boot made from 100 percent natural fibre. Each is shaped in thick felt and trimmed with pom-poms and embroidery in bright, happy colours. The boots are hand-stitched lovingly by some kind person in the Himalayas, so no two pairs are the same. (That is, until New Look have a go at them).

Woolenstocks are supposed  to be worn inside. But you won’t want to take them off between now and next spring.

No, they won’t rival anything by Louboutin.

But, when it’s wet and dark and utterly freezing outside, who cares?

Available at Graham & Green, 340 Kings Road, SW3 (0207 352 1919); 4-10 Elgin Crescent, W11 (020 727 4594). To see styles, go to woolenstocks.com.