Montana Style: Is There One?
The loved one and I planned a trip next month to Montana and oh boy was I excited! Not only is it a rare treat to have one on one time with this person, but to go somewhere far, far away where we will not run into anyone he knows would be like winning the lottery. Well, that's extreme I guess. It's not a bad thing to run into people of course, but you know that deep desire of just wanting to get away and have real quality time with the busiest person on this planet and have uninterrupted conversation??? I do...almost too much. I pine for it.
So off to Montana we planned. Hooray!
I began to think, "What does one wear in Montana?" I'm from Texas. Houston at that. Being a city girl is an understatement. I did not grow up hunting, fishing, or riding horses, and 80 degree winter days are not out of the norm. I'm a fall weather kind of girl, but that's more out of fantasy and my winter attire is mostly utilized when the inevitable office air conditioning is cranked too low during our "winter" months. I love scarves, boots, hats, and sweaters with a heartfelt passion strong enough to make me believe I need to move up north or to the mountains somewhere. Pronto. However, I still felt unprepared on what Montana attire should entail.
After some Pinterest browsing I determined that the main thing I lack is outdoorsy shoes. I have a plethora of riding boots and nice, tall dress boots. But, if we're to go horseback riding or hiking or I don't even know what else you do in Montana, then I'm going to need help with this. I've attempted to purchase duck boots in the past but between lack of confidence in wearing the style or the high price for shoes I'd likely only wear a few times a year (I think), I've managed to back out of any previously considered purchase or return the ones I did order out of buyer's remorse. One of my (many) tall and gorgeous friends sported a pair on our trip to Turkey & Romania and I've been eye-balling them ever since. However, I'm 5+ inches shorter and have a stigma about anything and everything making me "squatty" as I affectionately call it.
I've purchased some beautiful light colored Sperry duck boots before but ultimately couldn't swallow the price point for light colored shoes I am destined to destroy the first time I wear them. Back to the store they went! Well, recently I scored a mega deal on some great DUCK BOOTS when DSW sent some promotional email and trickily lured me to their site...woo hoo! I bought them in black because I would be able to wear it with more (think black leggings galore), although honestly, I REALLY wanted the brown ones. They're super comfortable too and true to size. I'm one lucky duck! ;)
Feeling proud of my purchase, I thought I should share the discovery as a PSA (Public Service Announcement). Then I thought I might as well round up and share the other comfy boots and some scarves I own because I found great deals on them when I bought them too. Boots & scarves. Scarves & boots. The two sort of just go together.
My favorite boots for everything are my Steve Madden Intyce boots. I bought a pair of Steve Maddens almost identical back in 2012 so when I found the Intyce version a couple of years later I bought more! I have both black and cognac colors. They're ridiculously comfortable, have a tiny wedge to them, and are appropriate to wear to the office. I struggle to wear riding boots in the office. Although I love them, I personally can't seem to make them look/feel appropriate for me for work.
The riding boots I have purchased in the past have been a two tone pair from Kohls a couple years ago (similar to this) or A2 Aerosole high riding boots in brown crocodile that I found at Marshall's but you can also get them equally as inexpensive at Amazon. Plus, Amazon sells them in the 2 tone black and brown riding boots like the ones I bought from Kohl's. Great stuff. These have plenty of calf room for jeans and never once hurt my feet from the moment I first put them on.
I'm all for gorgeous, pretty boots. I've yearned for many Tory Burch riding boots over the years, or even other name brands. But, when it comes to shoes and my feet, I simply can't splurge. I trip, scuff, and damage my shoes typically with the first wear so it's not economical for me to spend money on shoes. My heeled dressy boots are nicer brands and more costly, but they don't make it out of their boxes very often for that reason. Hopefully, some of these ideas can help you all save some money too!
The scarves I have listed below I simply added because ummm, hello fall!!! I've listed a few scarves that are like the ones in my pictures. So.many.scarf.options.my.wallet.can't.handle.it.
Happy boot shopping!
*Final note - Montana is being postponed due to loved one's work requirements so I guess I have more time to figure this out!
Click on the image below to open images of all of the boots I've referenced, as well as their pricier counter parts that I also love if I were to splurge a little!
XOXO
