I have a love/hate relationship with boots. Up until recently, I had about a half-dozen pairs of boots. And I can't remember wearing a single pair of them since high school. Even then, the wearings were few and far between. Back then, I hardly ever wore skirts, and it seemed pointless to wear knee-high boots with jeans. Even now, most of my skirts and dresses are far too summery to wear boots with. I have never really found boots to be particularly comfortable. My calves are overdeveloped from years of figure skating, causing boots to fit far too snugly and chafe. In other words, boots have always been too much of a pain for me to bother with.

Of course, that left the problem of cold-weather footwear. It doesn't rain much in Los Angeles, but even when it gets cold, I want cute heels that will keep my feet reasonably warm — something that I can wear socks with. I decided to give ankle boots a shot — now all that was left was to find a good pair.

I love shoes. But I love them so much that not just any pair will do. The hunt was on. The idea was to find a pair of ankle boots that were stylish, versatile, and would look good with jeans. I found plenty of short boots; but they all looked the same, and that same style was boring: square toes, standard leather, and unadorned. When it comes to shoes, I will never settle. When I found these at the Neiman Marcus outlet, I knew I had struck gold.

These boots had everything I was looking for and more. They were ankle high. They had a high, slender heel. Not only was the toe pointy, but it was one of the sharpest, pointiest toes I have ever seen. Men literally shrank in fear when they saw the points on these babies. Women described them as looking like the top of a Hershey's Kiss. And then, of course, there is the corset detailing.

I had wanted a boot with some sort of embellishment near the toe, something that would make the boot stand out, even in jeans. The corset detailing was more than I ever hoped for. It was perfect. Something subtle, something sexy, and something that was totally me. Incidentally, the corseted portion is actually lacing between two individual pieces of leather. I normally wear black socks with these boots; without them bare flesh would peek through (not a bad thing).

The boots are not particularly comfortable, but they look so good I don't care. Most people think the toe would be cramped, but honestly it is not. The shoe is... well, not a cheap brand, it's just not great. It is To The Max!, BCBG's lower end line. BCBG shoes are not very comfortable to begin with. Knock the quality down a notch, and it doesn't get any better. There is NO padding the foot bed, so the ball of my foot gets sore relatively quickly. But let's be honest: they are so cute, who cares?