Hey everyone!

I'm writing a post for my blog (www.feisonista.com -it's an Irish dance blog with a focus on fashion) on boots that work with dancer's calves. Most Irish dancers have tiny feet but have huge calves from dancing and finding boots that fit can be torture. I have to imagine other dancers have the same problems!

Does anyone have any advice on boots that work? I have some of the basic strategies down (zip up boots, scrunchy boots, etc), but some specific examples of brands, styles, etc would be really helpful.

Thanks so much!! I'll definitely give you credit in the post as well.

I recommend checking out zappos.com before you shop for boots at a mall or dept store. Zappos lists the shaft circumference of the boot in the description. They also allow you to sort the boots by circumference! How awesome is that?

This might save your readers a ton of time and frustration.

As far as brands are concerned, Ugg boots are roomy enough for my huge calves and they stretch out as well.

That's awesome, thanks! I'll definitely have to check that out. Agreed, I've had pretty good luck with Uggs as well. It gets a little tricker when I try to add pants into the equation. I had the pair that lace up at one point and they worked especially well.

My husband just found out why I never wear boots up to my knees. Someone gave me a pair of boots and I told him they wouldn't zip up and he said, "No they look like they'd fit." So I put them on so he could see and he was in awe and then laughing hysterically saying, "OMG they don't even come close to zipping up. Do all dancers have this problem?" Well I know tap dancers do. *high five to the Irish dancers that have joined the club*

The only pair of knee high boots that ever fit were a pair that were stretchy and didn't zip. They slipped over my calves and were tight but made my legs look AMAZING. I miss those boots.

I have these:
www.payless.com . . .

I really love them, I think they make my legs look a lot smaller and they're way more comfortable than my other boots.

I love boots, and I have massive calves.

If I want to tuck my skinny jeans into a pair of boots, I'll wear something like this, so the boot effect is still there, but doesn't quite make it to the largest part of my calf. I have long legs, so this strategy works pretty well for me.

www.myspringshoes.com . . .

www.myspringshoes.com . . .

If I'm feeling like wearing a skirt, I usually stick with ankle boots, to show off more of my leg than I usually would.

www.myspringshoes.com . . .
www.myspringshoes.com . . .

I've recently discovered boots with adjustable lengths, that really work for me. Since motorcycle boots are on trend, but they don't do up over my calves, I wear these:

www.myspringshoes.com . . .
www.myspringshoes.com . . .

As you can tell, I shop at Spring a lot!

I just bought a pair from Kohl's. They are the Totes brand, and they have this really nice elastic that stretches over the calves. They are also water-proof and I absolutely love them.

www.kohls.com . . .

Ignore the only negative review there... They fit me great!

I can't speak about brands themselves, as I'm not in the states, but one of the best pairs of knee-high boots I had were black leather, and they had a strip of elastic running up the entire length of the back seam, so they'd fit pretty much any calf width.

Similar to these (but these have the elastic at the side): www.atlastshoes.com.au . . .

I disagree with the slouchy boots for wider calves - I find the top of the boot tends to sit just below the widest part of the leg, and it stumpifies people. I don't think it's a terribly flattering look for anybody - wide calves or not.

I agree with the slouchy boots thing looking odd. I am not a huge boot wearer because they never fit quite right. I got a pair that is a bit slouchy and goes up to just below the knee. You can fold the top part down, and it makes my legs look huge, as if my calves aren't big enough already. I would like to find a pair that is stretchy because any boots that I find that fit up over my calves are loose and bunchy around my ankles.

imadanseur wrote:

My husband just found out why I never wear boots up to my knees. Someone gave me a pair of boots and I told him they wouldn't zip up and he said, "No they look like they'd fit." So I put them on so he could see and he was in awe and then laughing hysterically saying, "OMG they don't even come close to zipping up. Do all dancers have this problem?" Well I know tap dancers do. *high five to the Irish dancers that have joined the club*

The only pair of knee high boots that ever fit were a pair that were stretchy and didn't zip. They slipped over my calves and were tight but made my legs look AMAZING. I miss those boots.

Jim and I have done the same little display, a billion times. "ZOMG, quit being dramatic, they're totally gonna fit, knock it off..."

*theresa obligingly puts the boots on, come to find out, they don't go past my ankle*

*cue open mouthed Jim*

Million times, swear...

Lace up boots save me!

Lace up boots!! I'm not a dancer but sure have that problem. I'm always seeing super cute knee high boots but none of them zip up.

My only knee high boots that fit are lace up ones...one pair are my boots I usually wearing winter and they're like lace up all the front and then my dress up knee highs are lace up on the back. So adorable.

For knee high black leather boots in a classic style, try Aerosoles or Bandolino. Have pairs of both brands and they are nice and stretchy. Nine West felt like compression socks...kind of nice initially but can't make a whole work day in them!

For Uggs style (since Uggs don't fit my calves), the ONLY thing I've found that works (in my area- US) is the Target cheapies. Kind of stinks since I wanted nice ones with actual sheep fuzz but my calves did not permit it

Great idea for an article- will you post a link once you write it?

I have ones like these: www.zappos.com . . . that work for me. Make sure you measure your calves first though, I don't have a lot of extra room so I could see them being too small for some people.

I also have another pair in brown that has a buckle along the top that fits even better. Those you can fold down so they fit a bit above your ankle, but I don't wear them that way a lot (I think I look shorter in that sort of height boot).

First off, I don't know how much help this will be because I have the exact opposite problem: apparently large feet and teeny, tiny calves. However, the absolute widest-calf boots I remember coming across were either Aerosoles or A2 by Aerosoles... can't remember which but I know I tried them on at Kohls. They had an extra zipper that opened for more room in the calf, and I think they might have elastic inserts in addition to that. Also, I've found that in general cheaper boots seem to be wider in the calf, not sure what's up with that though.

Just out of curiosity, for those of you who have calves wider than the "standard" boot shape, what size shoe do you wear? I'm a 9 or so in US women's shoes, but apparently I have size 5 or 6 calves It stinks that shoe makers apparently assume that calf size always increases/decreases exactly proportionally with foot size. Good luck with your article!

As a Highland and Irish dancer, my calves are shapely but massive. However, sometimes you just strike lucky and find boots that fit. In my case it's simply a matter of buying more expensive leather boots (those will last longer and thus give you more time to go in search of the next pair) and treat them well. But it's an adventure, yes.

Thanks so much for the input everyone, I really appreciate it! I compiled your suggestions with some of my own in the post I just published. I'm going out myself to get some new boots this week - can't wait to use your tips. Feel free to let me know if you have any more suggestions! I can always add more.

Here's the link to the article: feisonista.com . . .

Chiming in really, really late, but TOMS have 'wrap-up' boots, where everything above the ankle is in a bandage type strip of material and you wrap it around your leg. Sounds really flimsy, but mine were surprisingly warm and durable!

Also, for every pair of shoes bought, a pair is given to a child in a 3rd world country, so it's a really good cause.

www.toms.com . . .