Few fashion dilemmas are as seasonal as working out how to style jeans and ankle boots. The minute the temperature drops low enough to retire your sandals – but not quite low enough to surrender to a full winter wardrobe – this is a combination every the easiest things to reach for.
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And with good reason. Jeans and ankle boots are one of those pairings we return to every autumn, largely because there are approximately a hundred ways to make them work. Straight-leg denim tucked loosely over a pointed boot has a very different energy to cropped jeans with a chunky Chelsea, while a slim, heeled ankle boot can completely change the proportions of a baggier pair. Even the seemingly tiny details – where the hem falls, how much ankle is showing and whether your denim pools, crops or skims the top of the shoe – can shift the whole outfit.
Autumn’s denim offering is broader than ever, from slouchy wide legs and barrel shapes to darker washes, throwback flares and the return of slimmer silhouettes. Boots, meanwhile, are having their own moment: kitten heels, Western shapes, biker styles, sock boots and polished pointed toes are all vying for space in our wardrobes.
So rather than declaring one combination the correct one, consider this your autumn cheat sheet. Below, the jeans-and-ankle-boot pairings that make getting dressed when it’s cold, grey and far too early to turn the heating on feel a little less predictable.
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High rise straight jeans
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