FOOTWEAR FOCUS ROAD TEST
Joan Collet tries out Belle Boots by Hotter D
o you remember that game when we were children? Someone would hide an object, and when we
started searching for it we would be told we were “cold” if were on the wrong track. But as we got closer to the carefully concealed item we would be told were “warm” and “warmer”. And then with increasing excitement we would be told we were “warmer”, “warmer and warmer” and then, when the person who had hidden the object could hardly contain themselves any more, the temperature of your quest would soar to “hot” and “hotter” and finally even “boiling!” just as you discovered the hidden treasure.
Well, I couldn’t help reflecting on the game when I was
sent a pair of Hotter Belle boots to road test recently. Initially it was the name “Hotter” that reminded me of the game. As I wore the boots out and about I was thinking, “These boots are ‘good’. And, as I used them more I felt they are ‘better than good’ and finally ‘they are very good’”.
Tis’ the season for sun-suitable sandals. NOT! I was particularly pleased with the timing of the road test. Too often in this game one is sent a pair of sun-suitable sandals to road test in the middle of winter – production planning and deadlines mean that we often have to write our road tests well in advance of publication – just as shoe shops have to order fashions as much as a season or even more ahead of when their orders will be sold to their customers.
Well, my Belle boots arrived in December – just as we had a particularly
cold snap of weather in which knee-length boots come into their own. I was due to attend the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) at Olympia in London because a friend’s Dartmoor pony had cleaned up prizes at local shows in the West Country and had qualified for the big one, the Mountain and Moorland Class at HOYS.
It is said of the old red telephone boxes that from whichever direction you
approach them; the door is always on the opposite side. I feel that whenever I visit Olympia I seem to be coming from the wrong direction, which involves
me doing a lot of walking. If you are going to an exhibition where you will be touring the exhibits for hours you can end up being footsore before you even arrive.
Hot Hotter boots That is when I came to the conclusion that my very smart, dark tan, nu-buck Belle boots were “good”. I had been shopping before I went to Olympia (well, one does, doesn’t one? I don't get to London very often and shoe I want to do a bit of shopping!) It was a long walk from the shops and I was delighted by the cushioned comfort of my Hotter boots and although I had already spent hours traipsing through “Harvey Nick’s” and the like, my feet weren’t the least fatigued.
My Hotter Belle boots were “hot” in both senses of the word: Figuratively, I felt very fashionable parading them in some of London’s “hottest” and most famous shops and, by the time I reached HOYS I felt equally at ease with the horsey people rushing around in their leather riding boots or country boots.
But, HOYS is drafty. Its really just a big barn with the horse displays; so having a pair of boots like my Hotter Belle boots that kept my feet hot in
the literal sense of the word, was a relief from sitting in the audience of the arena feeling a glacial creep of cold spreading though one’s feet and legs.
Product details:
Style: Belle. Easy to style and comfortable to wear, Belle is the hardwearing knee-length boot that is designed to blissfully cushion your feet whilst looking effortlessly chic. With on-trend biker boot styling and crafted from beautiful Burnished Velvet Nubuck, Belle looks great with skirts and dresses or your favourite jeans and chunky knit combo.
RRP: £135.00 - Trade Price: £61.88
Belle comes in sizes 3 to 9 with some half sizes and in two calf width fittings. Contact:
a.marsden@
hotter.com
10 • FOOTWEAR TODAY
• MARCH/APRIL 2018
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