Cole Haan Adler

Ahh yes, after that little detour, we're back to some bona fide riding boots for narrow calves.

At this point I'd like to think my eagle eye is developed enough to spot boots with 13 inch circumference even on a five-minute sprint through the department store. So I'm surprised at having missed the Cole Haan Adler on just such a sprint this fall. Worse, I picked up this boot, glanced at it & put it down, thinking it too wide. Only after seeing numerous kudos online from thin legged ladies did I decide to give it a closer look.

In size 7.5, the Adler measured 13" on the dot at the fullest part of my leg (midcalf, about 11.5" inches up from the sole) and 13.75" at the top opening. Both respectably narrow stats.

What could be a sticking point for some is the ankle measurement. This boot is a straighter equestrian style, with only subtle tapering from midcalf to ankle. I measured the ankle at 11.5" -- which leaves 3.5" of space around my ankles, obviously more than ideal. Overall, the Adler is structured much like the Tory Burch Christy, but with a smaller circumference at the top. It's also a softer, lighter, more pliable boot than the Christy.

You can draw your own conclusion from the photos, but I think the roomy ankle looks better with pants than the thin tights I'm wearing here.

On a very positive note, the ubiquitous (in narrow calf circles) stretch part of the boot is not a stiff elastic fabric this time around. Instead, the back half of the Adler is a supersoft stretch suede. Besides the relatively narrow shaft, that's my favorite feature. The combo of buttery soft leather & velvety soft suede is hard to resist. I'd love to see more companies swapping out fabric for suede in this manner, especially if they can do it for under $200, which is where the Adler's sale price is now hovering.

Nothing trendy about this one; it's a very simple style, save the cute gold buckle detail at the ankle.








Rating:
Beauty: ****/5
Value: ****/5
Calf slimness: ****/5

In black, brown & dark gray.
Find it at (at huge discounts as of early 2015): Amazon

 

photo (c) amazon

Update: Based on input from a 12.5-inch-calved reader (thank you!), it sounds like the Kenmare (left) may be an even slimmer shafted Cole Haan boot than the Adler. Still available in some sizes -- and actually under $100 in some size/color combos -- as of spring 2017, so take a look.

photo (c) amazon

Update 2: It's late May '17 & I've just spend an hour or so sifting through the newer Cole Haan riding boots to make sure I haven't missed anything promising, and unfortunately most of their calf circumferences are too wide for us. However, the Dutchess (at right) looks to be one of the slimmer OTK leather riding styles on the market, with a "calf girth" measurement of under 14" for a size 7 boot, per the manufacturer. (Generally you need to look at stretch suede, faux suede or fabric for a calf fit this snug in an OTK boot -- or pay 2x, 3x the Cole Haan price for Stuart Weitzman, the luxe label that put OTK boots on the map :) Sorry to be late to the party on this one -- it's actually sold out at sites like Nordstrom, perhaps because of the unusally slim calf.  But there are still a few sizes available, some heavily discounted -- happy hunting!

Finally, you can see the Tilley II Cole Haan narrow calf boots on my skinny calves to get a sense of how they might look on yours. Not a bad fit!