With scrawny 11.9-inch calves, I've been on a mission for years (decades!) to find the very best, most beautiful slim calf boots. There have been successes, but for whatever reason, what remain most elusive are the perfect riding boots for thin calves. Heels and wedges are challenging to find with a narrow shaft, but equestrian inspired? The toughest of all. In this blog I'll review riding boots with calf circumferences published, or reported anecdotally, at under 14 inches around. If your legs are like mine, maybe you'll find your dream boot here :)

Please note: Except where otherwise stated in the captions, all photos & text are copyright this "Howdy Slim" blog and cannot be used elsewhere without permission.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

La Canadienne Stefanie

photo c Nordstrom
Recently I had a chance to try on four boots, all of which appeared to have a nice thin shaft, but only one actually did: the La Canadienne Stefanie.

(Quick note of gratitude to the label: Thanks not only for creating a skinny calf riding boot, but also for restocking it over the long term -- I'm typing this note in fall 2015, nearly two years after spotting the Stefanie, and most of its contemporaries are long gone, never to be stocked again -- so that more than just an initial wave of thin-legged shoppers can benefit.)

I like to think of La Canadienne as a more reasonably priced (albeit not cheap) sister to Aquatalia. Both brands are known for excellent quality and, happily, weatherproof almost all of their boots, so they're suitable for people like me who live in rainy, snowy areas.

These Stefanies are very pretty tall boots for thin calves, all streamlined leather with a subtle buckle detail. The listed circumference is pretty much spot-on, leaving about an inch and three-quarters of space around my skinny leg, but the fit was wonderful on my 8ish inch ankle. I prefer no more than an inch and a half, but if I had a 13 inch rather than 12 inch calf, this would absolutely fall in dream-boot territory. The department store lighting wasn't awesome, so I have no good photos of this one on my leg, but it looked just as pretty IRL as in the photo.

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

In black leather or black suede.
Find it at: Amazon 
Nordstrom (part of the Nordstrom anniversary sale, July 2018! more sizes than at Amazon :)

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