The best boots for wide calves, according to a fashion expert (2025)

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When I was a humble fashion assistant I was gifted a pair of tan leather knee-high block-heeled boots that were the most luxurious footwear I’d ever seen. I was already imagining the endless ‘lewks’ I could put together with these boots as I carefully unpacked them from the elongated cardboard box, caressing the leather while I removed the tissue paper. Reaching down, I slipped a socked foot into the first one and began to zip up the side.

And that is where this story ends. No matter what tricks I employed (knee-length pop socks, lying on the floor with my leg in the air) I could not cajole these boots over my calves. Devastated, I was forced to return to sender.

Months later, as I planned my Glastonbury wardrobe, I encountered a familiar senseof deluded excitement as I tried on my new wellies with a pair of denim shorts. This time, although the boots went on, they gripped my calves into two loaves of flesh and buckled around my ankles due to the pressure further up my leg. This was not the sexy Sienna Miller inspired look I had envisioned.

Reassuringly for my fragile ego, this is not a problem that’s exclusive to me. I have styled both 6ft tall size 8 models and tiny, beautiful celebrities on photo shoots, and am constantly surprised that knee-high boots don’t fit many of these women’s legs, either. They are often cut in a style that does not fit women’s bodies.

Imagine my dismay then, when I read that knee-high boots are back – and are to be worn this season with tucked-in leggings or skinny jeans. Could I find a fashionable pair to fit me this time around? I certainly felt fabulous and incredibly comfortable in these supportive Vuori leggings (well worth the investment), which I paired with a T-shirt, an affordable oversized shirt and a blazer.

Fortunately, brands have finally realised that for women to buy their products, they need to be able to wear them. So I was pleasantly surprised to discover that trying on the ten styles pictured here was far less upsetting than I had anticipated. Nevertheless, there were still plenty that didn’t go over my calves, which, as a 34-year-old woman who is 5ft 10in tall and a size 12-14, I feel isn’t too much to ask. Here’s my verdict…

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