What I wore this week: over-the-knee boots

I know that whingeing about the hard life of a fashion editor isn’t a good look, but it is genuinely quite hard to write about how to wear this season’s over-the-knee boots. Because – can we take this off the record? – the point about over-the-knee boots is how to wear them without looking slutty. That’s the thought that goes through my mind.

But I can’t write about that, because to do so would basically suggest that looking slutty is intrinsically bad, that to dress provocatively is a crime or a character flaw. And that would be quite wrong, and not what I mean at all. If you choose to go about your day dressed like Julia Roberts in the opening scenes of Pretty Woman, then go you, because everyone knows she looks way better then than after she’s had the dullsville Beverly Hills makeover.

You would be in esteemed company, too: at Paris fashion week, Carine Roitfeld sometimes wears over-the-knee boots with spike heels and a tight skirt at 9am, and it really, really shouldn’t work, but she looks cool and elegant and terrifying in the best possible way, which goes to prove there are no real rules.

Still. IRL, as they say, I like the neat line of over-the-knee boots, but if I’m going to wear them in the daytime, I am conscious that they give off a certain bar-stool vibe that I don’t necessarily want to be defined by. This is no different from wearing, say, a dark polo neck and trousers, and then realising it looks a bit too sober and serious, and that it needs earrings, or the sleeves pushing up to the elbow, or a heel, or something. Fashion is not about what you are allowed to wear; it’s about putting you in control of how the world sees you.

So. If we have established that I can discuss the wearability of OTK boots without being a traitor to womankind, I have some suggestions. A dress such as the one I’m wearing here looks much more modern with boots than it would with, for instance, the bare legs and courts you might have worn a couple of autumns ago. Similarly, those ultra-long coats, which can feel a bit gloomy and Sherlock, look chic over boots that meet the hem of an above-the-knee skirt. But don’t mind me: if you want to wear them with a leather mini and fishnets instead, go for it.

Wearing Super High Heels Might Be Prematurely Aging You

Nobody ever said wearing high heels was comfortable. But a new study from Stanford University found that they might make you walk like you've suddenly aged 20 years.

Researchers measured how healthy women walked while wearing shoes with different heel heights: a flat sneaker, a 1.5-inch heel, and a 3.25-inch heel. They also had each woman walk with and without a heavy vest that weighed 20% of their body weight. Researchers paid attention to how the participants' knees moved while they walked and while they stood still.

The results of the study, published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research, were pretty scary for stiletto enthusiasts everywhere. When you walk in high heels, your knees are more likely to be bent when your feet hit the ground. That puts a lot of strain on your knees, and makes you walk in a similar way to older women or women who have arthritis. And it's even worse if you're overweight, since you put more pressure on your joints.

And all that strain on your knees can lead to trouble down the road. "High heel use, especially when combined with increased weight, may contribute to increased [osteoarthritis] risk in women," the study's authors wrote. So give your high heels a rest every so often; your knees will thank you later.

From Strappy to Stiletto: Sandals in Vogue Throughout the Years

The spring forecast calls for sandals, “those great and classic flatterers of women’s feet” as Vogue put it in 1933. As snowdrops and crocuses poke through the thawed earth, the bloom falls off our romance with winter’s high-heeled boots (or comfy Uggs). No shoe is as simple—or seductive—as a sandal. The barest and oldest footwear in existence, it has been worn by Roman warriors and Vargas girls alike, and run the gamut from the flat, sand-between-your-toes variety to strappy, Marmont-ready stilettos. To see how this warm-weather classic has transformed over time, here’s a look at sandals in the Vogue archives.

Featuring covers, advertisements, articles, photographs, and illustrations in their original context, the Vogue Archive offers a glimpse of Vogue’s unparalleled record of fashion, social, and cultural ideas.

Vogue.com registered users have access to a selection of editor-chosen issues from the Vogue Archive. Vogue magazine subscribers have access to a selection of 36 issues, including the very first issue of the magazine from 1892. To access the Vogue Archive, go to voguearchive.com and use the Archive Login in the upper-right-hand corner.

How to Survive High Summer in Head-to-Toe White

Photo: Tommy Ton

It’s hot. No matter where you are in the world—New York, Beijing, Florence, or somewhere in between—staying cool is probably all anyone can talk about. Tempted as we may be to wear a bikini and cutoffs every day, even the most laid-back office requires some level of decorum. Nothing fits the bill quite like a jumpsuit—it’s chic, breezy, and transitions seamlessly to after-work events. In the street-style photo above, a crisp white all-in-one was ideal for a day at the shows with simple kicks and a luxe bag. Shop the look with our picks below.

Roland Mouret jumpsuit, $2,645, Buy it now; A.L.C. bag, $495, Buy it now; Superga sneakers, $65, Buy it now

Photos: Courtesy of Kirna Zabete; Courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue; Courtesy of Shopbop