How to Wear Over-the-Knee Boots Without Looking Like Pretty Woman

In this week's Fashion Q&A, Cosmopolitan.com’s Style Editor, Charles Manning, answers your questions about how to wear over-the-knee boots, showing off your body in a cocoon coat, and what to do when your favorite purse gets water-damaged.

Q: How can I pull off over-the-knee boots without looking like I'm in Pretty Woman?

A: You could opt for flats instead of high heels or leather and suede instead of vinyl, but it's really all in the styling. The reason Julia Roberts' boots look so insanely … sexy (?) is that she's wearing them with a barely-there, cut-out minidress. Over-the-knee and thigh-high boots are already sexy enough. You don't need to show a lot of skin. A little flash of thigh between the top of the boots and the bottom of your dress or skirt is fine as long as your arms and chest are covered by sleeves and a higher neckline. Over-the-knee boots also look great on top of skinny jeans. Then you can show a little skin somewhere else on your outfit without looking too provocative.   

Blake Lively, Mena Suvari, Nicole Scherzinger, Jameela Jamil

Q: Is there any way to wear a cocoon coat and still show off your figure?

A: You can't show off your shape per se, but you can allude to it. A pair of high heels and some black skinny jeans will make the little bit of leg sticking out from the bottom of your coat look long and lean. Also, try leaving your neck exposed — you can always put on a hat if you get cold — and roll your cuffs once or twice to flash a little bit of wrist.

Pink Coat, ASOS, $200; High-Rise Skinny Jeans, GAP, $70; Blue Knitted Fur Beanie, MARINI SILVANO, $78; Silver Slingback Heels, BCBGMAXAZRIA, $195

Q: My favorite vintage leather handbag got water-damaged in a flood. What can I do?

A: Check with a leather specialist before you lose all hope, but understand that in general, fixing water-damaged leather is really difficult. A lot of times the leather has to be recolored, and that can be expensive. Instead, take this as an opportunity to indulge in a little DIY. Buy some cool patches and sew them on at odd angles, or get some metallic spray paint and create an ombre effect over the damaged area. You can get really crafty and just cover the whole thing in studs or paint a geometric design over the surface. If you're nervous about doing the work yourself, hand the bag over to one of your more artistically inclined friends and have her doodle on it in permanent marker. It might end up looking even better than it did before it got damaged. Here are some designer bags to inspire you.

Black Studded Bag, REBECCA MINKOFF, $395; Printed Shoulder Bag, MARC JACOBS, $2,277; Triangle Patch Satchel, DAILYLOOK, $60; Applique Tote, LANVIN, $516

Do you have fashion or style questions?  Email them to styledbycosmo@gmail.com or tweet your questions to our Style Editor @charlesemanning.

Photo Credit: Getty Images, Touchstone Pictures

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Little Boots Dishes on Her New Album <i>Nocturnes</i>

March 29, 2013 at 1:55PM By Erika Berlin |

British electro-pop star Victoria Hesketh (you know her as Little Boots) stopped by Cosmo this week to talk about her stellar new album, Nocturnes—due May 7—which will have you dancing up a storm (and maybe wearing more glitter than usual). To say this album is insanely infectious is an understatement: Check out her ethereal, trance-like first single Motorway and latest release, the perfectly crafted disco-dance jam Broken Record.

Little Boots talked with us about making a record on her own terms, the return of disco, and why she wants to be like Robyn (don’t we all).

Cosmo: Is it May yet? We can’t wait to hear this album live!

Little Boots: It comes out two days after my birthday! I’ll be in the U.S. on tour that week, so I’ll just make it my birthday/tour/album week. Celebrate everything in one week! We’ll be doing six cities in seven days—and hitting both coasts—so it’s going to be killer. It would be cool to do something for all ages as well—I always get loads of messages from fans under 18 who all say they really want to come to a show, but there’s the under-21 laws here! And I think God, that was the main age I went to gigs, when I was 18 and 19. So we’ll see what we can do. I’m just so psyched to get out on tour with the new songs. I know I’m going to live on adrenaline the whole week. You don’t even need to feed me! I’ll just be high on adrenaline all week!

Cosmo: Your music lives really well between the dance and the indie worlds—was there a particular sound you were going for when recording this album?

Little Boots: I’ve always had one foot in pop and one foot in the kind of alternative dance world. I really wanted to make sure this album was sonically cohesive. I wanted to record it all in the same room with the people, the same synthesizers. I’ve been out DJ-ing since the last tour—just being in dark, dirty places at three in the morning—and listening to a lot of old disco and house and reading up on the history of dance music. You can definitely hear those influences here and how it led me to work with Tim Goldsworthy from DFA Records and Andy Butler from Hercules and Love Affair.

Cosmo: We thought we heard a disco-revival in the works on here.

Little Boots: It feels like maybe this year could be the year of disco—Daft Punk is coming back and working with Nile Rodgers and Giorgio Moroder, the two kings of disco. Dance Pop is just huge and feels so derivative and unimaginative to me, and I know that space could be amazing and creative and pushing boundaries. I’m hoping that with Daft Punk coming back and working with the people they are, they will give dance a bit of a kick in the ass—save it from eating itself any further. There are some amazing pop songs out there, but for every great one there are five terrible ones. It’s a vicious cycle.

Cosmo: You co-write all of your songs, and you’ve set up your own label, On Repeat, to release this album. How was that process?

Little Boots: It took a bit of balls, really. I wasn’t seeing eye to eye with my other label and it was so frustrating, so the past three years have been this journey of setting up my own label and making this record that I really wanted to make. It’s been self-empowering—now I’m totally in control of my career and where it’s going. Even though it’s a lot more work on a personal level, it’s super exciting. It means I can be like, "I have an idea for a video! Let’s make it!" or "I want to work with this producer! Let’s do it!" or "I want to make a dress that lights up for my tour! Let’s do it!" It feels like I’m in the driver’s seat. It took some time to learn to trust myself and get that self-confidence, but I look at people like Robyn who really took control, and she’s such an incredible, inspiring woman and artist. She set up this badass label and made all these amazing records, and I thought shit, if she can do it so can I! I’m hoping I can follow in her footsteps. So, thanks, Robyn!

Catch Little Boots on tour:
5/2: Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
5/3: San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
5/4: Philadelphia, PA @ Voyeur (Making Time)
5/5: Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
5/7: Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
5/8: Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall

Want more from Erika? Follow her on Twitter @ErikaBerlin.

Photo: Mari Sarai

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Would You Dare to Wear "Unicorn Boots?"

Korin Miller
Korin is the site director for Cosmopolitan.com. She loves uncovering cool new research and learning more about what makes guys tick. Outside the Cosmo office, you can find her running with her dog, trying to convince friends to go to karaoke bars, and watching as much reality TV as humanly possible. Hit her up on Twitter: @korinmiller
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Michelle Ruiz
Michelle is the news editor for Cosmopolitan.com. She's obsessed with interviewing celebrities and spotting the latest pop culture trends. Her life highlights include chatting with Ryan Gosling about sex dolls, dancing on stage at the Oprah show, and shopping with her mom on Long Island. Tweet her: @michelleruiz
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Dara Adeeyo
Dara is the associate web editor for Cosmopolitan.com. She's intrigued by all things digital. Dara loves playing with html and discovering new studies. When she's not reading up on the latest cocktail recipes (for work, of course), she can be found breaking it down on the dance floor or watching the Investigative Discovery channel. She also has a sick obsession with nail polish, elephants, and most importantly, Nutella. Dara basically lives on Twitter, so tweet at her and say hey: @dadeeyo.
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Elisa Benson
Elisa Benson is the senior editor of social media for @Cosmopolitan?so, yes, she tweets about sex for a living. Elisa grew up in Ohio, attended Colgate University, and wrote love and relationship advice for Seventeen before graduating to Cosmo. She lives for girly things (weddings and eyelash extensions and Pretty Little Liars?) and frequently tweets about all of the above: @elisabenson.
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Boots to Buy This Season

These knee-high brown boots might not look like they're comfy, but their built-in platform adds an extra cushion for your feet.

Nine West In the House Dress Boots, $199, macys.com.

From Cosmopolitan.com. Visit Amazon Beauty Center here

How (and Why) to Wear Over-the-Knee Boots

Celebs like Miranda Kerr and Rihanna are stepping out in over-the-knee boots (OTKBs), sans tights, since the weather has shown signs of warmth lately. And we're not surprised. This type of boot is the perfect transition shoe between winter and spring, especially if you want to forgo stockings, thanks to the amount of leg coverage they offer up. How do you wear them, you ask? Here's a few rules to live by when rocking this style:

• Choose a flat riding style or a chunkier heel for everyday wear; we love the stiletto versions, but since they're likely to be less versatile it's best to save them for an evening out.

• Stick to black, although if you're more conservative you can go with brown. Just keep in mind that this type of boot tends to be a bit pricier and black goes with everything.

• Balance the look of high, tight boots with a flowy dress that hits no shorter than an inch and a half above your knee—pairing them with a butt-hugging mini skirt is too Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, and that look just isn't cute. You can also wear OTKBs with skinny jeans or leggings, but if you go that route, choose a top that isn't form-fitting and somewhat covers your behind, like a long sweater, tunic, boyfriend blazer, etc., to avoid highlighting too many assets at once.

• Keep everything else in your ensemble (accessories, makeup) subdued; these boots are sexy any way you slice them and often steal the show, so the last thing you need is your smoky eye and chunky necklace competing for attention.

Now that you know the basics regarding how you wear them, stop thinking they're reserved for leggy super models, your tallest best friend, or Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada—and go get yourself a pair! Anyone can rock OTKBs, just remember when purchasing them to make sure the top of the boot hits perfectly between your knee-cap and the beginning of your thigh; any higher and you'll be channeling a street walker (and that look isn't what we'd call office-friendly).

From Cosmopolitan.com. Visit Amazon Beauty Center here

How (and Why) to Wear Over-the-Knee Boots

Celebs like Miranda Kerr and Rihanna are stepping out in over-the-knee boots (OTKBs), sans tights, since the weather has shown signs of warmth lately. And we're not surprised. This type of boot is the perfect transition shoe between winter and spring, especially if you want to forgo stockings, thanks to the amount of leg coverage they offer up. How do you wear them, you ask? Here's a few rules to live by when rocking this style:

• Choose a flat riding style or a chunkier heel for everyday wear; we love the stiletto versions, but since they're likely to be less versatile it's best to save them for an evening out.

• Stick to black, although if you're more conservative you can go with brown. Just keep in mind that this type of boot tends to be a bit pricier and black goes with everything.

• Balance the look of high, tight boots with a flowy dress that hits no shorter than an inch and a half above your knee—pairing them with a butt-hugging mini skirt is too Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, and that look just isn't cute. You can also wear OTKBs with skinny jeans or leggings, but if you go that route, choose a top that isn't form-fitting and somewhat covers your behind, like a long sweater, tunic, boyfriend blazer, etc., to avoid highlighting too many assets at once.

• Keep everything else in your ensemble (accessories, makeup) subdued; these boots are sexy any way you slice them and often steal the show, so the last thing you need is your smoky eye and chunky necklace competing for attention.

Now that you know the basics regarding how you wear them, stop thinking they're reserved for leggy super models, your tallest best friend, or Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada—and go get yourself a pair! Anyone can rock OTKBs, just remember when purchasing them to make sure the top of the boot hits perfectly between your knee-cap and the beginning of your thigh; any higher and you'll be channeling a street walker (and that look isn't what we'd call office-friendly).

From Cosmopolitan.com. Visit Amazon Beauty Center here