I’ve been hunting for a pair of nice flat sandals and given my recent obsession with Barneys, I was browing their selection online when I found these shoes by Sigerson Morrison. All I have to say is that it’s a good thing that Barneys doesn’t deign to break down their shoe selection by category, because I’m not sure if these are boots or sandals. However, I am sure that I don’t like them.

In Manhattan, knee-high boots are stylish AND practical, because they enable us ladies to wear skirts but still keep our legs covered and warm. When the weather is bad, they also keep our feet dry too. So … if you’re going to all this trouble to cover up your calves, why leave your toes out in the wind in a very literal sense?

It’s just very confusing, not to mention impractical (though I do recognize that fashion isn’t always about practicality , if it was, I wouldn’t own four pairs of shoes with a 4” heel). Although I suppose it could be visually interesting to wear a pair of bright coloured boot socks underneath, the look seems too restricting to translate across different styles or to wear that often without being repetitive. Plus at $750, these boots are something of an investment piece and not a one-off. Available at barneys.com