A letter from a reader

At 62, I used to dread the boots coming out of the cupboard. Not this year.

I almost did not write this down, because it is only a pair of boots and I am not the sort of woman who gets excited about that sort of thing any more. But three different people stopped to ask me about them when I popped into town on Saturday, and when that happens at 62 you start to think there might be something in it.

Every autumn it was the same. The boots would come down from the top of the wardrobe, and within a day my feet would be aching and rubbed and I would be back in my flat shoes wishing I had never bothered. The comfortable boots were clumpy and did nothing for me, and the ones with a bit of style punished me for wearing them. So I had rather given up on looking nice from the ankle down once the weather turned.

I had decided that a boot with a bit of style, and a boot I could actually walk in, were two different boots entirely.

So I shuffled through the autumns in the same flat shoes, and told myself it did not matter.

Then I saw them on a friend

A friend of mine had a pair on and marched round a whole afternoon in them while I admired how smart they looked, and she swore they were as comfy as slippers. They are from Nottingham Boutique, a little boutique that has been quietly looking after women our age for a few years, and they had their sale on. They are called the Carmen, a lovely soft tan pair with a bit of a western look, and they come in five colours. I ordered mine that same evening before I could talk myself out of it.

What happened in town

I wore them into town on the first cool day, half braced for the usual aching by lunchtime. Instead I marched about quite happily, and three separate women came over to ask me where they were from. Three. My friend Sue said I looked like I had my act together for once, which coming from Sue I have decided to take as a compliment.

That was the moment it clicked for me. I had spent years believing I had to choose between smart boots and comfortable ones, and here was one pair that quietly did both.

Three things I have learned since

One. The heel is a sensible one. It is a proper little block heel, so I get a bit of height and a bit of shape without any of the wobbling or the aching that put me off heels years ago. Steady as anything.

Two. There was no breaking them in. They were soft and comfortable from the very first day, no rubbing and no blisters, which for a boot I could scarcely believe. The sole is supportive, so a long day on my feet no longer punishes me.

Three. They actually look lovely. The soft tan and the gentle western shape make them look far dearer than they were, and they go with my jeans, my trousers, a skirt with thick tights. They have quietly become the thing I reach for all autumn.

About the price

I will be honest, when I saw the price in the sale I was a bit suspicious. Boots that look this good and feel this comfortable usually cost a great deal more, and it turns out they usually do.

The Carmen is £44.95. It was £90.00.

There was no catch. They arrived quickly, they were comfortable from the very first day with no breaking in, and they looked exactly like the picture, which we all know is not always the way.

I did go and read the reviews before I ordered a second pair in the black. Just over three hundred of them, sitting at 4.2 stars. Not the suspiciously perfect five you see on some sites, which if I am honest made me trust it more. One woman had written, "A proper stylish boot I can wear all day without a single ache, and I am on my feet a lot." That was the one that decided it for me.

What I would tell you if we were friends

If you and I were sat in the garden and you asked me, this is what I would say.

If you dread the boots coming down from the wardrobe every autumn, because the comfortable ones do nothing for you and the smart ones leave your feet in ribbons, then it is worth ten minutes of your evening to go and have a look.

Not because a pair of boots will change your life. They will not. But there is something in stepping out on a crisp morning feeling both comfortable and rather smart, that I had quietly given up on, and I would rather you did not give up on it too.

Two practical things. They are in the sale at the moment, half of what they were, and with the autumn coming the popular sizes go first, which I found out because the size I wanted had sold out by the time I went back for a second colour. And once they have sold through, that is it until next year.

I am almost looking forward to the boots weather now.

Caroline