midi length work dresses-what to wear on feet/legs?

[Allaboutsleeves]

I like to dress smartly for work and would like to move towards wearing more dresses . I am middle aged.

I have recently have found myself always in trousers with a nice blouse as i am struggling with what to wear on my legs / feet with a dress and would like something age-appropriate. i love lots of the dresses by MeandEm etc but the models are younger and wear bare legs ( fine for me in summer with tanned legs) and trainers or short boots which i don't think are right for me.

Do any of you style-conscious older ladies have any suggestions for appropriate footwear and leg coverage to help me out of my dress-avoiding rut please?

https://www.stories.com/en-gb/product/kitten-heel-leather-knee-boots-dark-brown-1289293003/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=FF~_CN~pmax_AN~otherstories_PR~mix_MK~gb_PL~google-ads_TT~generic_CU~gpg_PH~conversion&utm_content=nonbrand&utm_id=21018399729&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21028538041&gbraid=0AAAAADCHX8HRFvFvJJE3B5zg1fuahvOfm

Knee length boots for the cooler weather

https://www.sezane.com/en-en/product/marceau-loafers/light-taupe

loafers for flats

I wear a combination of loafers, mary jane's, heeled ballerinas. I don't feel comfortable wearing boots indoors all day. I also wear a lot of dresses. I wear Penny Chilvers or Gabor sandals in the summer.

https://www.laredoute.co.uk/ppdp/prod-350327287.aspx Mary Jane’s

I tend to wear mary Jane's in the summer - like these : https://www.moshulu.co.uk/flat-mary-jane-shoes-p2869#attribute%5B1%5D=132

Brogues or something like this, mid season - https://www.moshulu.co.uk/smart-scalloped-edge-leather-derbys-p3656#attribute%5B1%5D=1938

And ankle boots in the winter - https://www.moshulu.co.uk/warm-lined-lace-up-boots-p606#attribute%5B1%5D=15

I pretty much always wear tights. I know the bare legs/trainers thing is more fashionable but it's just not what I feel comfortable in for the office

some lovely shoes, thank you . i have some loafers and mary jane's too which i wear in summer, but i always feel frumpy when i wear them with tights , guess i will just have to resort to wearing the dreaded tights in cooler months.

i work with mostly young people with great style and i aim to look age-appropriate stylish.

I think tights are coming back into fashion recently which is great for those of us who work in air conditioned offices!

For the last few years I’ve been wearing knee high boots with dresses and skirts (until the point when the temperature makes it impossible).

If you click on the photos here you’ll see how various shapes are being worn currently:

https://www.net-a-porter.com/en-gb/shop/shoes/boots/knee-high

Pretty much every mainstream clothes retailer will have versions of fashionable boots.

I guess it depends on the culture of your workplace. I possibly wouldn’t have worn shiny black kitten heeled boots to court, but these days I can please myself.

All my dresses and skirts are between knee length and floor length. For work they’d be no longer than lower calf length. I like both hems covering the tops of boots and hems just above the boot top. For years I wore either shoes or ankle boots with skirts but knee high feels fresher and more fun. Nowadays I only really want to wear shoes with trousers.

(Summer is a different matter.)

Did they go out? I have a couple of midi dresses of the jersey variety. I tend to wear with opaque tights and ankle boots( small heel or flat) or knee length boots .
https://www.clarks.com/en-gb/edina-up/26181407-p?source=aw&cm_mmc=AFLT--awin--104504-_-na1&utm_source=awin&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=Lyst&utm_id=104504&utm_content=Lyst+Ltd&sv1=affiliate&sv_campaign_id=104504&awc=2515_1772354093_08f30e75944d5794b4b1ac0973bd7143
These are so comfortable as the heel is actually wide.

Opaque tights and flat laced ankle boots or low kitten heeled boots when it's cold. Sheer tights and flat pumps and Mary Jane's when it isn't. If it's really hot ankle socks with same shoes or fisherman's sandals or bare legs. Never fake tan.

I like sock boots with a dress as they hide ankles if they are puffy and are snug around the ankle.
They look really nice on and lovely with a dress.
Im saving up for these but Im currently wearing a cheap pair from tiktok shop which look very similar.

https://www.vivaia.com/products/XRPD00927/Amanda?gid=10032277

At that price you really prefer those to proper leather boots you could enjoy polishing for a decade, @Gettingbysomehow?

For me yes. I like the way they are really snug around the ankle. I dont like a gap.i often find leather very difficult to wear because I have had arthritis in my feet since my 30s and I find these are much more comfortable.
I think you either like sock boots or hate them, like marmite.

Those saying tights coming back - what colour? I have very pale skin and stocky legs and they look awful bare. Back in the day a nude sheer tight did the job but I feel a bit Hilda Ogden in them now. ( pale nude for me, not the dreaded American tan)
what would be a summer equivalent now? Can we still wear those? I haven’t for years

are the ubiquitous black opaques ok in winter or

help me please

You can get fake sheer black tights now that are secretly really thick. Fleece lined for winter and wonderful. Theyd be more stylish than opaque.

I only wear opaque black tights and pop socks in opaque black under trousers. Once it gets warm enough I will use a gradual tan product before exposing my legs.

I wear smart single colour trainers these days..Suparga or from Jigsaw or something like this

https://saharalondon.com/products/aster-leather-trainers-victoria-ss26?variant=57687113531773&currency=GBP&source=google&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23026187967&gclid=Cj0KCQiA5I_NBhDVARIsAOrqIsbmVxHMPzCv1CoCtgRVcAQuj87m7QONhi5MstHa9FjxvrlicvP_frQaAnSbEALw_wcB

yeah I wear trainers with trousers and maxi dresses sometimes. DDs work in the city and women are wearing smart trainers to work.

I also like to wear trainers with dresses but there are some occasions when I need to be a bit smarter.

I was at a meeting in London last week and was very surprised to see how many young women were wearing heels with trousers, skirts & dresses. There were court shoe style, Mary-Jane’s, pointy toe stilettos and kitten heels. There was a middle aged woman in a dress with trainers and by comparison, she looked frumpy and too casual because heels do change gait and trainers just don’t look formal or smart. I was even surprised by my own noticing of everyone’s outfits. I wear trainers to dash about in and I changed to low heels at the venue because I feel more put together in shoes, plus the venue has a dress code after 5pm. I hope we’ve truly reached an anything goes era.

I'm older than middle aged and I usually wore tights with Chelsea boots in winter and bare legs with sandals in summer. Sometimes brogues/loafers if I didn't feel like wearing boots.

I work in the fashion office for a major department store (abroad, not UK, but think Net a Porter type place) and midi dresses/skirts are definitely common and popular. In winter they get worn with loafers - flat or heeled, I have some suede ones I love or with boots, typically taller boots so the boot goes up under the skirt, rather than having an ankle boot. Sometimes with sock style boots. I wear 3/4 tights underneath so they aren't visible or sheer stockings. Some people will wear chunkier style boots as well: https://www.celine.com/en-us/celine-shop-women/shoes/boots-and-ankle-boots/margaret-boot-in-nylon-and-suede-calfskin-365115243C.38NO.html.

In summer I wear them with either sandals, toe loop or another nice leather sandal or with heeled slingbacks. Loafers and colored trainers (Adidas leopard print ones are really popular in the office right now) also get worn a lot.

I wear a lot of dresses too. Mainly with knee high or OTK boots in colder weather. Midaxi dresses with ankle boots or flats (generally Mary Jane’s, I don’t do loafers). Tights are back in at the moment, although I wear them anyway if I need to, I live in Scotland, lol

I’m not happy about the return of tights. I’ve loved the years of stomping about in gently hued, calf length Margaret Howell socks under ankle boots or summer footwear. In fact socks with skirts is probably one of the main reasons why I hardly ever remember jeans exist.

I have this dilemma every Spring! I’m older than you and short ( 5’2”) but love midi dresses. I wear them with knee high boots til March then don’t wear the dresses again until I can wear them with sandals ( usually by mid May)as I hate my feet/ankles/legs in trainers with a dress. Then back to boots in October!
Rainy summer days I’m back in trousers with trainers