Over 50? Why you must ditch your ankle boots – and the three kinds it is best to snap up as an alternative, reveals style skilled SHANE WATSON

Everyone has their pick-me-up trick. It might be a blow dry or a trip round Marks & Spencer‘s Food Hall. Mine is trying on boots.

At the risk of driving the sales people in Zara to an early grave, I can strongly recommend boot trying-on as an almost perfect combination of enforced sit down time (in a big Zara they’ll be gone for ten minutes finding your size); nostalgia bomb (all the boots you’ve ever loved will flash through your mind); harmless fantasising (once you’ve got the boots you can wander around in front of the mirrors dreaming of boot wearing opportunities, realistic or not); and just good old-fashioned fashion indulgence.

Added to that – I probably don’t need to spell it out – any woman, of any age, shape or height can carry off a pair of boots, possibly much the same boots as she did 30 years ago, and that’s as good as it gets if you’re talking about raising the spirits.

If you’re not yet aware of the boot pick-me-up and you’re thinking ‘what’s the difference between boots and shoes’, the answer is everything. Footwear doesn’t get bigger than boots. Boots are more powerful: they add swagger, good energy, confidence – and, right now, winter 2024 chutzpah.

Virtually anything goes with boots, so long as they’re knee high, Shane Watson writes. Pictured: Amanda Holden (left) and Emily Ratajkowski (right) looking stylish in theirs

The new way to wear boots is out on the town, after dark, under your swishing midi dress.

Virtually anything goes with boots at the moment, so long as they’re knee high (the ankle boots-with- everything moment has finally passed), but the overriding mood, the thing they have in common, is polish.

Here are the three styles that will make you feel good, but also put new flair in your winter clothes, including at party time…

Wide-leg kitten heel boot

The two big boot trends of the season are a wide leg that stands away from the calf, and a kitten heel. You might not warm to it instantly: the shape takes a bit of getting used to and you may worry that it’ll swamp you and make you look big legged.

But fear not, because your legs will not be on show: the idea is you wear this boot with a longer hemline skirt or dress – the silhouette is body skimming on top, flowing on the bottom – and it reboots a familiar look.

M&S’s pointed heel, patent boots, £79, are the standout in this category

Dresses with regular heels, kitten or otherwise, or indeed ankle boots, can look Miss Moneypenny frumpy now, especially on us 50-pluses. This is the way to upgrade old favourite frocks.

The standout in this category – a good shape, good price and, crucially, shiny patent leather so they will look good in the evening – are M&S’s pointed heel, patent boots (£79, marksandspencer.com).

Also worth a look are Zara’s wide-leg boots (£69.99, zara.com) and Massimo Dutti’s slim nib-heeled suede boots (£229, massimodutti.com). More slouchy fit than wide, but they have the sharpness required of evening boots.

Flat cool boot

This is the daytime, wear-with-everything boot. We’ve finally moved on from hefty tractor tread soles and the styles that works best now are more refined — either polished and straight like a light riding boot or a bit slouchy but still smart.

Labels doing good simple flat boots include Zara and H&M premium.

Boots you’ve always wanted

It’s always surprisingly hard to find a timeless knee boot with a walkable, just-high-enough heel, an almond toe (the one that doesn’t really date) in a decent quality leather that fits just right.

Boden’s Erica Knee High (£230, boden.co.uk) is unflashy, elegant and cut to flatter.

Boden’s Erica Knee High (£230, boden.co.uk ) boots are unflashy, elegant and cut to flatter

With these boots the key is where they finish on the leg –not too close to your knee, roughly 2.5in below is more flattering – and how they fit on the calf – too curvy and they can look bulky, too lean and they look skimpy and feel tight.

Otherwise Dune (£160, marksandspencer.com) does a pull-on stretch boot, with a heel a bit under three inches, which is a dead ringer for that classic Robert Clergerie boot that was the toast of the Nineties.

If you want something with a bit more swagger, go for Zara’s split suede heeled boots (£109)

John Lewis’s Sadie suede knee-high with an elastic back panel (£149, johnlewis.com) is the lower alternative. These pull-on boots work with everything.

If you want something with a bit more swagger, cut higher to cover the knee, with the option of turning it down to show off the soft black sheepskin effect lining, then Zara does a buccaneering suede boot (£109, zara.com) with a 1.9 inch heel.

Tuck your slim jeans in and off you go. That’ll take you back.