A LETTER FROM HELEN

AT 62, I FINALLY WORE THE BOOTS I THOUGHT WERE FOR MY GRANDDAUGHTER

Two women at the Saturday market asked me where they were from. My sister pretended to be cross about it. This is the whole story.

Helen Thompson · NewcastleOctober 2026 · 4 min read

By the front door, the first morning I wore them. I laced them up twice, just to be sure.

I have never written one of these before, and at 62 I am not usually the woman telling other people what they ought to wear.

It started with a pair of boots.

My wardrobe is mostly sensible. Navy, cream, grey, and enough jeans and trousers to see me through several Newcastle winters. Somewhere along the way, comfortable had quietly become another word for shoes that made me disappear.

For years my shoes came in two piles. The smart pair that pinched by lunchtime and only came out of the box for weddings. And the comfortable pair I wore everywhere, which looked exactly as comfortable as they were. Lace-up boots like these, I had always quietly filed under things for my granddaughter.

Then my sister Ann came over for Sunday lunch in a pair of them. Polished black, laced neatly over her jeans, with a sturdy sole and a line of stitching running round the edge. She had walked from the bus stop in the drizzle, she was on her feet in my kitchen all afternoon, and she never once kicked them off under the table, which for Ann is a small miracle.

I told her I thought boots like that were for teenagers. She said that was exactly what she had thought, until she tried them.

I asked her where they were from before we had got to the pudding. She told me, a little smugly, that they were the Charlotte boots from Rovelle's Closet, a small boutique I had never heard of.

I ordered the burgundy pair that evening, half-expecting them to look better on her than they would on me.

You do not stop wanting to feel lovely because you get older. You simply get tired of shoes that ask you to suffer for it.

THE FIRST TIME I WORE THEM MYSELF

I wore mine on the Saturday with my usual jeans and a chunky jumper. No special outfit. No attempt to look younger.

The laces were the first surprise. I could leave them a little looser over my thick winter socks, which I have never managed with my pull-on boots. The sole felt solid and steady underneath me, and the low heel meant I was not watching every step on the wet cobbles. They are lighter on the foot than they look, too.

Jeans, my chunky jumper and the burgundy pair. Nothing I would not have worn anyway.

See The Charlotte Boots

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE MARKET

I had been walking round the Saturday market for the best part of an hour when a woman at the cheese stall looked down and asked, plainly, where my boots were from. Ten minutes later a second woman stopped me by the flower stall and said she had been looking for exactly that colour.

I have worn sensible shoes for forty years and nobody has ever asked me about them. Twice in one morning felt like rather a lot.

What I noticed most came later. Halfway through the afternoon I realised I had not thought about my feet once. I had not loosened anything, changed the way I was walking or wondered whether I would make it home before they started to pinch. That sounds like a small thing until you have spent years quietly negotiating with shoes.

When I told Ann, she said I had copied her. I pointed out that mine were burgundy. She said that did not count.

The burgundy is softer than I expected. It goes with far more than black ever did.

THREE THINGS I HAVE LEARNT SINCE

One. Laces are not old-fashioned. They let you set the fit to your own feet: a little looser with thick socks, a little snugger for a long walk.

Two. A sturdy sole does not have to look clumpy. It feels steady on wet pavements, and the low heel keeps everything sensible for errands, the bus into town and a long afternoon.

Three. A little colour helps. Burgundy goes with navy, denim, camel and cream, and it makes a plain winter outfit look chosen rather than grabbed.

Outside the café after church, with my wool skirt and thick tights. Ann took this to prove she had them first.

THE CHARLOTTE, AGAINST THE BOOTS IN MY HALL CUPBOARD

ABOUT THE PRICE

I will be honest, the price made me suspicious. The Charlotte boots were £134.95, and in Rovelle's Closet's clearance they are £49.95. A mark-down like that is usually where I start asking what is wrong with something.

So I read the reviews before I ordered. There are more than 7,000 of them, averaging 4.7 out of 5, and the same things kept coming up: sturdy underfoot, comfortable from the first walk, and easy to wear with what you already own. A few weeks in, I have not found the catch either.

They come in seven colours, in UK sizes 4 to 7. I chose burgundy because it is softer than black and goes with the navy, cream and denim I already own.

WHAT I WOULD TELL YOU IF WE WERE FRIENDS

If your cupboard is full of shoes that are either comfortable or presentable, but never both, I would not tell you to replace the lot.

I would start with one pair that is sensible enough for an ordinary Tuesday and a wet Saturday, and makes you look a little more put together when you catch yourself in a shop window.

For me, that was the Charlotte. And Ann, if you are reading this: yes, I know you found them first.

I did not need a new shoe collection. I needed one pair that made the old wardrobe feel like mine again.

Helen

THE CHARLOTTE LACE-UP BOOTS

★★★★★ 4.7 / 5 from 7,263+ reviews

£134.95 £49.95

• Classic lace-up ankle boot with a polished leather-look finish
• Adjustable lacing, with room for thicker socks
• Durable rubber sole and a steady low heel
• Cushioned insole for all-day walking
• Seven colours · UK sizes 4–7
• Free UK delivery · 30-day money-back guarantee

See Colours & Sizes

Clearance price, while sizes last.

Rovelle's Closet · Free UK delivery · 30-day money-back guarantee. This page is an advertisement for Rovelle's Closet.