FOUND: ‘90s Boots, Upgraded – Stiletto Jungle

I’m pretty sure that every person who was old enough to buy their own clothes in the ‘90s owned a pair of lace-up boots. Maybe your ‘90s boots were classic Docs, the most popular choice. Or maybe, like me, you jumped on the bandwagon late enough to snag a stylish spin-off. My boots were luggage brown with bottle green laces, courtesy of a much-cooler-than-now J.Crew. They weighed a ton, and I swear I lost five pounds the first semester I owned them thanks to a thrice weekly class on the fourth floor of a building with too few elevators. Such good memories.

With the fashion world’s recent infatuation with the ‘90s vibe, lace-up boots were bound to come back. But, would they come back in a good way, like satin slip dresses, or a bad way, a la ultra-low-rise denim? I’m happy to report that ‘90s-style boots are back in the best way possible: with a luxe look and some modern upgrades.

These brand new Laced Boots from Theory are available in black, dark brown, and beige leather. Each shade comes with both flat tonal and white waxed cotton laces, so you can decide just how strictly you want to adhere to the throwback style. And once you get them laced perfectly, you can pull them on and off with ease using the nicely upgraded internal covered zipper. So happy to see that the several-minutes commitment to lacing boots did not survive the ‘90s. Other luxe details of these Italian-made beauties include kid leather lining and a barrel-dyed smooth calf leather upper with just a tinge of shine.

→ Buy the Theory Laced Boots, $495.00, at theory.com; shipping and returns are free.