A Letter From Vivian: The Isabella
A letter from the founder
Take the white stitching off these and you have a brown boot. That stitching is the entire reason anybody looks twice.
On the six things that made me choose the Isabella, how they compare to the tall boot you put back, and why they are $69.95 for our twentieth year.
I am Vivian, and I opened this boutique twenty years ago with one idea: that a woman should not have to choose between comfortable and beautiful.
A tall boot is the most wanted thing in this shop every September and one of the least often bought, and it took me a long time to work out why.
Because there are two on the rail and neither is what she came in for. There is the plain brown one — sensible, perfectly nice, and almost exactly the plain brown one already in her closet. And there is the decorated one, which she picks up, and turns over, and genuinely wants. And then puts back down. Not because of the price. Because she has learned that getting a tall boot on is an undignified business, and she would rather not find out again in a shop.
So the third thing goes unmade: a boot worth turning over that also goes on sitting down, in about four seconds, without a performance.
I never accepted that a woman had to choose.
The Isabella is my answer. White embroidery running the whole length of the shaft, and a zip up the inside so you never wrestle with them once. There were six things I would not do without.
The embroidery runs the full length of the shaft
This is where the money goes and it is the first thing I check. A great many western boots put a small motif near the ankle, where it is cheap to do, and leave the rest of the shaft plain — which looks like a decorated boot in a photograph and like a plain boot on a leg. Here the white stitching runs from the toe all the way to the top: the wing pattern up the sides, the scrollwork over the foot, the line along the collar. Take that stitching away and this is a brown boot. Every bit of the character is in it.
“The white stitching against the tan color is what caught my eye. It gives them that western look without feeling overdone.”
Melanie F., AustinA mid block heel, not a narrow one
Height without a balancing act. A block heel puts the whole width of your foot over the ground, so you get the lift and none of the concentration — you can stand on brick, on grass, on a sidewalk that has seen better winters, and simply not think about it. A narrow heel gives you the same inch and asks you to earn it all evening. And mid is the right height for the real reason: it is the one you can still be wearing at nine at night.
“The block heel gives me a little height but still feels steady underfoot. I can wear them for several hours comfortably.”
Deborah N., NashvilleA pointed toe, which is doing more than it looks
The line of the toe is what lengthens the whole leg. A tall boot already covers a great deal of you, and a round, heavy toe at the end of it stops the eye dead and makes the foot look like the end of a post. The point carries the line on instead. It is the difference between a boot that sits on a leg and a boot that finishes one, and it costs nothing extra to do — it is simply a decision somebody either makes or does not.
“The pointed toe makes my legs look longer, but the overall boot still feels practical enough for an ordinary day out.”
Tammy W., TulsaA side zip and a pull tab — both, not one
This is the point of the whole thing, and it is why the decorated boot goes back on the rail everywhere else. A traditional tall boot has two loops and a prayer. The Isabella has a zip up the inside of the leg, so it opens and closes properly, and a pull tab at the top for the last inch — and the zip is set on the inside seam where the embroidery is not, so nothing about the outside of the boot gives it away. You get the boot you wanted and none of the wrestling.
“The side zipper is such a help. I can get these on and off without wrestling with a tall boot.”
Colleen J., Fort Worth“I appreciate the pull tab almost as much as the zipper. Tall boots are usually a chore for me, and these are much easier.”
Shelley D., LexingtonThey work with a skirt and they work with jeans
Most boots are honest about being one thing. A tall boot that only works under a skirt is a boot for six occasions a year, and a woman knows that when she is standing there deciding. This one takes jeans tucked in and it takes a skirt above it, and the reason is the shaft — it is straight and clean enough to sit under denim without bunching, and decorated enough to carry the whole outfit when there is a bare leg above it instead.
“I wore them with a denim skirt the first time and then with jeans the next weekend. They work surprisingly well both ways.”
Regina C., Oklahoma City“These have just enough western detail to make a simple outfit interesting. I wore them to dinner with dark jeans and felt completely put together.”
Monica P., KnoxvilleSeventeen sizes, and every half size in between
US 4 through 12, and every half size along the way. That is the least glamorous thing on this page and I would put it near the top of my own list, because a boot is the single purchase where half a size is the whole difference — too small and you will not wear them, too large and you will slide about all evening. Most shops make a woman round up and get on with it. Both colors, Brown and Black, run the entire range, and every size is the same price.
The Isabella, against the tall boot you put back
| The usual western boot | The Isabella | |
|---|---|---|
| Embroidery | A small motif at the ankle | Embroidery the full length of the shaft |
| Getting them on | Two loops and a struggle | A side zip, and a pull tab at the top |
| Heel | A narrow heel you balance on | A mid block heel, steady all evening |
| Toe | A round, heavy toe that stops the line | A pointed toe that carries the leg on |
| Sizing | Whole sizes — round up and cope | US 4 to 12, every half size |
| Colors | Brown, and that is that | Brown and Black, full run in both |
I refuse to sell a woman a beautiful boot she has to fight her way into. That is the whole reason the Isabella is in the shop.
Why we’re clearing them now
The Isabella came in at $249.95. Embroidery worked the length of a shaft is slow, and a zip set into a seam without disturbing the pattern around it is slower still — that is what the original number was paying for. But the shop turns twenty this year, and my daughter Pearl is beside me at the counter most days now, which is not something I let myself count on in 2006. We wanted to mark it by handing something back to the women who kept our door open, so they are going out at a little over a quarter of what they were.
And I would rather do it in September than in November. A tall boot bought now gets the whole fall — the good weeks, the ones where you are still going out in the evening. A tall boot bought in November gets a month before the salt goes down and everybody moves to something they do not mind ruining.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,524+ reviews
$249.95$69.95
20th Anniversary Sale — Save 72%
- White embroidery the full length of the shaft
- A mid block heel — height without the balancing
- A pointed toe that carries the line of the leg
- A side zip and a pull tab at the top
- Suede upper · Brown and Black
- US 4 to 12, every half size · one price
- Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
Every color and size the same price · while sizes last
Twenty years of selling boots and the tell has never changed. A woman puts a tall boot on and the first thing she does is stand up and look down at it. Not in the mirror. Down.
She is checking the shaft against her own leg, and she already knows the answer before she has taken a step. The mirror is only for confirming it.
Go and find your size.
— Vivian · Vivian & Pearl Newport
SEE THE ISABELLA — $69.95 →This is a personal letter from the founder of Vivian & Pearl Newport. Customer reviews are quoted as written. · US family brand since 2006 · Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee.