My search for the perfect cognac colored boots

Did you know that the "it" color in boots the past year or so has been cognac?  I hadn't either.  In fact, I think it's been replaced already by a burgundy/wine color.  Oh well, so I'm a little behind the times.  I just got the "cognac-itch" this fall.  I fell in love with the rich, buttery color.  And I have so many black boots that I thought a change would be good. So I set out to find "my" cognac boot.

The Chinese Laundry Spring Street boot was the first one I ordered from Zappos.  I liked it, but I was hoping to find one with a little more pizazz, and maybe a little taller shaft. So I returned them.  I tried on several other cognac color boots, and each had some problem that made them go in the reject pile.  Being too small was the most frequent problem, since I have "large" calves right now.  Having had skinny calves my whole life, I never realized how hard it was for women with larger calves to find nice, affordable knee-high boots.  It takes A LOT of time searching!  Ultimately I decided to buy the Spring Street boots again.  The leather is thin, so they're not going to keep you warm in frigid temperatures, and there were some small flaws in the leather.  But they're cute, comfortable, big enough that you can wear warm socks underneath, and the flaws were on the inside of the boot, so I figured that no one will see them.  And when I bought them the 2nd time, they were on sale!

Chinese Laundry's Spring Street boot

Chinese Laundry Spring Street

In addition to the cognac color, I've also been in love with boots that have the silver or gold strip around the heel and/or toe (not big enough to be a cap on the toe, just a little strip).  I found these great boots from Yellow Box that had both.  I love the cognac color of these, and the gold strips give them that extra zing that makes them oh so sharp.  They're pretty comfortable, too.  These were around 80.00 on Zappos, so they're not absolutely perfect quality-wise, but they're close enough for me.

One of the boots that I put in the "maybe" category were the Flash boots by Chinese Laundry.  They are nice and tall, they come up to my knee and I'm a little over 5' 8".  They're sturdy and thick, so they'll keep my legs warm.  The leather is so thick that it feels like faux leather, for some reason.  They do have a nice sole - not as thin as many boots, but not a lug sole, either.  They would be the perfect boot, if it weren't for the plastic they lined the inside with.  Yes, plastic! About 3" of the inner top of the boot is lined with plastic.  Like most Chinese Laundry boots, these don't have a zipper.  So if you try to wear them without stocking, leggings, or tights, the plastic suctions onto your skin and it's a MAJOR ordeal to get the boots off.  And if you want to fold the top over, too bad, because the plastic looks ugly.  I haven't decided for certain if I'm going to keep these for that reason.

Chinese Laundry's Flash boot

With these two (or three) boots, I'm satisfied. I've got my cognac color in an ankle boot and a tall boot.  I would like to get a wine colored boot, too, but that will have to wait until next fall.
Did you buy any new boots this year?  If so, what did you get?
Donna