Count me in as loving the Taos Crave boots!
@maya54 I wasn’t referring to that style of boot but more like the short bootie shown here. I have not seen women wear this style with socks at all.
@surfcity , I LOVE the boots you posted just now (9801) - I’m not a high heeled ANYTHING. The ones you posted are 100% like what I wear. And while I often don’t wear them with a showing sock (will wear a low sock that doesn’t show), I will sometimes wear them with a sock. I’ll wear a casual skirt with footless tights and then a sock that I will fold over just enough for it to show an inch or two above the bootie and then is covering my leg with no skin showing.
It’s like a layered look: shorter skirt, tights, slight sock show, boots.
@surfcity, I didn’t mean to offend, I thought you were asking us for our opinions before you purchased. I was being completely honest as I don’t wear that type of footwear. Nothing against the style, though. I’d wear that with skinny jeans, but to an event outdoors.
Oh @conmama no offense taken at all! I appreciate all the comments and questions as it helps me figure out my “style” (which is mostly observing other people I admire and trying to copy them 
)
Like @abasket 's post above, that was helpful to me. I don’t own those boots I linked to (they were just a quick illustration) but it was helpful to hear how someone else may style them.
I think this is one of the interesting things about this thread - which is one I always like to read. Consider it a blessing that you HAVE a “style” - because many struggle with that alone.
And realize and smile (and sometimes gasp or sneer!) that our styles differ. There is SO much posted on this thread that I would never, ever wear.
But I still like reading and seeing - and I finally, the last several years, really REALLY comfortable with my own style - so I can look and listen but don’t have to jump on board cause if it’s not me!
Chances are something you post a question about - there will be SOMEONE who is in your style camp who can help out. 
Also while I REALLY need to not buy more boots that book linked in 9801 is discounted on 6pm:
https://www.6pm.com/p/kork-ease-ryder-taupe-suede-2/product/8919005/color/305078
https://www.6pm.com/p/kork-ease-ryder-dark-blue-suede/product/8919005/color/323
@abasket , I so agree with your post. So many styles I like, but if I try to copy they don’t look good on me, or I don’t know where to wear them, not does my lifestyle allow me to wear it more than once. I’ve finally figured out my style, and just appreciate how others dress, and enjoy viewing it.
Same with houses, right? We have our certain style we are comfortable living in, but that doesn’t mean I’m not wowed by others homes and tastes.
Since the holiday season is approaching, I am curious as to how everyone typically dresses for holiday gatherings - particularly family gatherings at home.
I tend to be a “dressy” person compared to those in my husband’s family (with whom we spend all our holidays). My mil is fairly stylish, though as she has aged she tends to wear things that are more focused on comfort than style. Which is understandable! The rest of the family - sil, niece, and extended aunts and uncles do not care one iota about fashion. They have no style at. all. My niece or others may show up in sweatshirts, jeans (just jean jeans), and tennis shoes to sit down for the Christmas meal at sil’s home. Not Christmas sweatshirts, either. To be fair, sil’s and family do live out in a rural area. However, I sometimes get “comments” about what I am wearing. It’s not like I am in a green taffeta formal with a tiara! But, I will have on heeled boots, dark-wash skinny jeans or dress pants, and a cowl neck sweater, as an example. Sometimes I wear a skirt or casual dress with a little cardigan and tall flat boots. Gosh, as I am writing this, I feel like I must sound like Vain Veronica or Superficial Sally. However, I just don’t understand not caring if one looks like a slob (and some of these people do). Especially when multiple photos are going to be taken!
I have a friend visiting this week from out of town, and she and I love to shop. We are going to our best mall, and I plan to shop for something to wear for Christmas Eve service and something for Christmas Day. What do you like to wear on these occasions (if you celebrate them)? How does your family dress for holiday gatherings?
For NYE, we always attend the same party, and that’s pretty easy. It’s pretty much always some sort of dressy jeans or pants and a festive top. Do you do it up big for NYE?
As a kid, we all got dressed up for Thanksgiving & Christmas.
With my own family, we were/are casual on Thanksgiving (just the four of us) and dressed up on Christmas (we host H’s family).
I’m more comfortable in slacks (vs dress or skirt).
NYE? I’ll be working & hopefully in bed early. Boring!
Sometimes I think how you dress for work often determines how you dress for special occasions. If someone is used to dressing in a skirt & nice blouse & dress shoes everyday (or suit, starched shirt, dress shoes) it is no big deal to dress nicely for an occasion, even if you go more casual.
But if you’re a jeans & T-shirt worker, then it can feel really weird & uncomfortable & “not you” to put on dressier clothes.
We are a no fuss family. Dressing up is one of my most unfavorite things! Christmas Day you are likely to see my family and extended family at my brothers house clean and kept but wearing jeans or leggings and a sweater or top.
Our meal together is one of the best meals of the year but is also informal. It’s who we are. The meal and secret Santa gift exchange is followed up by board/card games where we are largely sitting on the floor - that describes our family!
I’m the same as you, @Hoggirl , and so is DH and now the boys. The boys know they can wear clean jeans, but they now automatically put on a collared shirt. Somethings they’ll wear khakis. Can be long sleeve, or polo. We’ve done this all their lives so it just done without telling them. I think once or twice in their middle school or early teen years, DH sent them back upstairs. They both like it now.
DH’s father was a country boy (divorced from his mom for years). We always looked nice at MIL’s house as did everyone else. When we went over to FIL once, he made some comment as to why I was so dressed up. Meant to be a slight dig. Step-MIL shut him up and said it’s Xmas and I looked pretty. I had on a dress and shimmery gold scarf.
Regarding boots and booties…I have slender legs and very slender ankles. I don’t like gaping at the the top of the boot - which feel like it slapping me with every step. I also don’t like the gaping because unless you wear boot cut pants or leggings your pants are going to wind up stuck onto of the gaping boot.
As for dressing for the holidays or style in general…I’ve settled on tunics with leggings and the boots or booties. Some of the tunics are form fitting - more like a short dress and some of the tunics are looser.
My family growing up tended to dress up for holidays and even for Sunday dinner, but that was a long time ago. I tend towards festive casual for holidays now- maybe nice leggings or a casual dress that is easy to wear but still somewhat out of the normal “hang around the house” outfits.
@Hoggirl I think your holiday outfits sound lovely and not overly dressy. I agree that I like to dress up a bit for a holiday (nothing like when I was a kid and all the men were in suits and the women were in dresses and heels!) but most important is that you do what feels good to you and is not making others feel bad. Obviously if you are in a tiara and taffeta while people are in sweats that is a bit tone-deaf, but if everyone is happy with a continuum of sweats to skirts/boots, then isn’t that a happy medium for everyone?
Interestingly, I had the opposite observation from @Midwest67 about how you dress for work affecting holiday dress. I find that people who dress “up” for work, don’t want to put on another dress or collared shirt on a holiday. Conversely those who work in casual places or in uniform or blue collar job often look forward to being able to dress up. I know when I was a SAHM, wearing sweats all day, I used to dress up for church on Sunday just because I liked a reason to. Now that I am in an office environment, I often don’t dress up as much for church etc since I dress like that every other day.
I think @surfcity has a good observation. I never dress up for work. Even for new clients there is always the possibility I’ll be crawling around an attic on the first visit - so I usually wear nice jeans or khakis and scoop-necked plain t-shirt or tunic and in the winter a cardigan or blazer. I like to dress up for fancy restaurants and parties. Though for parties, obviously, I don’t want to overdo it. The neighborhood holiday parties usually have a mix of women in jeans and party dresses. The men never wear ties, but usually look better than t-shirts. My husband tends to either wear a Chinese style jacket he picked up in Hong Kong or a Bavarian style jacket from Germany.
@Midwest67 - that is an interesting observation. None of these family members have professional jobs that require them to wear anything nice at all. They are definitely jeans and t-shirt workers.
@MomofWildChild - I like your term, “festive casual.” That is an apt description of how I dress on Christmas Day. It really isn’t “dressy” at all - it just is by comparison.
@surfcity - but, that’s the issue. I am comfortable and happy with what I wear. I confess that I am probably silently judging them for how casual they are, but I certainly don’t say anything. On the other hand, as is the case for @conmama, I have endured comments that really were slight digs in the past. Maybe I am exuding a judge-y vibe.
Honestly, part of the underlying problem is likely overall differences in SES between our nuclear family and the rest of dh’s. They aren’t poor, but they are mostly solidly middle class. Throw in the fact that niece flunked out of a directional college and ds graduated PBK from Stanford, and it just kinda gets awkward. I don’t think I am overdressing at all. What they wear is something I would wear to work in the yard or paint in. Eek - I am sounding snobbish here.
Thanks for letting me vent about this. I am going to continue to be “festive casual.” We do have a lot of fun and play games. Our day sounds quite similar to @abasket ’s. If someone says anything, I will, as always, just let it pass. It’s not like they go on and on about how I am dressed. But, I don’t fee the need to change who I am.
I have to say this. It is in general not ok to judge someone on what they wear just because it is casual and you think it should be dressier or vice versa. It’s clothing. It should never be about $$$.
Look deeper than that.
Not meaning to put a damper on the subject but I strongly believe this.
Carry on!
Bingo
It may not even be conscious on the part of your family. I am the cousin that moved to the suburbs as a child, while my extended family stayed in the city and most of my cousins took blue collar jobs and many did not go to college. We joke about how I’m the “country cousin” and it is apparent that my nuclear family has a higher income than they do. But luckily for me, there does not seem to be any awkwardness or judgment. It’s just that we all took different paths. And the be clear, the dresss at holidays runs the gamut. One of my cousins is a hairdresser and she is always in the latest fashion and looks really put together, while my physics major son can have a problem finding a shirt that matches and fits properly. 
A good reminder, @abasket
Thank you.