Apricot is a strange colour to make a knee-high boot in, and it works because everything else on the boot is restrained. The shaft is clean and napped, the cuff folds wide at the top, and a small gold-tone buckle sits on it as the only piece of hardware. Nothing competes with the colour. The buckle is small on purpose, sized to mark the cuff rather than decorate it.

A split runs up the side from the ankle, which is a construction detail more than a decorative one. It lets the shaft flex as you walk and keeps a tall boot from feeling like a cast. The heel is shaped, around three inches, and the toe is drawn sharp, so the boot gains real height while keeping the leg line long. Three inches is a real heel, but a shaped block spreads the load across the foot in a way a slim heel never manages.

Velvet Vogue makes it in apricot, US 5.5 through 12, and it pulls on without a zip. A pale napped finish shows marks sooner than a black one does, so brush it dry after wearing and let it air away from radiators rather than drying it fast. Kept that way it stays the soft warm apricot it arrived as. It reads best against cream, chocolate and denim, and it brings a lighter, warmer tone to autumn and winter outfits.

• Fit: true to size, order your usual size
• Key details: wide fold-over cuff with a gold-tone buckle, side split at the shaft, pointed toe
• Heel: shaped block heel, approx. 3 inches
• Shaft: knee height
• Closure: pull-on
• Sizes and colours: US 5.5 to 12 in apricot. Model wears a US 7
• Care: brush clean with a soft dry brush and air dry away from direct heat