There are certain questions I get asked a lot. One of those questions is what shoes to wear and still look cute as a fully functioning mommy-on-the-go. With two young boys of my own this is a struggle I am all too familiar with. I give props to the women that can do it, but for me stilettos and kiddos don't go together. Let me go ahead and add a few other curves into the mix based off of my own struggles.

I am not tall and I do not have skinny legs. In my experience "skinny" is as subjective a concept as "affordable". However I think it is fair to state as a fact that I do not have cute, thin legs (I will stop there lest I fall into a self-deprecating rant) and I am all of 5'4". Therefore I prefer shoes with some heel and/or pointy toe to give a leaner and longer look.

I live in Houston. Right now it is the middle of October and it's a lovely 85 degrees with 45% humidity. Great for being outside, NOT great for knee-high boots and it could be like this until Thanksgiving. I'm not complaining, but it does make wearing cute Fall fashions a challenge.

With all this in mind, here are some suggestions beyond the obvious knee-high boots, for all the busy women out there, like me, that want to be on-the-go and look cute doing it this Fall.

Fall in Houston by stylesuccess featuring ankle boots

As you might imagine I have read a lot of different articles and books about different body types: pear, apple, V, M, goddess, etc. All attempts to help us weed through the overwhelming sea of options out there. The trouble, as some have already heard me say, is that clothing is a mass-produced industry for humans... of which no 2 are exactly the same. I'm sure you have seen that someone else that wears the same size as you can look totally different in the same garment. So I thought I might do the next few posts about figure characteristics that are less often addressed but can be challenging when it comes to finding clothes and what to do to look your best.

First up, the high-rise petite. When a garment comes in both a petite and missy size the petite will be shorter in the length from top to bottom but also from shoulder to bust, bust to waist, waist to crotch, crotch to knee and knee to cuff. The measurement from the crotch to the top of a pant or pair of shorts is called "the rise". Some women find that petite pants are great in the inseam and knee placement but much too low in the rise. When it comes to jeans this is especially challenging because jeans tend to have a low rise and shortening the rise for a petite can be obscenely low. If this sounds like you then try "NYDJ" (Not Your Daughter's Jeans) in the petite cut. These jean's characteristic high rise is often a Godsend for petites with a high rise. Dresses and skirts are also very flattering on high-rise petites because it removes the need to define the area and evens out the body's proportions. It's especially good to wear dresses that focus on the waist.

Lastly, wear shoes that do not cut off the leg. If you want to take advantage of this season's ankle strap trend then look for ankle straps that are close to your skin tone. Otherwise look for shoes that are open to the toe box or front of the shoe.

Do you have a fashion frustration? Recline on the chaise and tell me all about it... I'll do my best to give you some possible solutions.

Thanks for reading! Jodi