Make a statement with high heels!

High fashion is the watchword for women’s footwear this autumn and winter. Literally. The heels of boots, half boots, ankle boots, and pumps are generally a few centimetres higher than in previous seasons.

But apart from higher heels, personal style rules supreme. The models on shoe shop shelves fit every occasion and taste, from overknees to ballerinas, from clean looks to folklore style, and from felt to patent leather.

"A one-and-only fashion trend hasn’t existed for a long time now," noted Helga Cevey, who works for the Offenbach-based German Shoe Institute. You can forget terms like "in" or "out" because mixing various styles is now in vogue, Cevey said. "So everyone can create a personal outfit."

Autumn and winter is when boots grab the limelight, of course. They are simply indispensable, especially overknees, and in combination with ultra-tight drainpipe trousers or under skirts for a casual, bohemian look.

"Rustic, hiking-inspired details such as buckles, eyelets, and lacing, as well as removable cuffs and pelt or fur trim, play a complementary role" in the new boot collection, said Andreas Rose, who works as a personal shopper in Frankfurt.

Jelena Juric, with the Frankfurt-based rag trade magazine TextilWirtschaft, noted that half boots and ankle boots were stealing the show from classic boots this season. As Rose sees it, pumps with plateau heels and half boots with wedge soles also go extremely well with wide-cut, high-waist "Marlene-style" trousers, which are making a comeback.

Heels are a must in any case, even under ballerinas; no shoe should be too flat. There is a wide variety of heel shapes, remarked Cevey: "blocky, straight, curved ‘banana’ heels – the main thing is that it matches the shape of the last" (the form used in shoemaking).