Real stories · The boots that brought evenings back

I'd officially retired from heels — then these talked me out of it for the evenings

The boots that brought evenings back — that's what these are. I'm 67, and a few years ago I quietly retired from heels. Not with a ceremony; the flat shoes simply won every argument, and every dinner invitation got the same sensible black flats that make an outfit shrug. I missed what a heel does to a hemline. I did not miss wobbling on one.

So let me be honest about what these are: evening boots. Taxi-to-table boots. And for that job, they're wonderful.

They're the Avelisse from a British label called York Boutique — pointed ankle boots with one oversized matte buckle, and I chose the black, which goes with every dress and smart trouser I own.

What talked me out of retirement is the shape. The heel is sculpted — it flares wider where it meets the floor, which is why it feels planted rather than pin-like when you stand up from the table. The big matte buckle across the ankle does all the jewellery, so the rest of the outfit can stay simple; the pointed toe does the leg-lengthening; and there's a proper side zip, so they go on seated, in seconds, with no hallway wrestling match.

The heel is sculpted with a base that widens where it meets the floor, the big matte buckle does all the jewellery, and the side zip means no wrestling — taxi to table, table to taxi, in something that finally isn't flat.

At £44.95 I hesitated — heels I might wear twice a month? Then I counted the evenings coming: two birthdays, a retirement do and December entire. And with a fortnight to send them back and free delivery, trying them cost nothing but pride.

Their first outing was an anniversary dinner, where I was taller, the hemline behaved, and Malcolm ordered dessert 'to extend the evening', which I'm crediting to the boots. They were £44.95 in the sale, half the usual £90.

If you also retired from heels a little earlier than you wanted to, do have a look. The Avelisse is rated 4.6 out of 5 by more than 190 women, it comes in black and beige, in sizes 1 to 10 — and with the party season coming, the black in the middle sizes never lasts.