bootie bootie bootie bootie rocking everywhere

apparently finding the perfect neutral fall bootie is harder than it sounds. ive done laps at the mall. been to every tjmaxx in the area. surfed every website i can think of. tried on every "it's sort of what i'm looking for, but not quite" bootie i've found. with no luck. the cole haan boot pictured above is the goal. unfortunately cole haan does not really price booties in the affordable range. here are the criteria:

1. must be somewhere in the mid-brown to greige/nude color family.
2. must not have an insanely high heel. but also not a short heel. because booties suddenly become very awkward looking when the heel is too short.
3. must be funky enough to wear with cool dresses and skinny jeans on the weekend, but equally sophisticated enough to wear with a pencil skirt and blouse to the office (when i someday actually have one to go to). i've had no trouble finding cool funky booties. it's the more sleek, professional element that is difficult.
4. the toe of said bootie must not be too round. anything rounder than an almond toe looks extremely strange. also stacked platform toes look strange. case in point? these target booties. they look so weird on my feet. i'm also not too excited about the idea of peep-toes.
5. the height of the boot must be flattering. my black booties surprisingly, though they hit right above my ankle bone, look awesome with bare legs and i would like my new bootie to do the same. 
6. i'm almost 100% sure that laces are not what i'm going for. i understand and respect the grandma bootie/oxford bootie, but it's not really what i'm looking for. a zipper, however, is acceptable.
7. must be approximately $50 or less.

okay so, um, perhaps i'm a little picky. i'll admit it. you have to be picky when you're cheap. there are plenty of $150-and-up options that are awesome. it's the lower price ranges that are the most difficult. i tend to wear shoes out pretty quickly, so i try not to spend a fortune on them. this style is a little too trendy and not classic enough to splurge on. im also blown away at how many red and blue booties there are in the world. seriously? you'd think some fairly basic neutral booties wouldn't be that hard to find in comparison. and so the hunt continues. here are a few maybes:

the forever 21 suedette ankle boots. i feel like while these meet the price and color requirements, something about them looks odd. they look too oblong, maybe? or the heel is too short? would my feet look ginormous in these? i actually tried on a wedge pair of booties at forever 21 last weekend and i loved them, but they didn't have my size and they are not online. frustrating.

the gap leather ankle boots. i think these are gorgeous. they are a little higher up on the ankle than i would prefer, so i'm not sure how they would look with bare legs, but i think they could work. if gap decides to pull a banana republic and send me a 40% off coupon, these would then be in the correct price range and i may order them to check it out.

the nine west francesca bootie. love everything about these. except that my former nine west boots fell apart in less than one season and these just slightly exceed my price range.

the steve madden p-zesst ankle boots. i think the name of these is half the reason i like them. these are a pretty strong contender at the moment. i love the chunky-ness and think that would incidentally slim my leg a bit. i'm just slightly unsure about the color - are they almost too neutral?


and, a few thoughts to close this post:
1. what in the world is a shootie? and how does it compare to a bootie? because they look exactly the same to me.

2. there are a lot of really ugly shoes in the world. like these. what the hell?

3. when i am employed again and when they go on sale, i also really want these for weekends. aren't they they cutest? i'm obsessed.


so what are you thinking? what of my criteria (besides the general price range) should be most important?  i would love advice and input (or other suggestions) as i work toward this (obviously) very important fashion decision!