Let’s have a moment of honesty: sometimes I’m a little hesitant to write about shoes (or bags, or anything) that I like so much that I’d actually buy them. My thinking goes something like this: there may only be limited quantities left in my size already, and by the time I get done hemming and hawing over whether or not I want to spend the money, they may be gone if too many people have seen them and agreed with me that, yes, they are indeed great. When I was a little kid, I used to hide books I wanted to check out at the library so that no one would check them out before I returned the ones I already had. It’s a character flaw.

I always decide to post them, however, party because it’s my job and partly because talking about shoes with you guys is more fun than actually spending hundreds of dollars. The Frye Harlow Oxford Pumps are one shoe about which I had such an hesitation – they’ve already sold out on ShopBop in my size once, and I can’t bear to lose them again.

Have you ever had the perfect shoe or boot in your head, and nothing you find quite lives up to that ideal, no matter where you look or what price range you’re in? I have a perfect high-heeled oxford in my head and never thought I’d find one where all the details were perfectly streamlined and unfussy, but this bootie is it.

There isn’t anything about this shoe that I dislike, which is so incredibly rare. It’s very simple – almost minimalist – but the design fits the archetypical idea of a lace-up ankle bootie so well. And for a workhorse fall shoe, all I want is nice leather (it’s Frye, after all) and a clean line, which is exactly what you get here. So feel free to go buy them now, unless you wear a size nine. Buy through ShopBop for $198.