Shearling stopped being a lining and became the point. Moon Boot's Luna and Gabriela Hearst's Waite knee boot put the fleece where you can see it, while Burberry, Chloe and Legres keep it to a collar on a suede ankle boot. That visible trim is doing the job a slouched sock used to do.

The Burberry ankle boot keeps the shearling as a trim at the opening. The Jimmy Choo knee boot lines the whole shaft, which changes what you can wear underneath it.

The Chloe Azelan is the leather one, so it sheds light rain better. The Gabriela Hearst Waite runs shearling to the knee and reads as a winter boot rather than a dress boot.

The Legres 52 stays low and narrow, which works under a straight jean. The Isabel Marant Cylia puts a wedge underneath and adds height without a heel to balance on.

Suede is the quieter half of this. THE ROW's Hike and Khaite's Marfa are flat and blunt, while Aquazzura's Martine and Amina Muaddi's Anok add height without shine. Suede also takes the scuffing that comes with wearing boots all autumn, which patent never does.

The Gianvito Rossi borrows the loafer saddle and moves it onto a boot. The Aquazzura Martine adds a platform, so the 110mm heel walks much lower than it looks.

The Amina Muaddi Anok at 90mm has the sculpted heel the brand is known for. The Khaite Marfa is the plainer of the two and disappears under a long trouser.

The Row Hike boot takes a lug sole and a rounded toe into suede. The Saint Laurent Jill 95 makes the opposite argument, sharp and narrow, for nights out.

The jean has to be straight for any of this to work. A skinny disappears into the shaft and a wide leg swallows the boot, so the Matteau, Kallmeyer and Citizens of Humanity cuts here all fall clean from the knee. Mother's Newbie Skimp and Tom Ford's Melanie sit higher if you want the waist to do more.

The Mother Newbie Skimp is the mid rise one, cropped a little above the ankle. The Still Here Cool sits lower on the hip, which changes how a boot shaft looks against it.

The Kallmeyer Adina has a firmer denim that holds its line all day. The Matteau straight leg is softer and falls closer to the leg, so it slips inside a boot easily.

The Isabel Marant Daya keeps a mid rise and a full length hem. The Tom Ford Melanie sits high on the waist, which is the simplest way to make a flat boot look intentional.

If you take one thing away, it is that this pairing lives or dies on the hem. A straight leg that ends just above the boot shaft gives you the break that makes the whole thing look intentional, and anything longer turns into a puddle of denim on top of your foot. The shearling boots here are the loud half, so they want the plainest jean you own. The suede ones are more forgiving and will take a lighter wash or a raw hem. Buy the boot first and the jean second, because the boot dictates the length. And do not overthink the colour match. Brown suede against indigo is the safest thing in this entire edit, and it is also the thing most people already own half of.