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Want to look like Kate Moss? If not Moss how about Sienna Miller?

Maybe you’re in no hurry to emulate either, but still, you might be interested to know that they both kicked off the autumn fashion season by attending a Longchamp party wearing black midi dresses and, what else, black knee boots.

Bingo. What do you do to make an ordinary dress look cool between September and the end of Spring? Just add boots, of course.

Even the glamorous Mossy and Miller will have been relieved we are back in knee boots territory; back to the failsafe, bit dressy, bit cool, but also practical round the clock combination – dress or skirt plus boots, trusted by fashionistas the world over.

Boots remove the need for choosing the right shoe for the occasion – one good, mid-height heel boot fits all.

Better still boots make any dresses and skirts look more breezy and stylish.

That old black dress at the back of your wardrobe may yet have life in it if you do as Mossy and Miller and add boots, some great earrings and red lipstick.

And we still haven’t got to the really good part: if you’re stuck in trousers and jeans almost all the time (like me) boots are the key to getting you out of that rut and opening up a whole new world of below-the-knee hemlines.

Can’t face the fuss of finding the right shoes and tights? Cold morning and anything less than trousers seems drafty? Boots are the answer and the antidote to trousers-only dressing (although a boot with a mid-heel does look good with barrel jeans).

They’re also, whisper it, sexy and a surprisingly effective anti-ageing hack. Not just look- but mood-lifting.

We’re not talking about clompy, solid-soled boots any more – this season’s are more sleek and elegant.

And we’re not talking about the casual suede ankle boots that have been our winter go-to for years. These now look as past it as a clinging navy wrap dress and court shoes.

That said, ankle boots are always incredibly useful for wearing under jeans and trousers so there’s still a place for them and they’ve moved on in the same way as tall boots: there’s a big shift away from suede and western styles towards a smooth black leather fitted silhouette with a neat lowish heel.

A great value ankle boot is Clarks’ Edina Up (£63.75, clarks.com): it’s the right neat shape, polished with a 50mm heel, a ‘chipped toe’ (somewhere between a square and an oval so not too pointy to work with everything) and has the extra bonus of a contour cushion footbed.

George at Asda does an even cheaper pair (£22, direct.asda.com/George) with a sharper toe and slightly angled slimmer heel. These are a decent fallback but heels are everything with boots and this style can give the impression they’re buckling under your weight. A straight medium heel is the best all rounder and the one that won’t date.

The boots that dominated the runway were scrunched up and slouchy and, providing the slouch is not too extreme, they work well with fuller midi skirts.

Per Una at M&S does a decent suede pair (£120, marksandspencer.com) if you don’t mind the slightly higher heel.

Still if we’re looking for timeless style leather beats suede, and a straight shaft beats slouchy, shaped-to-fit, glove-tight or wide-in-the-shaft boots (for which you need to be very tall and slim or you’ll look like you’re standing in two buckets).

That said, if you need a wide fit, try Dune (dunelondon.com). It has a lot of styles that are just wide enough without looking pantomime villain.

The classic knee boot shape to aspire to – worth looking at for pointers and in case you win the lottery – is the Henriette by Anonymous.

It has a 60mm heel, a slightly angled shaft top and also a £400 price tag. Gulp.

And Other Stories’ black knee boots (£295, stories.com) come close in style and it does a kitten heel version (£259).

Dune’s square-toe Stellan style are in a similar vein but a bit higher at 7.5cms (£169, johnlewis.com).

There are other colours out there and some of them fun to try (the & Other Stories style comes in grey snake), but get black first.

Flat boots are also an option. The choice is between riding boot inspired flats like H&M’s synthetic round-toed knee boots with a tab at the back (£64.99, 2.hm.com) and western style tall boots (£109.99, shop.mango.com).

Just make sure they’re not heavy and stompy that ship has sailed for now.