So I have a confession: I own an obscene number of shoes. I’m not entirely willing to put a figure on the amount, but let’s just leave it at a lot, like a lot a lot. When the new seasons come I always get a thrill at the fact I can bring out a different collection of shoes. Summer wedges? Yes, please. Suede autumn ankle boots? Of course. Sturdy leather winter boots? Absolutely. It’s these boots that I miss in summer.

There’s something reassuring about a pair of winter boots that are weatherproof and you’re justified in wearing with anything, because, y’know, it’s raining and we live in England. But summer sandals just aren’t as versatile; most of them are completely flat or sky high (ahem, not suitable for the cobbled streets of Cambridge) and it’s very hard to find a good pair that go with everything. Black winter boots can get you through any scenario, from lectures to going out, they can cover it all, and I miss this in summer.

Summer shoes also come with the pressure of having pedicured toes, painted in an array of cheerful colours. Toes that could be hidden in woolly socks are now proudly on display to the world, and I’m not sure how anyone else feels, but I don’t really like toes. They’re weird-looking and I’d much prefer to keep mine hidden from the world. But in summer I can say goodbye to that. Even Kate Middleton suffers from society’s feet-judgement. Just last week she was slammed by media across the world for daring to bare un-pedicured feet and bare toes while in India – shock horror, I know.

Furthermore, there is the whole tights fiasco, where it’s spring and not quite bare-legs weather but you don’t exactly fancy wearing boots either. You’re left staring at open-toed shoes with horror as you realise that you can definitely see that you’re wearing tights, no matter how nude. Damn it, there goes my chance of tricking people into thinking that my legs are this tanned and blemish free.

While on this note, summer means shaving – there’s no more hiding behind jeans or tights and suddenly you either need to commit to not shaving and be proud, or grab the nearest razor. The number of days I’ve sweltered in leggings because I woke up too late or too lazy, realised that I did not want to display my bare legs to the world and thus couldn’t wear my new pair of shorts is sadly too high.

Lastly on my rant of things I dislike about summer clothing (and, believe me, I can think of many more things that could be added to the list), is the fact that slowly as spring moves into summer I can no longer throw on a scarf with my outfit. In winter it’s reassuring to know that you can be wearing something atrocious as your crawl to the library at 9am, but chuck on a big blanket scarf and no one can see. Plus you have a blanket ready for when the essay becomes too much and you need to crawl under the desk.

Wearing a boring black dress? Grab a colourful scarf and BOOM! – outfit made. But as the summer sun comes, your scarves just mean sweltering and you actually have to co-ordinate a reasonable-looking outfit on it’s own. It’s sad and much more effort. Bye-bye, go-to clothing (and life) staple.

Obviously there are things I’m looking forward to about summer fashion – sunglasses being the main thing, as my ‘I have an exam in two days and haven’t slept in four’ eyes are shielded from the world. However, this doesn’t make up for what I miss about winter.

Here’s looking forward to November when I can crack out my winter wardrobe once more.