City shorts - the debate rages

I have been contemplating the City Shorts phenomenon for some time, when by coincidence Rach commented on the whole affair. Seems that they are still something of an oddity in Edinburgh, although they're spreading like a tweedy rash down here in the smoke.

A quick straw poll of the office (Julia, who sits opposite me) determined that the critical aspects are:

1. Cuff width: wide'n'baggy or tight'n'skinny?
2. Boot heel height (boots are essential, to avoid looking like Dick Whittington): too high and it looks nasty, too low and you look like you're in plus-fours
3. Knees: should they be exposed? If so, should they be flesh, patterned, or opaque?

And if any of these critical aspects are wrong, the whole look crashes into FASHION DISASTER. On the whole, it seems to be a quagmire to be avoided. But given my love of boots (and - oh my! - did we see the spats and gaiters in the paper this morning???) I yearn to be able to carry off a boots look that doesn't resemble the worst excesses of Staines High Street on a Saturday night.