Short boots with tights

I got a new pair of short brown boots during J. Crew's before-Christmas sale (hello extra 30% off) and am wearing them today with tights and a short skirt. I've previously worn both tall boots and booties with tights and skirts, but I'm not sure if I think I can pull off the short boots with tights.

What do you think, does it work, or does it make my calves look huge? Can I only pull it off with a pair of boots with a heel? There are some other examples of it on various blogs, like here, here, here, and here.

{Boots: J. Crew, Tights: Target, Skirt: J. Crew (old, but similar to this)}