Boots

I moved from Austin to New Hampshire with a very nice collection of sandals, open-toed dress shoes, and flip flops. I owned a couple of pairs of cowboy boots, and some nice leather boots as well. But my winter weather shoe-gear consisted of one pair of very old snow boots and that’s about it.

I realized pretty soon into our first winter in New England that I needed some waterproof cold weather footwear. My first purchase last year was a pair of shiny Cole Hahn waterproof shoes.  These shoes are great for wet slushy city streets, but not for snow. But last year we didn’t get that much snow, so it wasn’t a problem.

They’re also not very warm. I knew Uggs were warm, so my second purchase was a pair of classic Uggs . They are very warm, and cozy, but they aren’t waterproof. In fact, water and snow are bad for Uggs, so their use in New Hampshire in the wintertime is somewhat limited.

 

Earlier this fall, we were still getting a lot of moisture, but it was in the form of rain, not snow. I decided that it was finally time for me to get a pair of fashionable and functional rain boots. I’d been lusting after some of these ever since I first saw them in Hong Kong, but never lived anywhere that was cool enough that I was confident my feet wouldn’t melt if I put on a pair. For pictures of all kinds of crazy rain boots, check out this entry from the Austin City Limits Music Festival in October of 2009.

 

When I went to look at rain boots I thought at first that I wanted Hunters, since that seemed to be the most popular brand, but when I tried them on they hurt my feet. On a whim I decided to try a pair of Sperry’s instead. They felt great. I had a difficult decision to make, however. Should I get the bright yellow ones, the lurid pink ones, or the more conservative royal blue with the bright yellow interior? It was very hard to decide but the blue ones finally won out.

 

Then came this year’s record snowfall and numbing cold. My old snow boots kept my feet dry, but didn’t keep them warm. They were so old that the fleece inside had compacted and worn away. I needed some new snow boots.

 

I wanted something functional but stylish. A friend suggested that I investigate Sorels: www.sorel.com. This meant a trip to Nordstrom was in order. Poor me!

 

I decided that I needed a pair of Joan of Arctic Sorels.  Boyoboy are these some awesome boots! High, warm and darn cute too, they work great for slogging through snow in the city or country. I can even wear them with my snowshoes!

 

But it seems like buying one pair of winter boots only made me want more. I decided I wanted a shorter pair of snow boots too, lighter and more convenient for forays into the city. I wanted a pair of short Sorels, but it wouldn’t stop snowing long enough for me to travel to Burlington Mall, where Nordstroms is located! I spent one snowy morning wandering disconsolately through Rockingham Mall here in Salem, looking at short winter boots. I was just about to give up, when I saw an Aldo store that looked promising. They had a pair of boots that was just perfect!

 

I should be finished buying winter boots by now, but part of me still wants a pair of those cute short Sorel boots. There’s no practical reason to buy them; I just want them! They are awfully cute though, don’t you think? http://www.sorel.com/TIVOLI%E2%84%A2-|-010-|-5/803298481335,default,pd.html.

Oh well, maybe next year!

Many thanks to Harper for generously volunteering to pose with a few of these boots. She was VERY interested in the boots for some reason. Maybe because I was paying more attention to them than to her? Could be...