Friday, September 16, 2011

Fashion Fridays: Winter Boots

Living in New York, I wear my boots year-round. Some of my boots have been through rain, snow, vomit-covered floors (helloooo emergency department!), rocky surfaces, mud-drenched terrain, and even on-call with my previous emergency squad. Although I rotate my main three pairs of boots, all their soles have shown the wear-and-tear of my everyday life. Towards the end of last winter, I've noticed water leaking into the boots. This is not acceptable because the streets around here are covered in snow, too many months of the year. The longest-lasting boots I've owned are by Bastien. It is a Canadian brand that produces their boots in China. The boots I own are warmth-technology savvy. All the boots in the brand are calcium and salt resistant, and are waterproof (yes, even the suede). I LOVE my Bastiens. Unfortunately  they held up so long that the brand no longer makes that style and at the moment, there is only one style of theirs that I like but alas, the shaft height is too long for my short legs. A brand I recently stumbled upon is another Canadian company, Blondo. Most of their designs are made of leather, which is negative for me because I prefer suede. I find leather in winter boots too often comes across as cheap, even if said boots are not. Attributes I'm looking for: black suede or quality leather, wedge or sturdy heel, either warm-sole technology or a thick sole (platform?), waterproof or resistant, knee high, some kind of lining that doesn't add too much bulk, and two to three inches of lift.

Blondo "Cadence"
~$121

Blondo "Colinda
~$100 with shipping and coupon



Rockport "Emma"
~$79
These are waterproof, but there is not much in the way of warm lining.


I'm going to give the decision some time. There are still a couple of months before the weather gets really terrible.




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