Winter Boots in the City

Winter is white, beautiful snow covering trees, roofs and the ground. Winter is ice skating, skiing, snowboarding, snowman building and snowball fighting.
Hum… wait… what?

Winter in Montreal is iced slippery sidewalks covered with salt to melt the slippery ice, which then leads to salt stains on your boots. Winter in Montreal is brown snow and slush (brown water & ice mix – like a brown slush), which leads to wet feet.

My little boot story

Prologue: Winter 2007-2008

16-year-old me doesn’t know anything about boots.
I bought autumn boots because I didn’t know there was a difference between autumn boots and winter boots (the lining, maybe!). I was always freezing! 1 month after winter began, they were attacked by salt stains. Just after Christmas, the cheap zipper, attacked by calcium too, broke.
I bought ankle-high emu boots. It was the boxing day week month and they were the only emu left in my size. Did you ever take a look at the soles on these things? FLAT. I slipped and fell a thousand times. And ankle boots are not a great idea ether: there was more snow inside than outside them. Winter ended with a second pair of boots attacked by salt stains.

Winter 2008-2009

1. Since I need to throw out my emu boots, I buy 300$ UGGs (did you ever look at the soles on these things? NOT flat).

• I add about 15 coats of protective spray to my boots.
• It snows. Wow! The spray works.
• 3 weeks later: hum… spoke too soon. But the stains are small :-).
• Use salt stain remover and add protective spray once a week.
• The stains get bigger and bigger.
• Use salt stain remover every night. Takes about 45 minutes!
• After two minutes walking every morning: the %!#&@ stains are back.
• January: these are no longer suede boots. They’re sandpaper boots.

2. Throw out 300$ boots. Buy Hunter rain boots & winter sports socks – I’m finished with salt stains.

• Freeze in the morning while waiting for the bus.
• Freeze at night while waiting for the bus.
• Freeze when I walk more than 10 minutes.
• The rubber makes me sweat and I have eczema on my feet. It hurts.
• But I don’t have salt stains!

*(NOTE: After being asked – Hunter boots are not slippery in snow.)

Epilogue: Winter 2009-2010 

I fall in love with a new model of UGGs (with a button on the (open) side). I buy them while deciding NOT to wear them in the snow. I live in the dorms of my CEGEP* and since I don’t have to go outside often, boots are not a problem. If I have to go outside, I wear my UGGs if there isn’t snow on the sidewalk. Otherwise, I wear my Hunters.

*Schooling in Quebec: high school 5 years, CEGEP 2 year, most undergraduate programs 3 years

The boot dilemma: Winter 2010-2011

Here is what I learned:

• Winter suede/leather/fake-leather boots get eaten by calcium. And your feet get wet (freezing 75% of the time).
• Rain boots don’t get eaten by calcium. And you’re freezing 99% of the time.

There are winter boots that are waterproof and keep your feet warm (Pajar and Sorel boots for example). But my winter coat is chic and I don’t want sporty boots. I need them trendy!
– If I have to choose between salt stains & freezing or just freezing, I choose the second option! But rain boots are not often chic either.

2 months ago I found these:

They have a lining inside but I then discovered it stops at the ankle! Still, they were rain boots that could go with my coat. Last week I tried them – they don’t fit (who has legs that small?).

And so, like I said last night, I went downtown for an optometrist appointment yesterday afternoon and looked for boots.
I did all the shoe stores I could think of.
And then I found them.

The Brandy Snow boot by Michael Kors is in rubber at the bottom and it is trendy! And it has a lining from head knee to toe.
And it can be unfold into an over-the-knee chicer boot.

Now don’t get me wrong: I’m in love with my boots.
But is it normal that they are the only trendy boots I could find in 15 (20?) stores that are warm and won’t get salt stains? No.

I should become a shoe designer for the urban fasionista.
I would make a fortune. But my 5-year-old brother is better at drawing than me.
For now, thank you Mr. Kors!