The saga of ... rain boots

Though I've lived in Seattle basically my whole life, and own a couple pairs of waterproof shoes (of the hiking variety), I was surprised to realize a few months ago that I've never actually owned a pair of rain boots. So I made it a quest to find my first pair. As I began shopping around, I made some discoveries..

A lot of the fun/funky boots are waaay too big at the top for my non-existent calves. I knew that I'd only occasionally be wearing them with pants tucked in (which would still not fill up the calf areas completely), so I also needed to find a pair that wouldn't bulge out awkwardly from underneath jeans. My quest got sent into high gear when I first received a $20 gift certificate to Nordstrom (a side bonus of having a Nordstrom Visa as my main credit card), and then a $40 certificate. For some reason, I got it in my head that I needed to look into buying a pair of boots by Hunter, a British company who I believe first designed the original wellington style of rain boot. Their tall boots are pretty high, so I figured I wouldn't have to worry about the calf issue as much, and though they have a $115 price tag, I knew I'd be taking a $60-chunk out of my final price. A few days before Christmas, I was out to lunch with some friends from work, when Ben mentioned he wanted to make a quick stop at Nordstrom to buy a present for his wife. I happened to have my gift certificates with me, and knew that the Nordstrom by work has a bigger shoe section than the one by where I live (but it's not convenient for me to go there in general), so I was like "I'm a-comin' too!"

Once we got to Nordy's, I made a beeline for the Hunter display in the women's shoe area. While I was waiting for a sales person to come help me out, I heard two other Nordy's workers discussing the special Jimmy Choo-branded Hunter boot that was on display. I overheard one of them say something about it being "so cute," and "they're $250." When someone finally came over to me to help me out, I told him I usually wear an 8.5, but since Hunters only come in whole sizes -- as do a lot of rain boots, it seems -- he went off to get a 7 and an 8. I first tried on the 8, which was way too big. Then he pulled out the size 7, which was the Jimmy Choo-branded boot. He said, "We don't have the boot in the original style in a 7, so I brought out this one." I suavely said, "Oh, uh, those are the really expensive ones, right?" He said, "They're $250." I was feeling a bit stupid from my first remark, so I just mumbled, "Oh, well, they're a bit out of my price range." They turned out to be too small anyway, and neither pair was very comfortable, so I crossed Hunter off my list. As a side note.. turns out those Hunter by Jimmy Choo boots are actually $395!!

So...I then wandered around looking at the various other rain boots. My eye was caught by a pair by Kamik. I liked that they had a bit of shape to them in the foot area, and looked both functional and fashionable. I tried them on, and bonus: They were super comfortable, and fit just right. They even have a thin Polartec lining for some added warmth, and, interestingly, they're made by a Canadian company, in Canada! http://kamik.com/.

I initially bought a shiny black boot with a bright red foldover thing at the top of the boot (made of a sweater material). After I got them home, I decided that I didn't like the bright red color, as it was a little too attention-getting. I went online, and happily discovered that the boots also came in the same shiny-black shade without the red foldover. And then, bonus upon bonus, I read the fine print on Nordstrom's Web site and found out that they do price matching, and then, I found the Kamik boots in my size, in stock, in Altrec.com, for $25 cheaper! I immediately went back to Nordstom, exchanged the boots (and made use of their price-match policy) and in the end, taking into account the $60 in rewards certificates, got the boots nearly for free! I never knew Nordstrom did price matching, and it turns out they do on all their products. Details here.

Anyway, I wore my new kicks over jeans for the first time earlier this week, on a day when it was raining pretty much non stop. As I walked to my bus stop, I stepped around puddles as usual, and then went, "Wait a minute!" and started walking through them instead, since I had no hems to worry about soaking (or leather/canvas to worry about dirtying). Puddle stomping is so much fun! Of course, only really skinny girls with no hips can carry off the whole jeans-into-boots look, but I'm going to force myself to tuck 'em in once in a while anyway, and try to feel less self-conscious about it. I also may invest in another, more fun pair of rain boots down the road. I live in Seattle, after all!