Blame It on the Rain

In recent years I've been slightly obsessed with rain boots. After all, it's going to rain at some point, and I feel I should dress my feet appropriately for the occasion. My pedicured toes should not be subjected to cold, wet rain puddles. My leather boots should not get spots from the downpour dousing them.

So I've searched all over the place for rain boots. They're pretty easy to find--I've seen them everywhere from Delia's to the J. Crew catalog. I've found, however, that there are several common problems with rain boots. First, they can be really smelly. It's this weird bad rubber smell that is simply unwearable. Second, those big wellies types generally have pretty obnoxious patterns and are quite big and unwieldy so they're hard to style. And third, they're rubber so they can be kind of sweat-making on your feet and legs--and who wants to be dry on the outside and wet on the inside.

Happy to report I've found the perfect pair. They are aroma free, solid in color with a matte finish (unlike the super shiny versions your often see), and they have a nice lining that, even against bare skin, does not give you sweaty dogs. They are the Tretorn Plask boot, and they make me excited when there's precipitation in the forecast. If there's a slight chance of a light shower, I'm so wearing these. A little pricey (currently on sale for $116 on Zappos), but the most chic you're ever going to find in a rain boot and the most comfortable pair of footwear that I currently own. I could go on a five-mile hike in these babies and be happy (and stomp in puddles while I'm at it). Plus I got red ones and everyone says I look like Wonder Woman when I wear them. (They also come in green, brown and black in the knee-high style. I'm considering a bright yellow ankle boot version so I can stomp in puddles while wearing pants--the tall boots only work under skirts. I don't really own anything yellow. It's the one color I really cannot wear. I look fairly sick when I put on anything in that color family. But I think I could get away with it on my feet. I'm also interested in finding a mustardy yellow shoe, perhaps a sling-back wedge.)