Boots: They Rock My Footwear World

The other night I was hanging out in my dressing room with Cheapy, Cheapy Jr. and the cat--who, by the way, recently again peed on my gym bag. We were chatting and playing with dump trucks and pennies and having a good ol' family time. Then Cheapy got some miserly wild hair and he took inventory of all the boots in my closet. He counted 19 pairs. (He missed my snow boots and the two pairs of Uggs I only wear to yoga class.) Then he needed a Scotch.

I don't think that's excessive. Cheapy did. But here's the thing. I don't really like shoes. Stop laughing. What I mean is I don't like pumps and flats and things that aren't boots, sandals or slingbacks. Normal sort of shoes never seem to fit me correctly. I get blisters. It's generally not good. There are exceptions, of course. I love my green Camper pumps which are comfy enough to walk around New York in. And I've just about worn in a pair of cute bronze metallic flats I got a few winters ago. (In theory flats should be more comfy than heels. I find that's not generally the case. They ouch me up just about every time.)

But boots...Boots rock. Boots are cool. Boots are chic. Boots are tough. Boots are feminine. Boots are utilitarian. Boot go with everything. I wear them in summer, winter, spring and fall. I wear them with dresses, skirts, jeans and shorts. I wear them casual; I wear them dressy.

Twenty-two pairs of boots is not that many, really. I have five pairs of rain boots--tall, short, mid-calf and crazy-wellies. I have the aforementioned snow boots and Uggs. I have tall brown and tall black. I have a few pairs of ankle boots. I have flat boot, mid-heel boots, and high-heel boots. I have a weird hot pink suede pair I got in Paris while high on cheese (maybe I'll wear those this week). I've got pink lace up Timberlands that are good for any weather and any day when I want to have a footwear conversation with everyone who walks by. I have the magic Stuart Weitzman pair that get better every time I wear them.

What Cheapy doesn't understand it that one pair of boots does not go with every outfit. He forgets that Material Girl is a Girl and doesn't wear a button down shirt and khakis every day (oh the horror!). A Girl needs a boot wardrobe just as a girl needs a clothing wardrobe.

I'm currently coveting this pair of Frye Mildred Engineer boots in sapphire. Who has boots that color? That's fabulous. (I'd like to branch out beyond black, brown and pink. I want sapphire and cognac and merlot and olive green and a nice warm gray--maybe even something metallic.) My discretionary fund is spoken for with these beauties that are together tough and girly. Engineer boots with heels? That's brilliant!

The cat also recently peed in Cheapy's shoe closet, home of approximately 17 pairs of boring guy shoes, now stinkier than normal.

eBags: (Almost) the Zappos of Handbags

Yesterday after a rather stressful drive home with a crying/yelling toddler in the back seat, I couldn't wait to slip into my sweats, grab a piece of Valrhona 85% dark, and plop onto the couch. So I walk into my closet-room and am greeted with the non-lovely smell of cat pee. The cat has, once again, peed on my gym bag. (It seems to be one of his favorite hobbies next to eating small creatures that can't outrun him and taking ridiculously long naps.)
The gym bag is in the trash; my gym clothes are in a too-small tote. I head to eBags. I really like this site. You can search by material, style, category, brand and price, and they carry handbags, athletic bags and luggage. Shipping is free if you spend over $50, and they pay return shipping.

I also like that, for most of the bags they carry, they offer photos from a number of angles, including an inside view. And--most important for me--they show it on a mannequin. It's really hard for me to visualize the size of a handbag if I don't see someone holding it, even if that someone is synthetic. They often show a model holding handbags on Zappos as well, but I really prefer bag shopping on eBags--I always seem to like their selection better and I think eBags has better prices.

It actually took me a whole hour to pick out a bag to order--they had a lot to choose from, and I couldn't decide. I really wanted the exact same one the cat stunk up, but they don't carry it anymore. But as long as I can fit a pair of knee-high boots in a gym bag, I'm cool. (The clothes I wear to the work always take up far more space in the bag than clothes I work out in--there's gotta be room for large footware, jackets, jeans, etc.)

I ended up ordering the fairly standard Nike model above, but I came close to shelling out 80 clams for the Nike Goddess of Victory Club Bag. Then I decided I'd drive my husband crazy walking around the house saying, "Honey, have you seen my Nike Goddess of Victory Club Bag? I seem to have misplaced my Nike Goddess of Victory Club Bag. I sure will kill the cat if he pees on my Nike Goddess of Victory Club Bag."