Personal shopper needed for some snowboots in Aisle 7 please
December 16, 2013 1:52 PM Subscribe
Say you're a hip and adorable lesbian- what snowboots would you buy? I'm trying to buy my partner a pair of snowboots for Xmas and want to find some really cute, stylish ones but am coming up short. We're in the Rockies. I just buy utilitarian boots, so I am bad at this.
My budget is $75-150 US and for size 9. I'd prefer to find them on Zappos or Amazon since I'm running out of time with shipping. I have no idea what "cool" snow boots look like.
She is kind of nerdy, and wears a lot of cardigans and button up shirts and has a slightly feminine but overall androgynous look. She has glasses and short hair and wears adorable wool coats and not really the REI style of "gear" outdoor wear if you know what I mean. I need your help AskMefi!! Thank you.
PS: Bonus for winter coats in the same price range if you have any in mind. I'm trying to buy one of those for her too. Trying to make Christmas cozy.
My budget is $75-150 US and for size 9. I'd prefer to find them on Zappos or Amazon since I'm running out of time with shipping. I have no idea what "cool" snow boots look like.
She is kind of nerdy, and wears a lot of cardigans and button up shirts and has a slightly feminine but overall androgynous look. She has glasses and short hair and wears adorable wool coats and not really the REI style of "gear" outdoor wear if you know what I mean. I need your help AskMefi!! Thank you.
PS: Bonus for winter coats in the same price range if you have any in mind. I'm trying to buy one of those for her too. Trying to make Christmas cozy.
I'm also a bespectacled, wool-coated Rockies girl and I looooove these toasty warm boots (but sadly my feets are too narrow for them): Sorel Joan of Arctic
posted by mochapickle at 1:59 PM on December 16, 2013 [7 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 1:59 PM on December 16, 2013 [7 favorites]
So I'm hip and adorable and sounds like my style is similar to your partner's. (I like boys, though, don't know if that affects boot choices.) I just this weekend finally walked through the bottom of my last pair of snow boots (it took 4 solid Chicago winters) and bought another (cuter) pair of the same brand. Baffin Icelands. Previously I was in a pair of Chloes. They're good boots. My new ones should be here tomorrow!
posted by phunniemee at 1:59 PM on December 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by phunniemee at 1:59 PM on December 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
Hm... Well, I live in the Northeast, and I am a straight female with a very similar fashion sense as your S.O., so take this as you will. It seems like the good-old-fashioned L.L. Bean Duckboots have made a big resurgence in the last year, possibly because many fashionistas are tired of wet cold feet? All the hipster kids at my university wear them.
Slightly more fashionable ladies wear Sorel boots, the kind with the fur (like Joan of Arctic II). I have a pair of these, simply because I got a huge deal on them. They are warm and toasty, but have no arch support. I wish I'd saved my pennies for the LL Bean boots.
The kids from New Jersey on south seem to wear Uggs, but they don't look like they'll keep your feet all that dry.
Hunter boots are nice, but not insulated, so you'll have to get some inserts. I find them a little awkward to walk in, but YMMV.
The Keen Baby Bern boots are out of your price range, but they are nice and warm and water resistant!
posted by absquatulate at 2:00 PM on December 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
Slightly more fashionable ladies wear Sorel boots, the kind with the fur (like Joan of Arctic II). I have a pair of these, simply because I got a huge deal on them. They are warm and toasty, but have no arch support. I wish I'd saved my pennies for the LL Bean boots.
The kids from New Jersey on south seem to wear Uggs, but they don't look like they'll keep your feet all that dry.
Hunter boots are nice, but not insulated, so you'll have to get some inserts. I find them a little awkward to walk in, but YMMV.
The Keen Baby Bern boots are out of your price range, but they are nice and warm and water resistant!
posted by absquatulate at 2:00 PM on December 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
The Sorel Conquest and Fancy Lace are slightly above your price range, but I think they fit the "nerdy-femme lesbian" look pretty well.
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:00 PM on December 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:00 PM on December 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
Lots of nerdy dykes and hipsters around here wear Blundstones (this one in particular) all year long. They look awesome, are very practical and last forever.
posted by TheGoodBlood at 2:11 PM on December 16, 2013
posted by TheGoodBlood at 2:11 PM on December 16, 2013
I have had the same pair of Sorels for about 20 years. They get heavy use because I live in a place with a lot of snow, and they're still going strong. They're warm, they're tough, they're kinda cute, and they will last forever.
It's almost too bad...I have the Caribou boots, and since they last forever I'll probably never have a good excuse to buy the way cuter Cate the Great or Joan of Arctic styles. :-/
posted by Elly Vortex at 2:22 PM on December 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
It's almost too bad...I have the Caribou boots, and since they last forever I'll probably never have a good excuse to buy the way cuter Cate the Great or Joan of Arctic styles. :-/
posted by Elly Vortex at 2:22 PM on December 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
LL Bean duck boots, or the slightly snowier Sorels in the style of. For instance the Joan Of Arctic ones Elly Vortex linked!
posted by Sara C. at 2:44 PM on December 16, 2013
posted by Sara C. at 2:44 PM on December 16, 2013
Oh, and in terms of the style angle, re specific boots that have been suggested:
- Not sure if the same is true for the Rockies, but Hunters read very preppy/cutesy/sorority girl on the East Coast. They might be a bit more feminine than what she's looking for.
- Uggs: nope. nope nope nope. Sheeeit, I was watching an episode of Community from 2010, and in response to a character wearing Uggs, there was the line, "2008 called and said that even in 2008, those boots are tacky." And that joke is almost 4 years old now. There is no world where Uggs are "stylish and cute", and if she's "feminine androgynous", the answer is seriously NO WAY IN HELL.
posted by Sara C. at 2:51 PM on December 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
- Not sure if the same is true for the Rockies, but Hunters read very preppy/cutesy/sorority girl on the East Coast. They might be a bit more feminine than what she's looking for.
- Uggs: nope. nope nope nope. Sheeeit, I was watching an episode of Community from 2010, and in response to a character wearing Uggs, there was the line, "2008 called and said that even in 2008, those boots are tacky." And that joke is almost 4 years old now. There is no world where Uggs are "stylish and cute", and if she's "feminine androgynous", the answer is seriously NO WAY IN HELL.
posted by Sara C. at 2:51 PM on December 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
My hip adorable queer love wears these Merrell boots. I bet you can find them on sale and more in the mid-range of your price range online.
posted by anya32 at 3:00 PM on December 16, 2013
posted by anya32 at 3:00 PM on December 16, 2013
The Sorels everyone has linked are my favourite, although they are the kind of boots that you need to take off once you are inside somewhere heated or you will have roasted toes.
I also have these Merrells from a few years back and they're great boots and super warm, but the lack of actual laces has made them kind of annoying as the elastics loosen up. So if you get ones that lace up in any way, don't get the ones without actual laces.
posted by elizardbits at 3:15 PM on December 16, 2013
I also have these Merrells from a few years back and they're great boots and super warm, but the lack of actual laces has made them kind of annoying as the elastics loosen up. So if you get ones that lace up in any way, don't get the ones without actual laces.
posted by elizardbits at 3:15 PM on December 16, 2013
The best boots: Steger Mukluks.
Seriously. These are the best. They keep my feet toasty at 40 below and I can wear them in the office all day and not die.
And they're way cuter than Sorels.
My daughter's got a pair of the Baffins, and they're pretty warm and comfortable, but I wouldn't say they're stylish for someone older than 12. Maybe they have more adult styles.
But seriously. Steger mukluks. The best.
posted by leahwrenn at 3:26 PM on December 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
Seriously. These are the best. They keep my feet toasty at 40 below and I can wear them in the office all day and not die.
And they're way cuter than Sorels.
My daughter's got a pair of the Baffins, and they're pretty warm and comfortable, but I wouldn't say they're stylish for someone older than 12. Maybe they have more adult styles.
But seriously. Steger mukluks. The best.
posted by leahwrenn at 3:26 PM on December 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
My partner just bought these ones (@zappos) from Timberland, she wanted something really warm that still looked awesome (basically she wanted her converse allstars in winter boot form) and these were the best she found after a LOT of looking. The biggest thing I was surprised by, and you can't totally tell from the pictures, is how flattering the shape of the toe is, and how not bulky and dorky they looked. I stubbornly refuse to wear snowboots even though I live in Edmonton, AB, but if she didn't already have them I'd probably buy them for myself (and I dress really femme).
posted by Sweetchrysanthemum at 5:11 PM on December 16, 2013
posted by Sweetchrysanthemum at 5:11 PM on December 16, 2013
I confidently recommend Sorels (I have the Cate the Great style and they are absolutely the right combo of warm and comfortable for walking) as both a queer lady and a resident of a harsh winter climate. Bonus: I get compliments on them every time I wear them.
posted by sonika at 6:44 PM on December 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by sonika at 6:44 PM on December 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
I love Bogs--warm, lots of colors/styles. Rated to -40 degrees. Plus they are really waterproof for those sloppy, slushy days. I have the leather Merrells above and they are warm, too, but tend to look pretty beat-up quickly from water and salt. Sorels are great and look good with lots of coats or even skirts--nerdy but cute. I think both Hunter and Uggs read less hip and adorable and more preppy/sorority/teen/trendy. Hunter boots are unlined, so she would need liners, which are warmer, but not warm.
posted by Nosey Mrs. Rat at 7:40 PM on December 16, 2013
posted by Nosey Mrs. Rat at 7:40 PM on December 16, 2013
I too am a hip adorable lesbian in search of warm boots. I'm currently wearing Blundstones which do not keep my hip adorable feet warm at all. They are fabulous and comfortable three season boots. I also own a pair of Bogs. They're reasonably warm but they landed me on my hip adorable ass in hard packed snow almost blowing out my hip adorable right knee. The sole might have been designed to facilitate lateral sliding. I do not trust them to keep me vertical. I've had bad luck ordering Baffins from Zappos; two of the pairs I ordered were faulty.
posted by firstdrop at 7:12 AM on December 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by firstdrop at 7:12 AM on December 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
Hi I live in Boulder and I have those Sorel Joan of Arctic boots (in rusty red not brown) and they are incredibly awesome. They look nice, are plenty warm with just a single layer of standard wool or poly knee socks (even in the recent single degree temps) and they're grippy on ice. About the only downside of them is they're a tad floppy in the toe which makes them difficult to drive a manual transmission car in, but I wouldn't put that down as a reason not to get them.
posted by lonefrontranger at 10:04 AM on December 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by lonefrontranger at 10:04 AM on December 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
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