It’s a matter of efficiency: I need new boots. Sure, I already have a pair of black leather riding boots (2-inch heels), tan leather cowboy boots (again, 2 inches), gray leather booties (3 inches), and black suede slouch boots (flat). But what I need are flat, leather boots – so I can run to catch my ride to work in the morning and not have to if it’s raining.
On a recent shopping excursion at DSW I found two good candidates:
On the left: Kelly & Katie slouch boots, reg $139.00, $89.95 at DSW.
On the right: Blowfish zip boots, reg $79.00, $59.95 at DSW.
I found the Kelly & Katie pair first and was satisfied but not ecstatic. Then I saw Blowfish pair and were absolutely perfect. Tan leather, no heel, a cool zip on the side – and only 60 bucks! The only drawback is that the largest pair was too small (only about half of my foot was in that shoe). So I had a quandry, and a phrase that my dad wisely used years ago came back to me: one in the hand is worth two in the bush. Essentially, go for the sure thing. I could chase ever more perfect boots through other stores and across the internet, or I go with the ones that performed the function, and fit. It would have been an easier choice if the Kelly & Katie boots were cheaper – but to pay more for the less perfect pair? No thanks. For fun I tried on this pair as well:
I didn’t write down the info, but they look suspiciously like the Rosegold’s Danilee Bootie on the Modern Vintage website:
But I digress. After finding amazing boots for $60 I decided that I could find those or better for $75. I found the Blowfish boots on a couple of different websites but I couldn’t find anything larger than a size 6. I kept trolling DSW, Zappos, Piperlime and Endless, and after finding nothing for weeks I became convinced that my choices may have peaked three weeks ago at DSW. Until… Black Friday, when I happened to be at a Macy’s in Atlanta and saw a pair of boots for $80. It was way too chaotic to investigate then and there, but my faith was renewed. I geared up for another round of sleuthing, and here’s what I found:
Found these Nine West at Macy’s.com for $129; it’s also on Nine West‘s website for $109 (and 30% off of that), but in an ugly taupe color. Piperlime is selling the black version for $90, but the brown one is still $129. The next best choice might be these:
Star Ling, found at Nordstrom for $100. They’re cute, but less exciting than the Nine West boots. I’m still not over the Blowfish boots, but I have yet to find them in anything sized larger than 8.5. And the price totally ruined me. I now have this fairy-tale expectation of cute, stylish and functional boots for an obscenely wallet-friendly price. I’m still not convinced about anything else I’ve seen thus far, so the search continues!
What's your opinion?