It’s that very special time of year. If you live anywhere remotely cold and urban, the streets are a treacherous mess of exhaust stained, dirty, icy, sidewalk garbage snow. Crosswalks are impassable and the city is frozen tundra. Otherwise, as soon as the temperature begins to rise and you think you’re in the clear, the ice skating rinks that before encircled every street corner, have become moats. Our feet take the most abuse in this weather, testing the slushy waters before we make the great leap. It can be near impossible to look put together and stay warm in these trying times. But it can be done! My go-to she is a pair of Cole Haan charcoal grey waterproof leather oxfords, but they don’t make those no more, so I’ve scoured the web for an icy garbage snow shoe for everybody’s tastes.
Waterproof Oxfords to Keep You Dapper and Dry
These Ahnu waterproof Oxfords are perfect for keeping your feet dry with waterproof leather, neoprene and some other fancy scientific materials. They also come in a variety of colors.
Doc Martens for The Punx
These vulcanized rubber combat-style Docs have a high ankle to keep your legs dry in case you slip into a lake puddle, and come in both black and floral patterns.
Ballet slippers for inside your ‘Bean Boots
I had this great idea for when I’m going to class and I need to keep my feet dry without carrying two pairs of shoes all day. I bought a pair of split-sole ballet slippers to wear inside of my clompy winter boots. Now I just ditch the boots at the door and I don’t have to worry about dragging slush through the halls.
Hot Heels to Melt the Ice
If the idea of wearing two pairs of shoes at once is a little weird for you, these winter heels from Sorel are great way to transition from the Arctic outdoors to an indoor event. Warm, totally waterproof, and great traction make these boots perfect who is determined not to sacrifice a high fashion height to a little snow and ice.
Hiking Boots for the Urban Butch
Sometimes you just want a good winter hiking boot that doesn’t make you look like you’re about to scale Everest.
These “Winter Fancy” boots from Sorel are a great shape and color and classy silhouette. A no fuss boot for a no nonsense pedestrian. The Danner Mountain Light Cascade boots come in a beautiful tan leather that is water-resistant. Apparently they were worn by Reese Witherspoon in the movie Wild… so there’s that.
Happy puddle jumping my pretties!
