In Focus

Most people have their own preferred footwear, whether it’s sandals in the summertime or sneakers in the spring, but when fall comes around, I always reach for my knee-high boots.

I’ve always loved a good pair of black leather boots—preferably with the lowest heel possible, because I don’t do heels. I wore my old pair constantly, and, as well-worn shoes do, they eventually started falling apart. While searching for a new pair, I came across some gray boots and found myself really liking them. I bought a pair of dark gray boots with a red zipper on the back. They were lightly fur-lined, easy to slip on, comfortable to wear, and went with everything. Without a doubt, these became the best pair of boots I’ve ever owned.

As the years passed, they too succumbed to wear and tear. I was upset but lucky enough to find the same pair on clearance online, and I jumped at the chance to replace them. With some funds left over and wanting to save the gray boots from further wear, I bought a pair of bright red boots. I really loved these boots, but over time, they started wearing oddly, and the heels began to crack. I patched them up as best as I could, hoping for the best.

Fast-forward to the present day: I had already been patching up the gray boots as part of the soles came loose—there was probably more Gorilla Glue than actual sole at this point. Still, I kept wearing them. One Sunday, I slipped as I was brining some things to my car and noticed something was very wrong—the sole on the right boot was almost completely detached. My boyfriend tried to fix them with some superglue, but I realized the boots were finally beyond repair.

The following day, I put on my red boots, only to discover that they too had failed. The heels on both boots had completely collapsed and broken. What are the odds that both pairs would die back-to-back? Suddenly, I had no boots to wear.

I checked a few stores but didn’t find anything I liked, so I resorted to browsing online. I considered searching for the gray boots again but decided to explore other options. I found a pair of black boots with side buckles that seemed perfect, and a new pair of red boots that looked higher quality than my previous pair.

The tricky part? Size. I have big feet, and depending on the brand, I’m either a 9.5 or 10. Plus, my feet are on the wider side. Why are women’s shoes always so narrow? For years, I’ve bought sneakers from the men’s section just to find something that fits.

And don’t even get me started on clothes shopping—there’s no size conformity, jeans rarely have actual pockets, and I don’t have the patience to try things on.

Shoes are much easier, but even then…why do kids get all the cute stuff? I want sparkling pink glitter boots too!