Cheryl Shops

Like thousands of other New Yorkers, I had quite the challenge getting home after the holidays. Our flight was cancelled and rebooked (for five days later), and because MW and I didn't really feel like sitting around my parents' house for a week, we elected to drive back, an adventure I'll save for another day. The roads were fine, albeit with a bit of snow piled up along the sides, and we couldn't even tell how hard New York had been hit by the snow until we got on the FDR, at which point we could see a very snowy Roosevelt Island. And while things in Brooklyn weren't nearly as bad as we had expected, it was definitely a bit...snowy. But because life goes on, I had lunches to eat, appointments to make, and errands to run, and I wasn't about to wear any old boots.

Enter my Koolaburra Laura Boots. Yes, they bear a passing resemblance to those other ubiquitous Australian sheepskin boots (which, by the way, are made in China, unlike Koolaburra boots, which are actually made in Australia), but I can attest they are more sturdy, with a more flexible sole, and they stretch out less, thereby avoiding the dreaded sheepskin shuffle. The shape of the boot is slightly more streamlined also, and many of Koolaburra's styles have chic little details, like studs or fringe. My pair is almost exactly the same as the Laura, with a Kate Moss-ish side fringe; the only difference is that these have a bohemian-chic beaded strip too. True, they are not the most elegant boots in the world, but when there's two feet of snow on the ground, elegance is not my number-one concern. They're super comfortable, and they keep my feet warm and dry, which, in this weather, is just about all one can ask for. Well, except maybe a shoveled sidewalk and garbage pickup, but I digress. Price-wise, Koolaburra boots run a bit higher than their competitors, but they're certainly more luxurious--and, as I mentioned, they're made in Australia, not China--and more chic and thus, in my mind, completely worth it. After all, do you really want to wear the same boots as teenage girls?