Good tread is hard to find

I decided to try to find snow boots. I figured it'd be easy. This is a cold place. It was even starting to flurry a bit when I got to Union Square, so I imagined the stores would be packed with snow boots.

Nothing is that easy.

I wanted something black, fashionable, water-proof, warm, no heel. Something I could wear out to a restaurant or nice place if need be. But also trudge through snow.

There are lots of very cute fashionable boots that are not waterproof or warm.
There are some water-proof boots that are not warm or fashionable.
There are water-proof boots that are warm, but are not fashionable. And so on...

I don't know why they make snowboots that are not waterproof. Snow is frozen water. It melts.

I kept thinking I must be missing something, so I went back to Strawberry three times, DSW twice, and assorted random shoe stores several times. Nuthin'.

The DSW girl told me not to wear rain boots instead of snow boots, because they won't be warm. She showed me really ugly clunky black doc-martin-ish shoes that she liked. And then picked up a much cuter style and was like "these are warm, but obviously not very fashionable.

I clearly do NOT underststand the fashion yet ;)

She said Uggs (or however you spell that) are very popular, but they are suede and so not waterproof. I've always wondered if Uggs stands for "ugly shoes?"

Finally, I found a sporting goods store that sold snowboarding type stuff. They had four or five pairs of boots. One of them was black, fashionable, warm with fur inside, had good tread. Would they have my size? I had been denied my size at two other stores. The woman next to me was trying on the same boots in 7.5 and 8 -- the two sizes I am also between! Would the pair that didn't fit her, fit me?

Luckily, there were enough sizes. I tried on the black pair and a girl walking by (who was wearing Uggs) said "cute shoes!" So they passed the fashion test. They were comfy. Warm. Good tread. Yes! I'm sold!

Then the guys tells me to make sure I don't get them wet.

"What!?" I say. "These are snow boots!"

"Yes, just avoid slush or rain. Snow is fine," he said.

Now, I'm under the impression that snow rarely stays that way. It's always melting, or turning to rain, or doing other unpredictable, weather-ish things. It's kinda what snow does. It's "thing."

So he says to spray them, because they're suede. Do they have the spray? Nope. They have every other possible type of spray, including suede cleaning stuff.

Luckily, some guy in the camping section found fabric spray to waterproof clothing that happened to apply to suede also! woo hoo.

I walk home from Union Square, as the rain slows down and turns white.

"Just in time!" I think.

Then I get home, read the spray instructions. It says to let dry for 48 hours. And absolutely, under no circumstances, to wear them earlier than that as it will basically ruin your life, and your boots.

So I wear the same old boots I was wearing before. Sigh. At least in a couple of days I will have snow boots!