clog boots – Teachers Have Lives Too!

I read a NYT article recently that made me feel like a total sheep, but with fashion. This actually happens pretty often. I’m not exactly ground breaking in my fashion choices, and obviously, fashion is just a hobby for me. I would say that I pay low attention to the trends of fashion in terms of runways, medium/high attention to the trends of fashion in terms of Pinterest/blogs, and very high attention to what I see in real life. My recent boot purchase was directly influenced and fueled by this blog, Girls Of a Certain Age. Kim France was the longtime editor of Sassy Mag and then Lucky Mag back in their heydays of the 90’s and the 00’s (aka my fashion formative years). I’ve always liked her style, though to be honest, always annoyed by her writing. She uses words like “slouchy” and “natch” so often it’s predictable and dated. As I typed that last sentence, I instantly started wondering which words I overuse to describe fashion in this blog…

I’ve been following Kim’s (and Andrea Linett’s) fashion choices for so long I’ve heard them wax poetic about clogs, specifically No.6 clogs, for years. That brand is a bit on the $$ side though, so in my clog wearing years (my first pair was back when H&M did their colab with Swedish Hasbeens), I’ve found more reasonable alternative brands, and I’ve amassed quite the collection of clogs. One of these brands is Sven Clogs based out of the state of the “hot-dish” (a term I learned from my Minnesota native friend Sara), Minnesota. Granted, this brand can also be a bit pricey, but they run specials all the time and they have a pretty nice closeout section. In addition, they often do “deals of the day” where a staple style of theirs goes on discount for the day. The last 2 years, I’ve waited for their Black Friday sale where they usually do 20% off all clogs.

One of the most famous No.6 styles is the clog boot, two words that don’t seem like they should ever go together. I’ve been eyeing this pair for ages, and have almost purchased them a number of times, always pulling back at the checkout page, gagging at the final price. It’s just still too much to pay for shoes with my teacher’s salary. The most expensive pair of shoes I own right now are my recently purchased Red Wing Boots, which rang in at almost $300 after taxes (I’m convinced I’m going to wear them forever).

While I’ve been eyeing the leather boots, the shearling version had wiggled its way into my fashion brain. It’s snowing here in Denver as I type, and that’s how I’m justifying these Ugg-boots-cum-clogs that may seem revolting at first but then you realize how genius they are. B the Australian really, really, dislikes them, but I blame that on his distain for the Ugg boot trend and how Americans wear them outdoor (apparently they are supposed to be indoor slippers). Sven has an exact copy of the same boot (admittedly for the same price), but they have a closeout section, and I since I subscribe to their newsletter, I caught wind of a special they were running – $175 for all shearling boots in the close outs – and they had them in my size in black. Even though it was the middle of summer at the time I jumped at the sale, and how that it’s Winter, I’m very glad that I did. These boots are THE BEST. I’ve been wearing them without socks (as suggested), and I’ve walked quite a bit in them. My feet stay so warm, I’ve yet to get even a hint of a blister, and they are so easy to pull on and off. I imagine I’m going to wearing them for winter walks to dinner or to the brewery. I have yet to see these boots on anyone else here in Denver, but I’ve already been asked a few times in hushed tones “are those No. 6 boots?” #winning