Boots for El Nino & Booties for Sunny Spring & Summer

By Laura Medina

 http://www.sorel.com/home

Since Californians are praying for El Nino to end the drought, Cali folks are stocking up on Sorel's best and hottest seller, their Women's Slimpack Riding™ Tall Boot, http://www.sorel.com/womens-slimpack-riding-tall-boot-NL2007.html?dwvar_NL2007_variationColor=383.

Why Sorel's Slimpack Riding Tall Boot?

Other than it's bi-costal friendly and classy East Coast Equestrian style (it goes everywhere while jet-setting during the holidays), Slimpack Riding Tall Boot waterproof, insulated PAC boots keep feet dry and warm in inclement weather. Ideal for everyday wear, the full-grain leather upper and iconic rubber shell create a protective foot environment while the molded EVA footbed and integrated arch support provide lasting comfort, i.e. "East Coast Style" where form has to meet function.

If booties are more your thing, you'll be glad to know that Sorel's Women’s Slimboot™ Pull On Glow Rain Boot is on sale for $90, http://www.sorel.com/womens-slimboot-pull-on-glow-rain-boot-1630331.html?cgid=sale-women&dwvar_1630331_variationColor=464#start=1

Relieved that the Slimboot Pull On Glow Rain Boot is simple pull on and slip off as it is on sale.  Can't think of anything better during inclement weather, like mud slides on the Hollywood Hills. 

If style is still your thing and you want performance in one package, go after this scribe's namesake, The Medina III, http://www.sorel.com/womens-medina-iii-rain-heel-boot-1627241.html?dwvar_1627241_variationColor=012#start=0, the third edition, achieved the impossible, an high-heel boot specifically made for the rain with thick, tough vulcanized rubber with tire-traction grooves molded into the sole of the boot, gripped for traction on the ice, snow, and sleet so you wouldn't slip.  Plus, the insole and the EVA molded rubber midsole on a platform outsole with comfortable high heel is the ideal high heel for blizzard-trapped New York Fashion Week in February. 

The Construction

• UPPER: Waterproof vulcanized rubber with neoprene bootie.
• FOOTBED: Molded EVA footbed with arch support. Pigskin leather topcover.
• MIDSOLE: Vulcanized rubber.
• OUTSOLE: Handcrafted rubber outsole with herringbone design.


• Heel Height: 3 3/4 in.
• Shaft Height: 6 in.
• Platform Height: 1 1/4 in.
• Calf Circumference: 10 1/2 in.
• Weight: 22 oz / 624 g
• Measurements based on size 8.5.

Get ready, runway. Here comes Medina III, a rain heel with so much attitude you’ll want to wear it all the time. Waterproof vulcanized rubber upper with neoprene stretch bootie, EVA molded rubber midsole on a platform outsole with comfortable high heel. Bring on the deluge, while impressing the heck out of people.

Whenever this scribe wears her namesake Medina high-heel boots, women always stop her in her tracks, asking "Where did you get those boots? Sorel Medina Boots are show-stoppers.

http://www.chineselaundry.com/booties-boots

As for any Carrie Bradshaw/"Sex & the City" shoe freak, you all have noticed that the real haute couture designers have been putting out open-toe, high-heel boots and booties on the runways for the past two years.

These designers and shoe freaks call this trend, "Peep Toe" because the toes "peek-a-boo" out in the open.

Yes, ironies of ironies but they're hot sellers.  Hot enough to trickle down to the masses who yearn to wear booties well into the sunny and warm Spring and Summer.  Why?  Spring and Summer people are stylistas too.  The stereotypical high heel sandals are getting boring as Carrie Bradshaw's late ninities/early aughts baby pink tutu skirt.

Fashionistas want to something wear beyond the flip-flops, the stanky sandals, the stale sling-backs, and the boring basic ballet flats.  They still love the empowerment of a boot.  They still love the self-esteem that an high heel endues but they want something with "ump" and "amp."  This is where open-toe booties arrives, pushing fashion forward and onward.  Plus, boot lovers love that there's ventilation for their feet during sweaty Spring and Summer.

Plus, the boot construction technology of open-toe boots and mesh over-lay booties and ankle-wrapped, open-toe booties reflect the progress of time and innovation which is the function of fashion, the reflection of time.  Ask "Mad Men" costume designer, Janie Bryant.

Hate it or not but a "shoe whore" like Carrie Bradshaw would be wearing these open-toe, mesh-overlay, ankle-wrapped booties today.

Chinese Laundry's Kristin Cavallari Laurel Peep Toe Bootie and her Chinese Laundry collection are utilizing the latest in shoe and boot construction to make boots warm weather-friendly.

http://www.chineselaundry.com/booties-boots

Kristin Cavallari Liam and Laurel are the hottest booties for Chinese Laundry right now and Spring is a good five to six months away.  We stylistas think ahead.

  

 http://www.chineselaundry.com/booties-boots

The next open-toe boot development is the mesh over-lay.  You still get the feel and confidence of a boot but you get the airiness and ventilation through the mesh and lace.

Chinese Laundry's jaiden mesh peep toe bootie, www.chineselaundry.com/chinese-laundry/jaiden-mesh-peep-toe-bootie-5026, is also already their best seller too.

These peep toe booties feature a mesh upper, front collar detail and a back zipper for easy wear. Looks amazing paired with cropped pants or your favorite dress.  

Kristin Cavallari is pushing what it means to be a boot or a bootie,  Her Largo Heeled Sandal upgraded the sandal by transforming into a high heel bootie.  This woven leather open back sandal is a gorgeous woven leather straps styled on an open-back bootie on a stacked woodgrain heel. An adjustable ankle strap ensures a great fit. The Largo will be your go-to style this season. 

What Kristian Cavallari is doing to boots is what Carrie Bradshaw had done to hand-sculptured heels but Kristian is the reflection of today's fashionistas.  They don't merely report on and wear it.   They put their concepts into action and make them happen and tangible in the real world, which returns money to them.  More power to them!

This is why open-toe/peep toe booties are already hot for the upcoming Spring/Summer 2016.  They're the best of both worlds, sandals meets boot.