CNHI News Service Foul-weather footwear

Photos

These Lelli Kelly Nordic I boots for children feature a rubber sole with raised snowflakes for fun tread marks. Suggested retail price is $62. Jim Vaiknoras/Eagle-Tribune

Pink Shepherd are lined with New Zealand sheepskin and retail for about $120. Jim Vaiknoras/Eagle-Tribune

Aquatalia Aztec give a military look in green, weatherproof suede with three side buckles and look great with a skirt and tights. Suggested retail price: $250 Emily Young/Eagle-Tribune

Khombu Austin looks cute with jeans rolled midcalf with a thick cuff for a cowboy-like look. Suggested retail price: $120 Jim Vaiknoras/Eagle-Tribune

Editor's notes: Tips on saving on saving shoes from salt, buying bad-weather shoes
Pics for boxes: lelliboots.jpg, aztecboot.jpg, zoloboot.jpg, pinkboot.jpg, austinboot.jpg (info about boots in photo cutlines)

Your don't need to wear old-fashioned galoshes to keep your feet dry in the worst of weather.

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — This almost snowless winter tempts you daily to don your favorite heels instead of your dowdy foul-weather gear. But public shoe enemy No. 1 can still plague your precious pumps this winter.
“The biggest winter enemy for your shoes is salt, just like it’s the biggest enemy for your car. Remember what salt does to metal and just think what it will do to leather,” said Methuen cobbler Tom Belluardo.
Whether it’s salt, sleet or snow, winter’s precipitating mix can ruin your well-loved shoes. But there is some good news for those who forked over a minifortune for their favorite footwear: North Andover cobbler Sam Nakkoul said the better quality the shoe, the more likely it’ll survive the winter.
“The sole will wear on all shoes,” Nakkoul said. “But keep in mind that the difference lately between a good shoe — and when I say good I mean an expensive shoe — and a cheap shoe that costs like $29.99, is the top leather. If it’s Coach, Gucci, the leather quality is far superior, and if you do take care of them, they’ll last forever.”
As for boots, Nakkoul noted that those stylish, pointy-toed women’s shoes are “sexy looking, but the toes don’t have control of the first inch of the tip, so they take more abuse.”
You might be better off keeping your favorites out of trouble and off the slick streets. And just because there hasn’t been much snow yet, doesn’t mean North of Boston has suddenly acquired North Carolina’s climate, so you should be prepared for the eventual accumulation and ice.
“We have a good bit of inventory, but a lot of places aren’t stocking a ton of boots because the weather is so unpredictable,” Bethany Carlson, owner of the John Tarr Store in Rockport. “I would buy before a snowstorm because once it hits, everyone will go out to buy and all the popular sizes, like a men’s 10, will be gone.”

Saving your shoes
Heed the following tips from local cobblers Tom Belluardo and Sam Nakkoul, and your footwear won’t look foul come spring.
r “In the winter, when there’s bad weather or the sidewalk is slippery, for all your shoes that have a leather sole or man-made sole, you want to (have) a thin layer of rubber (put) on the bottom to give a little traction,” Belluardo said.
“You wear that (rubber) sole guard down and then just replace it. If you wear down actual sole, you can’t put the sole guard on because you’ll feel the bumps underneath it,” Nakkoul said.
r “You should keep your shoes shined because polish has lanolin in it, which prevents the leather from cracking,” Belluardo said.
r “Waterproof it. I look at any shoe or pocketbook and think it should be waterproofed before using it because it will stain once the rain or snow gets on it,” Nakkoul said.
r “After you wear your shoes outside in wet rain or snow, get a nice warm cloth, put a little bit of warm water and little bit of detergent on it. Just wipe the edges where the salt builds up. You want to use a dish washing liquid, nothing too harsh. And just dab it. Let the warm water take care of the salt. Let it dry and you’ll be fine the next day,” Belluardo said.

Stylish yet sturdy
Lori Itzkowitz opened her Newburyport shoe shop, Pink Hearts Blue Soles, just in time for boot season this November. Itzkowitz sells Shepherd boots, which have a similar look but smaller price tag than the wildly popular UGG boot. She’s also a fan of Khombu, as many of their styles work well for Hollywood’s trendy look of the moment: jeans in, boots out.
“I’ve noticed that everyone tries them on with their jeans tucked in,” Itzkowitz said. “I think the whole look has to do with how in skinny jeans are right now.”
Boots can be functional and still fashionable.
“I love Aquatalia boots,” said Stephanie Petropulos, manager of Cuoio in Marblehead. “They’re beautiful boots. That’s their key selling point: they don’t look like they’re waterproof. Nobody will know they’re snow boots. But they’re warm. I’ve trekked through a blizzard in mine.”

Buying the boot
Here are a few tips from Bethany Carlson, owner of the John Tarr Store in Rockport, and Stephanie Petropulos, manager of Marblehead shoe store Cuoio, for buying foul-weather footwear:
r “Make sure to ask if they’re already treated (to be waterproof) and if they’re lined into the foot bed. You want to make sure the quality is there — but if it’s made in Italy, France, Spain, then the quality should be good. After that, buy for looks,” Petropulos said.
r “A lot of boots only come in full sizes, so you should round up if you’re a half-size. You don’t want a boot to be too fitted. You want enough toe space because it can get cold without it. And you want room to fit an extra sock,” Carlson said.
r “The more you interchange your boots, the longer you’ll have them,” Petropulos said.

Fashions for little feet
Boots are just as playful for kids these days.
Boys are sporting dark-colored boots accented with stripes of bright colors. And little girls are going for wildly decorated boots.

Emily Young writes for The Tribune-Democrat in North Andover, Mass.