OverDressed for Life

I remember these boots well. Along with a beige cashmere coat, they were part of what Mom called her Emergency Gear. She kept them aside in her closet ready and waiting for a fire, earthquake or some other “get out of the house quickly” happening.

Made in France, they started off life with Mom back in 1957 as the final touch to a tres chic skiing outfit she bought at Saks Fifth Avenue for a trip to Tahoe. Included in the ensemble were black ski pants, a fabulous black and gold knit sweater with an attached cap and The Après Ski Boots. “I bought them for the occasion,” says Mom, who was very much about the après part of skiing. “Oh, I knew I wasn’t going to be skiing.”

Other than a few trips to Tahoe, the boots pretty much sat in the closet waiting for a happening. Until I got a hold of them.

Mom finally gave them to me a few years ago and I put them back to work, not in ski country but on an early March visit to snowy Philadelphia and New York City. What is really fantastic about these boots is not only are they warm but they are the most comfortable pair of anything I own. I wore them walking ALL OVER both Philly and NYC for an entire week, morning till night. Plus they look good and they’re unique.

Mom agrees. “I’ve always believed that simple elegance is the way to go,” she says. “And these boots are exactly an example of that.”

You said it, Mom.