When winter comes, I am most sad about the fact that I can't ride my bike to work, and that I have to walk. Rather, trudge. Winter where I live does not look pretty and bucolic, as in the J. Crew catalogue picture below. Last week we had a rain-snow combination, and while walking the 4 kilometers to work, stepping through half-foot-deep slush puddles, my feet got completely soaked. I was miserable, and I cursed winter weather.

Luckily for me, Geoff works from home, and is a sweetheart besides. He took a break, picked up a pair of
Sorel Caribou boots in buff, and brought them to me on the streetcar. I have been wearing them almost every day, and have never again had cold feet.
I have often thought that these boots would look perfect with a wardrobe full of Built By Wendy, and I am sure that Wendy Mullin is often inspired by Canadiana. Sorel was created in the 1950s by A. R. Kaufman in Kitchener, Ontario, making these boots as traditionally Canadian as they come (although they are no longer actually manufactured in Canada). I love them!
hello, where does one find these, in toronto? yrs, lola.
ReplyDeletemy whole family is canadian but lives in the US.. my mother was so disappointed when i passed over sorels in favor of a pair of fryes--maybe this WAS a poor choice..
ReplyDeleteha! i really suffer with cold feet. and now i find myself wanting a pair of these rather badly.
ReplyDeleteo! at get outside. right.
ReplyDeleteThere was a billboard near my apartment last winter that advertised that exact style, and I decided that they would be my next boot. They look so warm and cozy! Still waiting on that though.
ReplyDeleteOne day I will live in snow..and wear fabulous boots for the single purpose of warmth. it's currently 70 outside here in Charleston - and could potentially be mugging. eeeK!
ReplyDeleteI bought a pair of sorrels 20 years ago and they look and perform just as well now as they did when I got them. They spent a few years in Alaska and Antarctica with me and I wouldn't wear anything else in the winter now. I hope my pair outlives me...
ReplyDeleteAndrea
A good pair of water proof boots are a must for the winter weather - especially slush! I'm glad you got some : )
ReplyDeletemy best friend just bought duck boots from j crew, but i havent seen how she styles them yet!
ReplyDeletei picked up a pair of duck ankle-booties from goodwill ... but of course all the snow melted before i got to try them out! hmmmm
It's nice to read a fashion blog from someone who also lives in a miserable cold place. I live in Chicago and all of these cute-but-uninsulated winter boots are really just not enough. My mom has some old Sorels that I should probably get resoled.
ReplyDeleteThose Sorel boots look great. We don't really have that type of boot here in the UK - we have similar types that we call muck or paddock boots but you only tend to see them on horse-riders.
ReplyDeleteThat said, it snowed here last night and I was tramping through the snow in stupid black heels. I couldn't feel my toes after two minutes! I think I need something like these (I just blogged about winter boots myself) :-)
I'm glad you like them! Yes, you can buy them at Get Outside in Toronto -- the day Geoff bought them, they said they had sold 50 pairs prior to one PM!
ReplyDeleteThey are definitely warm, and won't be ruined by road salt and slush!
Sorels are classic! When I got my Timberland boots, my Dad kept asking why I didn't go with the Sorels. Sorels=Quality Canadian Winter wear in our house! They've gotten so much cuter than when I was little...or maybe it was just years of wearing the same purple and pink ones that makes me think Sorels used to only come in those colors! Your feet will be soo warm for years to come!
ReplyDeleteI have the exact same ones! I got mine on ebay, but they're too big. The sizes definitely run big on these, especially once the liners have been worn in, as they have been with my used pair. My feet swim in my size 8's but I still stomp around in them when it's really snowy. They make you feel indestructible. Like little tanks on your feet.
ReplyDeleteI saw your tweet about your boots the other day, and I smiled. I decided to retire my 11-year old Roots boots this season (so tough, so good, loved that the soles stamped maple leaves in the snow). They were replaced by Sorels.
ReplyDeletePS Personal Sorel delivery is like the cutest thing ever.
Thanks for the comments, guys! I really hope to have these boots for many, many years. They were kind of pricey, but what I didn't say in the post is that the day my feet got soaked it was because I was wearing a pair of $40 Joe Fresh boots that looked like Sorels. I think they came with a tag that said they were waterproof, but the tongue of the boot is made of fleece and mesh, making it a WICK! Terrible. I should have bought the real deal in the first place!
ReplyDeleteI did hear a story from a friend of a friend that said that the rubber on her Sorels cracked last winter, but I really hope this won't happen!
Carly: Little tanks is exactly right! I love stomping around in them. Stomp stomp stomp.
ah! i used to have a pair of sorel "snow lions" and they were the best boots for running around in the snow. once i left for college, they somehow got misplaced and i am STILL sad about it. now that i am back on the east coast i need to get some replacements ASAP.
ReplyDeletei am completely and utterly baffled as to what i will be wearing on my feet in toronto this winter... i have some ideas. but today in vancouver, it's pouring rain! and it was warm! i was actually opening my coat as i was walking. i am a bit scared.
ReplyDeleteA friend/former coworker of mine let me borrow her Sorels on a particularly messy winter day in NYC last year and I fell in love with them. They were the warmest boots and made me feel very sure-footed on the slippery sidewalks of the city. You have just reminded me that I meant to get myself a pair... maybe this will be the winter that I do!
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ReplyDeleteanabela - i'm considering getting a pair of the sorel caribou, and was wondering if you found your pair to be true to size. i'm almost always a 6.5 regular width, and these don't seem to come in half sizes. thanks!
ReplyDeletei have been meaning to come back to say when i got my boots, i bought the children's size. they are made identically to the adult versions in every way, except they are more moderately priced - which helps with the spendy-ness quite a bit.
ReplyDeletei am a size 6, or a children's 4, and my sorels keep me snug as a bug.
Sorrel went out of biz some years back, Columbia bougt Sorel's name so it's not as if you are getting same quality.
ReplyDeleteBTW Make sure you get appropriate soles. I've got excellent Sorel Alaskans from years back. Great on/in snow but traction is a big problem on icy surfaces like logs etc.