Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Shoes + Rain = Yuck

Admittedly, it hardly ever rains in my neck of the woods...especially this year. We are something like 13 inches of rain below our already low annual average. But, of course, last week I was out and about in my good duds, including my favorite brown 1960s-style pumps. And it rained. Wouldn't you just know it?

And, of course, that's the day we had to stop in the county fair with no time to pop home and change. Needless to say, my favorite shoes needed a severe cleaning when I got home. They'll live, but boy were they a mess.

Which leads me to questions: Why'd we ever stop wearing rain boots. AKA "rubbers"? You know...those little clear booties that just slip over your shoes and keep said shoes and feet nice and dry? Once upon a time I worked in a dry goods store (those are just about a thing of the past, too!). We always had them in stock, but no one ever bought them. And no one seems to even carry them anymore (except, of course, the wonderful AmeriMark!)

I want some...and some more rain to go with them. Check out these ads, both from my December 1953 Good Housekeeping:

Whether you call them "rubbers," "galoshes," "rain boots," or "drizzle boots," why'd we stop wearing them? Did shoes get so cheap that we don't care about ruining them? They go back a long way. Check out this entry on Wikipedia. Do you have some? Do you wear them? Shouldn't we all have some?

4 comments:

  1. I was looking at those ones an the Amerimark store but all they listed for size was small medium large and I didn't know which to choose and it didn't list anything to help you get the sizing right. Let me know if you get some the size and how they fit etc...

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  2. I think you nailed it on that things are so cheap and disposable these days that we're not accustomed to having to take care of them to make them last. I think if I had a $200 pair of leather shoes though, I'd be more prone to wearing these but alas, my $10 Walmart fake leather just isn't worth the bother. ;)

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  3. Living Vintage, I FINALLY am getting back around to this. I haven't bought any for myself yet (still on my to-do list!), but I did contact AmeriMark about the sizing situation. They have since changed the listing on their Web site, which now reflects actual shoe sizes! Yay!

    Betsy, yes, it is unfortunate, but as with appliances, it's sometimes cheaper to throw them away than repair them. That just really should not be the case, somehow... But what can ya do??

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  4. Yes, I have a pair of vintage ones that I keep in my car, just in case. They work like a dream.

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