My Brown Boots: A Tribute.

We lost a member of the Bashion family over the holiday, my beloved brown boots. They were 7-year-old Aerosoles, that had been cobbled many times and worn with love.

I remember when I first saw my boots, they were in the pages of Lucky Magazine. They were tall and the color of a perfectly burned creme brulee. I went hunting for them right away. I was living in Chicago at the time and I stopped in any Aerosole store that I could find, even ventured out to the outlets looking for my boots. I had no luck, Lucky was not proving to be very lucky for me. I gave up. At the time I didn’t really think there was room for brown boots in my life. I was mostly just wearing Converses and flip-flops. Brown Boots seemed a little fancy for me, a luxury item if you will. I wasnt ready for what brown boots said, “I have excellent, effortless, classic casual style.” I was far more comfortable with what my Chuck Taylors said to the world, “I’m 24 and I go out drinking until 4am, yes I am hungover.”

Months later I went home for my birthday and my mom took me shopping. As we walked down Walnut Street in Philadelphia, we stopped into the Aerosole store. As we stepped out of the chilly weather, I turned my head to the right and there they were, my brown boots. This was it. We were meant to be. This was our meet cute.

They fit perfectly, except for the fact that my right calf is lightly fatter than my left and it was difficult to zipper, but whatever, we all suffer sometimes. I should also state that this was way before the skinny jean craze, so I really had no idea what to do with them. I was a Teen Mom, lost and unsure of my parenting skills, but assured that I would make it.

I even remember one of the first times that I wore them. It was a misty night, that quickly turned into a rainy mess and I was meeting old college friends. It was a night that bordered on spring, summer and february. I wore a navy blue, deep v neck jersey dress from JCrew and to make me look like less of an asshole I wore my boots. I became more confident with every stride as I walked from Boystown to Old Town. Standing on the corner of North Ave and Wells St my friends were trying to decide on a plan, that’s when Jeremy said “Hey I really like your boots.” That’s when I accepted them into my life fully.

Our love affair continued for years. When they started to wear at the sole and towards the top of the zipper I took them to a cobbler that worked miracles. Last year I got them cobbled again and the new cobbler hinted to the fact that maybe I should let these go. I wasn’t ready, the still had miles to go.

A few weeks ago I came to the conclusion that it was time to pull the plug. The leather had gone past the point of being weathered and more towards becoming a hazard. The left boot was starting to wear through and turning green. While I was at my mom’s for Christmas, I left them behind. If I took them home, I wouldn’t have been able to let go. It was bittersweet. They were great boots. I miss them everyday. Now that they are gone they open the door to new brown boots and that makes me nervous and excited all at the same time.

Here are some of my favorite brown boot outfits:

 

I realize that it’s fairly gross that I can talk about a pair of boots like this. But that’s one of the many cool things about Bashion.

Be great and dress well.