Puffy coats and moon boots

When I was in 4th grade and we moved to Des Moines, Iowa, my mother began suffering cold flashbacks to her days living in Buffalo, NY. And rightfully so, I might add. That Midwestern cold can be merciless and quite frankly, the fond memories of playing in the snow are few and far between. I seem to favor my mother's side of the family when it comes to cold and despite spending many generations in England, we have Indian blood coursing through our veins as well and come winter, those genes try to tell us we belong somewhere hot and humid instead.

Back to Iowa. When we got there my mother bought me a calf-length puffy purple coat which I loved because I was in the throes of a purple phase. Where our fashion tastes diverged was when it came to footwear. I was quick to note that the more fashionable girls my age were wearing what were called "duck" boots. They were hard plastic on the foot and quilted from the ankle up to about mid-calk where they stopped. They were slim and cute and came in a variety of colors. The other footwear was the "moon" boot. The name pretty much says it all. They were massive, thick, heavily padded on the inside, and as one walked down the hall of the elementary school everyone was alerted to your presence due to the loud booming sound you made as you walked. Guess which one my winter-phobic mother made me get? As you can tell, I still haven't quite forgiven her.

As a result of this childhood fashion trauma, when I went away to college in Boston, while I allowed my mother to once again buy me another huge coat, I refused to allow her to go near any footwear. The coat proved to be very unfashionable in the era of grunge and I think by my second winter in college I was getting by with lots of layers and a corduroy blazer (it was after college I refused to suffer for fashion).

Now that I am walking the streets of New York City where the high temperatures are currently hovering around the freezing mark, I am noticing that one can make a fashion statement and stay warm. Boots are everywhere and people are back to tucking their jeans into them - very retro and currently very hip. There are saggy boots, suede boots, furry boots, colorful boots, big UGG boots (where were they in 1982 I ask?) and winter coats? I think enough grown-ups decided being cold sucked because I am seeing lots of calf-length and longer puffy winter coats; coats that I never would have thought fashion-forward thinking people would be caught dead wearing.

I am so glad, because it is so, so cold.