I’m sitting again in my favorite German class on the rainiest morning of the month, but this time I feel like the odd person out. Why? Because all of my 10+ female classmates are wearing shiny, knee-height, rubber footwear, coming in colors and patterns for every taste. I swear I can hear their supposedly dry feet shout to me: “Yeah, this is how we do it here! Welcome to the magical land of rain boots!”
Ironically, I never liked rain boots. Before moving to the United States last fall, I associated them with farm work, raising cattle or walking on suspiciously muddy roads in the remote country side. My grandmother owns a dusty pair in black, but I never imagined that coming to college I would be surrounded by so many feverish fans of rain boots. Together with my high school friend, who goes to university in Scotland and now studies in Canada, I used to make fun of all of these people (mostly girls), who walked around our schools’ campuses in footwear that back in Bulgaria is considered appropriate only for farmers and factory workers.
Leaving all these preconceptions behind, I tried to keep an open mind while writing this article. After some research, careful observations and a few interviews, it turned out that there is more to rain boots than I initially thought.
At Tufts, a lot of students are the proud owners of at least one pair of rain boots. Everyone agrees on their functionality, whether in times of cutting across the Residential Quad or paddle jumping near Barnum. The more environmentally-minded mention that rubber boots are a viable alternative to leather, whose production has a notoriously bad impact on livestock populations. Another argument in favor of rain boots is that they are fashionable and promote self-expression through their designs.
Talking about fashion, today rain boots come in various shapes and forms. The majority are knee high and sometimes worn for perfectly dry occasions. I just don’t understand why someone would do this injustice to their feet and calves when it’s not even necessary. Wouldn’t a pair of bright flats or colorful sneakers be a more appropriate addition to your outfit on a rainless day? I’m relatively more approving of the ankle high rubber shoes because they don’t take so much space in your suitcase and make less of an obnoxious statement.
In terms of designs, my extensive observations will never be enough to encompass the enormous variety of rain boots at Tufts. Given the history of rain boots, the ones in plain colors seem to be the most authentic. In the 19th century, the modified Hessian boots of Arthur Wellington, first Duke of Wellington, are considered the predecessors of rain boots. Logically, their manufacturing reached an unprecedented peak during World War I, when soldiers needed waterproof footwear for the days and ni
ghts in flooded trenches and other horrendous conditions.
Today, older individuals in the US can still be spotted wearing a bright yellow adaptation of “wellies,” while the British typically put on dark green-colored rain boots. Tufts students prefer not to discriminate, so they buy rain boots in all colors of the rainbow. Plaited, dotted, animal print, on small umbrellas or baby pandas – you name it, we have it! Honestly, some of these cute designs bring me to tears, particularly when they have a special meaning for the boots’ owner. They help me remember people and give me another reason to smile when I think of my American friends.
To this day, I have never owned a pair of rain boots. Having browsed so many websites for rain boots and talked to quite a few rain boots admirers, I might be beginning to reconsider my opinion. Luckily, if I ever change my mind, I could simply stroll down to the Tufts bookstore, which is the closest place where rain boots are sold. But no, I would never buy the ones with an incongruous heel! The rest might pass in front of my Bulgarian friends, but the rubber heels would only make people on the streets do a double take and not in a good way.
Sources:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Rain-Boots—A-Comprehensive-History&id=2461870
http://www.squidoo.com/Hunter_Wellingtons#module48983432