No, she may not.
Pastors, please invest in a pair of clergy-appropriate all-weather boots. There will be occasions upon which you will actually be called out into rain and snow and ice to minister to people, and at those times there is no reason you should show up looking prepared to dig ditches or to lead them on a hiking expedition. Making a house call is one thing. Visiting the hospital is also one thing. Presiding over a commital of human remains is another thing entirely. When you are called up on to such sacred offices, please do NOT show up in
Gortex boots,
Boots with brown tops and white or tan rubber soles,
L.L. Bean duck boots
or colorful rain wellies.
You should own something like this,
(Le Canadienne, expensive)
Or something like this,
(Yes, I hate them too, but you don’t wear them with a skirt, for heaven’s sake)
Or for very outdoorsy types, even something like this by Columbia,
They’re really not dressy enough but at least they’re all black, you can’t see the drawstring under the pants, they won’t make you look unprepared and disrespectful, and like the other two options they are thoroughly waterproof.
I’ve had the same ugly black snowboots for eleven years. I have one ankle-length pair by Totes that I got for $9.99, and an ugly but very warm pair of knee-high black snow boots that I found for under $30 on a sale rack somewhere and can wear with skirts (not attractively, but I wear pumps at the funeral and quickly change into the snow boots before getting into the hearse for the ride to the cemetery).
Wardrobe stables, darlings!! See to them!
I do totally agree with you that pastors should wear some appropriate winter-footwear to a funeral (or other “official” functions).
It is a No-Go to look as if they were heading off to Antarctica within the next hour.
But I wonder if there aren´t nice boots which are actually made from fake leather (black of course!!) and have a gore-tex layer underneath.
I used to have a pair of them and they were really good. Warm, waterproof and good looking.
I wonder if you have such boots in the USA too.
I’m having a chuckle over “wardrobe stables” — because I do think sometimes that would be a better term than “closet,” though I know that’s not what you meant. [LOL! I have no excuse — I wrote this entry back in August, for heaven’s sake! – PB :::whinnying:::]
Um, can I shamelessly extract some advice, since we’re on the subject of boots!?
I just ordered these:
http://www.earth.us/shoeDetail.asp?Gender=women&cat=1&offset=12&ID=3075
Bad? Good? Depends? I’m a West Coaster doing my congregational internship on the East Coast.
Thanks! Great post, like usual! [Hi L. I think the brand is very cool, and I think those are cute and I would totally wear them all the time to the office under pants. The very rounded toe and rubbery look (even though they’re leather, so maybe it’s just the photo) make them informal — so if you can locate an inexpensive pair of dressier boots for funerals, I would. I can’t see wearing these with skirts of any length in a professional setting (although again, I’d wear them with a gypsy skirt if I was hacking around on a day off ’cause that’s my style), so look for a pair that goes higher on the calf while you’re searching. – PB]
Sno-Pruf is a wonderful waterproofing paste for leather that works up to a reasonable shine and also repels salt. Apply several coats like polish to the entire upper, the stitching around the sole (if any) and the sides of the sole. The only time I had damp feet was when I forgot the stitching. Wipe with a damp cloth to remove any salt residue after use and apply another coat.
Dover Saddlery also has some impressive (and inexpensive) leather-looking rubber riding boots:
http://www.doversaddlery.com/winter-riding-boots/c/2606/c2c/sc/
I have a pair of La Canadienne leather boots (the brand you mention) and they are one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. I bought them at the end of a winter season when boots were on sale everywhere at a fraction of their normal cost. They actually came already waterproof (an absolute necessity since I live in the rainy Pacific Northwest) and are lined with this amazing anti-bacterial (read: they don’t smell bad after you sweat in them) fabric that is soft and insulating. Depending on what I wear them with (jeans, skirts of different lengths) they can go from being professional to casual to even flirty. Worth every penny.