The Wonderful World of Wellies!

From Preppy Sporty above to Preppy Pretty as featured below... one's footwear statement can be a whole lotta' fun!

Ah, there's nothing like tromping around in wet weather with a trusty pair of boots on! I love misty mornings, rainy afternoons and thunderstorm nights...really. I toe the line however at hurricanes with now living out on a tiny island off the coast of South Carolina.

I remember when my mother and I traveled from England to Scotland a few years ago. While we were out n' about enjoying England's iconic Lake District, it was wonderfully misty-rain all around and so by the time we arrived in Edinburgh, the weather was way too sunny bright skies for our tastes. Where'd the mists go? Darn! This past spring, James and I were in London and caught a rain shower or two while there. More recently, while up in the North Carolina mountains this autumn, we enjoyed a good weekend's worth of rain pouring down on us and I wish now that I had had my new Sperry Wellie-boots along with me.

Aren't these tartan Sperry boots great?!

They made me literally smile the first glimpse that I had of them in our local Belk store and so, naturally, they came on home with me. The coordinating "duck shoes" too as I am a sucker for anything Burberry-hued plaid. Last year for Christmas, James gave me a terrific Burberry cashmere scarf that's really a shawl at times, it's so wide and wraps so wonderfully. I absolutely love it... I wear a lot of brown, tan, black and cream with dashes of Chinese-red anyway so these color tones within a tartan are just perfect for my wardrobe. This color group also coordinates with my beloved Barbour field jacket but that's another story...

But anyway yes, it's been the proverbial English Hunt Country Look for me for a very long time. Both Preppy in general and super Deep-South at the same time and oh, so very practical. Where else does one sport shoot with her pearls on in America? That's my Australian contingents favorite picture of me and if I can ever unearth a copy around here, I'll post it onto the blog here. My buddy Fletcher snapped that photo and we laughed about how it really is just an ordinary kinda' thing for a lowcountry gal to be toting her rifle while wearing pearls and a sweater twin set out behind a tomato field.

There's Preppy-posturing which is an affected, purposed styling and then there's just ole' Preppy which has been handed-down for generations and is as natural as breathing. As comfortable to wear around 24/7 as one's old pair of boat shoes or riding boots. In fact, most true Preppy attire is rather well-worn or is a recent replacement of a well-loved piece of clothing, accessory or footwear that finally couldn't be worn any longer. Like when my riding boots, really worn down after years of hunter jumper riding, just could not be re-soled anymore. Oh, that was a sad, sad day. I'm not sure where they are right now but I did run across James' old riding boots the other day. He traded-in his actual horse Sonny for a clothes-horse (me!) some years ago and at times I wish we were both riding once again though I think our jumping days are now far behind us.

Speaking of James' boots- he has the real Hunter wellie boots and has enjoyed them for years. Right now in fact they're out on our front porch's stoop all muddied from some marsh pluff-mud tromping around that he did while getting in and out of one of our kayaks the other afternoon.

I had thought about ordering me some newer Hunter boots, as my old ones are tight to get into now where my foot arch is (which is strange since I'm wearing the same shoe size and have lost weight since buying those but anyway...) and then I espied these too-cute Sperry versions.

Life out here on our rustic, woodsey, marsh-lined island is very indoor-outdoor and this is just the way I like it! Now if only my Orvis fly fishing boots looked as cute ;) Happy fall ya'll and happy sportin'-around in boots this autumn!