One of my favorite parts of fall is to shop for boots. While cute strappy shoes are pretty in thesummer, the grungy NYC commute and wet rainy streets make open toes adisgusting part of summer.
Two new acquisitions for the season are a shout-out to twoof my favorite accessible Canadian brands. I grew up in Toronto, and while I love Manhattan, I gladly take theopportunity to reconnect with my peeps up North by a good dose ofshopping.
Cougar Pillow Boots are an iconic fashion item in thehistory of Canadian outerwear. The branditself came roaring back in recent years mixing their signature craftsmanship andcomfort with newfound fashion relevance. If you saw my tweets during last winter’s blizzard, you can see exactlyhow much I appreciated their black Ringo Star boots during the slushy frigid month.
The Pillow Boot is one of the most comfortable, cushy bootsI have ever tried on. I am so used toheels and impractical footwear, that I never realized boots could feel thisway. While the Pillow Boot is adeviation from my usual girly style, I found it worked perfectly with Joe FreshLeggings, a cozy scarf and edgy All Saints cardigan. The boots are made in Italy and based onfriends who still hang on to the originals, last a long, long time.
Joe Fresh is a supermarket clothing chain in my favorite grocerystore, Loblaws. That alone should haveany fashionista running for the hills. Surprisingly, it has cute, trendy pieces with a very affordable pricepoint. The brand is putting in a bigeffort to market itself as a serious fashion collection. It was one of the most sought after invitesat Toronto Fashion Week last fall. Itopened a pop-up shop on the Main Street of East Hampton, and now opening twoboutiques on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
My little suede boots here have antiqued gold grommets and ahard-core rubber sole for serious walking. Despite the 3-inch heel, they almost feel like flats. My Mom liked these because they could besporty, or paired with a very feminine printed silk chiffon CatherineMalandrino skirt and denim jacket. Theleather rose headband is from another Canadian brand, Le Chateau.
How does a New York Fashion industry vet merge her CanuckEx-Pat roots for autumn? She shows love my marrying labels above and below theborder.
