(I topped the whole thing off with this here waffle henley. Hey, it's casual day at the office.)
I've had these puppies less than a week, but they're fast becoming a huge favorite. Spring may have gotten here on Sunday, but it's still colder than a well-digger's ass in January, so I'm getting everything I can out of these boots. And I've been waiting long enough—when I ordered them earlier this winter, there wasn't a pair to be had until March. (Something about the demand being through the roof...L.L. Bean had to make more pairs.)
I first came across the 10-inch shearling-lined Bean Boot about a year ago in Minnesota when I saw hot-mess-and-theologian-in-training Marta Douglass flouncing around the cold Rochester streets in them. (She's since fled the country to be with some Englishman, but I have no doubt the boots are serving her well in the London fog.)
At $149, they're admittedly pricey. But quality is worth a Benjamin to me. In the review section, a guy posted a picture of his 30-year-old boots next to his brand new ones, and the only thing noticeably different was that the old boots had weathered character. Seems like a fair price for kicks that are going to last me three decades.
A word to the wise: Bean Boots run huge. Per the site's instructions for half-sizes to order down, I selected the 7. When they showed up, they were still about two sizes too big. (My brother, a size 9, fit into them comfortably.) Thing is, the 7 is the smallest men's size available. Womp, womp.
I'm not one to sacrifice fit, so I called the company and exchanged them for a women's size 8. Let it be known: L.L. Bean's customer service is fantastic. They took the order with zero ridicule about my baby-man feet, and shipped them off about a month faster than promised.
Marta wore them rolled down like so:
She totally pulled it off, and L.L. Bean advertises the roll-down as one way to wear them, but I'm not sure it's for me.
10-inch shearling-lined "Bean Boots" (llbean.com, $149) by L.L. Bean, women's size 8–I'm over it; "1969" jeans (retail, sale $44, reg. $64.50) by Gap; grey waffle henley (Walmart, $5) by Fruit of the Loom.
