Forget what I said last month

The bottom is behind us, if you will. That’s what I’m hearing, at least. The end of bad times is nigh.

Who knows if it’s true — certainly not the world’s economists — but what I know is I’ve had just about enough of picking through the closet looking for old shoes and pretending they’re new (see previous post). It was a good thought, but it didn’t really satisfy. And, making matters worse (and better) is that the agency I have some affiliation with is working on the now famous (infamous?) pitch for one of my absolute favorite brands. Zappos. That’s right, the all-time ultimate cyber-shoe store (and so much more, they would hasten to remind us), Zappos.com.

My feet are singing just thinking about it.

In fact, as part of our homework, I’ve had to spend a lot of time browsing the Zappos site. I know, tough duty, but someone had to do it. My favorite discovery so far is explore.zappos.com – talk about WOW. It’s an entirely new way to shop for shoes, and it totally kicks ass. It allows you to look at shoes that are “like” other shoes, all on one page. It’s a miracle of data management and so exactly what I want when I shop that I found myself browsing for hours. In fact, so much so, that I finally couldn’t resist buying a pair. This time, however, instead of looking at roughly 25 pairs, before selecting a few, I looked at probably 200 pairs and picked one. How psyched is Zappos? Way. A ton less stuff for me to send back.

So, what did I get? Well, allow me to regale you with the story of my first new pair in way too long.

I’ve always fancied picking up a pair of “combat-style” boots. Something badass and army-ish, but chic. I especially dig those Special Forces types with the fabric and leather, tough and light. But the biggest issue with those kinds of boots is the lacing, and that had always kept me from enlisting in a pair. I never understood why there were no zippers. My handsome Orvis wading boots are lace-ups that also have a zip up the side — for easy on-off once you’ve set your size. So why isn’t that an option?

Well, thanks again to Zappos, I discovered that it is. By using their new search tool, I found a pair of combat boots from Guess that are both awesome and zip up the side. I know, Guess?? It never would have dawned on me either. So the new search engine helped me find something I never, ever would have found. And while you can snicker at the brand — and at Burke Andrews, Esq., for wearing it — these kicks look cool, and that’s Burke’s bottom line.

Anyway, in an unlikely move, I ordered one pair in size 11 – not my usual six pairs. They arrived two days later (ordered in the evening), and, yes, they kick ass. They have a cool, square-toe with a slight taper, so they aren’t too clunky looking. Nice and shiny, too — but not too much. And they have cool fabric uppers and just might be the most comfortable combat boots a soldier of style ever wore.

Ahhh, it feels good to be back in a new pair of shoes. More than ever, I look forward to marching toward a robust recovery.