My old ones are several years... old, and the soles have enough holes in them they're not going to make it through another SLC winter.
I found a pair I liked at Famous Footwear, in the mall where I work. (I didn't see any famous people there, though. What's with that name?) The shoes were unassuming, no-frills and, most importantly, had no shoelaces.
This is a requirement because I don't like wearing shoes and I tend to take them off every chance I get. In the summertime, I pretty much only wear 'em when someone (grocery store clerk, bank employee, etc.) makes me -- I carry a pair of flip flops in my bag for emergencies.
In warm weather, I even walk to and from the office without shoes. And they stay off when I'm around my desk - although I do put them on to go into the men's room (personal safety) or past the upper management offices (also personal safety).
Shoelaces just slow me down, man.
Anyway, these shoes were on sale for like 70% off, which is great because I only buy clothing type items when they're butt-cheap -- I don't like spending my money on stuff you HAVE to have. There's way too many cool unnecessary things out there to spend money on.
Most of them are either electronic or have pages.
So. The shoes were just what I was looking for and I bought them. Took them home, showed them to my wife and she liked them.
But then she said: "You know, those might not be the best shoes to have bought right now, with winter coming on. They're made of cloth, and the first snow you wear them in they'll get soaked and stay soaked all day."
Now, she was right, and I knew she was right. But they were my new shoes, and I'd picked 'em out all by myself. (Often picking wearable things out by myself is less than successful.) So I felt just the tiniest bit of indignation - by gosh, I'd picked these shoes and they'd be fine.
So I said as much: "Oh, I don't think they'll soak through, they have rubber soles." (?!? Should've just stopped here.)
She says: "But the uppers are cloth...."
ME: "Well, my old shoes are cloth and they've been fine." (Got her on the run now.)
HER: "No, your old shoes are leather."
ME: "Then I'll just wear my old shoes when it snows." (What?)
HER: "But you said you bought these because your old shoes have holes that make your feet wet when it snows."
ME: "I don't mind having my feet a little wet." (Run Dan! Get out while there's still time!)
I know. As I walked away I was already thinking "those have gotta be T H E L A M E S T words that've ever come out of my mouth". I bought new shoes for winter because the old ones have holes but I'll just wear the old ones when it snows because I don't mind having wet feet?
Oy Vey!
So anyway, the next week it snowed. And I wore my new shoes. And I walked from my car to the office in the snow.
And when I got there, my feet were wet.
In fact, when I got to my desk and took off my shoes, the (wet) insoles had transferred their printed design onto the bottoms of my (wet) socks.
I guess those parts of my shoes weren't water proof, either.
But they don't have any shoelaces.
