Not So Wordless Wednesday: The Great Boot Debacle

These bad boys are still kicking

I have lots of riding boots. Too many. And most of them are plain black, so it's not even like I'm creating different outfits or anything like that. Most were purchased for a specific purpose, but they're all pretty versatile. I'm very happy with my collection, and it should go without saying that I'm experienced when it comes to buying boots. It's a simple process. It's straightforward. Anyone could do it.

Right?

My smartest dumb decision

Let me set the scene: the year is a distant 2019. It's summer in Miami. I'm a fresh college graduate. I have no idea what a Tiger King is and, frankly, still wish that was the case. My tried and true Ariat paddock boots were on their way out, so I purchased a pair of Wish boots partially for fun and because I thought they'd be a good alternative should the Ariats quit sometime soon. Much to my luck, the Ariats lasted through grad school and finally met their end at the beginning of August 2021. They took my crap for almost a decade, which is incredibly impressive. I will never forget them

From there began the hunt for a new pair of daily boots. The Wish pair wasn't 100% ready to quit, but they were approaching the end of their days as well. Despite being a young professional with a full time job and a graduate degree, I was somehow more broke than I had been two years prior?? Anyways, I was keen on buying a pair of used boots, preferably Ariats because I trusted the quality. The catch is my size 10 feet and medium wide calf are not very common. Add in a limited budget, and things got difficult.

Finally, after searching for literal months, I came across the Saxon faux leather tall boots on sale on Riding Warehouse. At that point, I was fully in my new job, taking home a couple hundred bucks more per month. I could afford a higher budget for a pair of new boots that, while not the highest quality, still looked very nice for the price point. I added them to the cart, waited maybe a week, and boom! New boots! The search was over!

But it wasn't. It was far from over.

There was a decent amount of time between the boots arriving and me riding in them. I finally threw them on for a quick Dressage ride a few weeks ago. They were obviously stiff as new boots are, so I was very careful mounting up. As I put my foot into the stirrup and pushed myself into the saddle, there was a sound that went pop! And then I felt a nice breeze on my calf. The zipper broke. On the first ride. Not only that, but the zipper was stuck at the top of the boot, and I could not get it off, which meant my leg was trapped in a stiff tall boot. I nearly cut up my hands trying to free my appendage. After some finagling, the zipper just broke off to one side, rendering the boots fully useless.

I sent a very defeated email to Riding Warehouse, and they graciously allowed me to return the boots. But now, the search was back on. My Wish boots were quite literally hanging on by a thread. My need for footwear was high, and my patience was dangerously low.

Did I mention that the Instagram algorithm has also been pushing Celeris boots to me?
Did I mention that over the course of all of this, I had to be reminded how broke I am?

My luck with American retailers now squandered, I checked out Divoza to see what they had. Mondoni just dropped a pair that I thought was nice, but my other pair from them is just okay, and I wanted something that fit a little bit better. While looking at that pair, a recommended product came up: Premiere Casimir Riding Boots. I don't speak French, but that name sounds luxurious enough. The price point wasn't bad, certainly not high-end, but enough that I knew the boots would be good quality. I had been leaning towards a plain black boot, but these just very oui oui, ya know?

I called my girlfriend to discuss (my therapist wasn't available), and she thought it would be a good option. I'm not a calfskin fan, but the heel of my current boots is hanging off, so beggars can't be choosers. Add to cart, submit order, make a transfer from my savings to my checking, and then we wait.

Not long after, the FedEx email hit my inbox. I clicked on the link to see the estimated delivery date. There was something . . . odd about the shipment. The destination was none other than my parents' house, in Maryland, well over 1,000 miles away from my current residence. I thought I messed up on the order and double-checked my confirmation email. Nope, I didn't mess up. The address on the confirmation was correct.

So then why, on god's green earth, was my package going to Maryland???

I emailed Divoza immediately. They told me to call FedEx. I called FedEx immediately. They told me to contact Divoza. I swear my guardian angel is on leave right now and the guardian jester is at her post. I told Divoza that they needed to fix the shipping address otherwise I would have to do it, and I would have to pay. Radio silence. I emailed again, used my project manager voice, insulted their service, and that seemed to get the job done. Mind you, the time zone difference exasperated the issue, and it took a full week for the address to be changed. During that time, I was checking the tracking daily, only to see that FedEx had decided this one time to take the fast & furious approach to shipping. By Saturday, it was in the United States. Sunday, it was in Maryland. On Monday, it was at the local warehouse in my hometown, and my temper was on the fast & furious path as well. Suddenly, Monday afternoon, the delivery updated:

My guardian angel was back at her post . . . but only for a little bit:

Despite my incredibly stressful week just from work alone, I kept my eye on the tracking. I actually got three different emails stating that my package wasn't moving due to an "operational delay," whatever that means. Shockingly, they arrived on time.

In conclusion: they're gorgeous. The leather is to die for. Most importantly, they fit. And beautifully at that. We'll see about longevity (especially considering the calfskin), but for now, I am in love. If you want to purchase these boots through Divoza, uhhhh, good luck. Here are a couple different options.

Mini Horse Store ($228.73)

Hypostore ($181.55)

Waveinn ($138.99)

Did I mention Destello bit me last week? For no reason? Just chomped down on my arm? Sheesh, can't catch a break these days.