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While fashion boots have their place, sometimes a girl needs a practical boot that's stylish too. Unfortunately, many waterproof boots that are made for winter wear look like something a storm trooper would wear on a combat mission, so I was pleased to discover Berries Boots, fashionable and practical boots, which come in three styles--a tall boot, a shorter mid-calf boot, and a bungee style with lacing on the front.

Berries Boots

Berries Boots are made by Aetrex, a family-owned company founded in 1946, dedicated to producing comfortable footwear and orthotics. The name "Berries" evidently comes from the names of the colors that the boots come in; for example, tall boots are available in blackberry, cocoberry, kiwiberry, and raspberry.

I shopped for several hours wearing the tall Berries Boot in raspberry red (very cute!). Deciding which shoe to wear on a shopping excursion (mine tend to be long) is always a dilemma because I'd like to wear a shoe that's both stylish and comfortable--an incredibly difficult task, especially since I'd prefer not to wear sneakers when shopping. Problem solved with Berries Boots. In addition to being waterproof and warm, both features needed in a practical winter boot, Berries Boots are oh-so-comfortable. If you've ever spent a day wearing fashion boots that don't quite fit, you can understand why it's such a relief to find footwear that's comfy.

A couple of weeks ago, I spent some time trying on Western boots, and what struck me particularly about them was how heavy they felt.

That's not the case with Berries Boots, which are lightweight, another feature I appreciated.

Bottom line? A big thumbs up for Berries Boots.

Benefits of Berries Boots

All three styles of Berries Boots offer these benefits:

• fashion forward
• warm
• waterproof
• true to size
• lightweight
• breathable
• stain resistant
• lined with anti--microbial material
• easy pull-on with tabs
• stretchable uppers with four-way stretch fabric
• cushioned with memory foam insoles

In addition to these benefits and of special interest to petites, who often have small feet, Berries Boots come in sizes as small as size 5. I also liked the black stripe, which runs up the back of the tall boot and adds a little bit of pizazz (OK, not as sexy as the back seam in sheer black hosiery, but nice) and also adds a vertical line, great for petites who want to look a bit taller.
Drawbacks of Berries Boots

At a retail priced of $149 for the tall boots and the bungee style boots and $139 for the mid-calf boots, Berries Boots may be too expensive for some women although the price does not seem to be out of line when compared to other boots on the market.

Although there are four color options for the tall boots, three for the mid-calf boots, and three for the bungee style, more color choices would always be nice, but, again, the color range does not seem to out of line with other boots that are currently available, and Berries Boots actually come in more colors than many other boots on the market today.

Where to Purchase Berries Boots

In addition to Aetrex, the manufacturer of Berries Boots (Manufacturer's Site), you can find Berries Boots at the following retailers:

• Nordstrom (Buy Direct)
• Onlineshoes (Buy Direct)
• Zappos (Buy Direct)

Retailers Nordstrom and Zappos both offer free shipping and free return shipping in the United States. All styles and/or colors of Berries Boots may not always be available in Nordstrom stores or online at Nordstrom, Onlineshoes, or Zappos. For the full line of Berries Boots, visit Aetrex (Manufacturer's Site).

Manufacturer's Site