I think we all need at least one really nice positive thing about the entertainment business every single day of the year, including weekends. Sometimes it may be something simple, like a video that showcases something fun and sometimes it may be a movie poster that embraces the aesthetic we all want Hollywood to aspire to. Sometimes it may be a long-winded diatribe. Sometimes it’ll be from the staff and extended family of CHUD.com. Maybe even you readers can get in on it. So, take this to the bank. Every day, you will get a little bit of positivity from one column a day here. Take it with you. Maybe it’ll help you through a bad day or give folks some fun things to hunt down in their busy celluloid digesting day.

04.02.11

By Elisabeth Rappe  Author Page Facebook Page Twitter Page

What I’m Thankful For:

I haven’t done one of these since last year!  I can’t even remember things I was previously thankful about. To be perfectly honest, my personal and professional life has been a bit grim and uninspiring, so I’m hard pressed to rally and cheer for anything in particular.

But, since I spent a good portion of my column giving you a weird look into my wardrobe, I thought I’d go ahead and give thanks for New Rock boots.

They are outlandish. They are designed for a specific culture and style that I’m far too nerdy and bland to belong to. But I wear them anyway.

I discovered New Rocks while trying to find a pair of boots for a Halloween costume.   I fell in love with them immediately, and bought them on a ridiculous and slightly insane whim.  (I convinced myself it was practical because of the amount of snow we get.)  I dared myself to wear them. And I did.   I was still in college, and I was working in academic offices, so I had no dress code to stick to.  So I just wore them all the time, feeling vaguely weird, but proud of the “Jesus Christ, Elisabeth, do you think your boots are chunky enough?”  remarks.

Funny enough, a month or two after I bought them, we had one of the worst blizzards on record.   Once it melted enough to return to work — but we still had to navigate a good three or four inches to get in our offices — everyone reacted with envy, because I could walk, Legolas like, on top of the snow and ice without getting my pants wet.  The tune changed to “Where did you get those boots?  If I’m going to wear snowboots, I might as well wear cool ones like that.”

I wore them all over England and Scotland.  (Trying to navigate medieval stone stairs in steel plates gives you a new level of appreciation for the men who ran up and down them in armor.)  They really got banged up.  I was pretty convinced I’d killed them. But really, I’d just broken them in.  It took that long. They’re that tough.

Now that the trend has shifted towards skinny jeans, they’re ten times cooler to wear because I can just slide my pants into them, and show off the cool buckles and zipper.   Bootcut jeans always did hide the flashiest bits.  I wear them out, and people actually stop and compliment me on them, and immediately want a pair.   The minority of remarks come from Goths, motorcyclists, and punks. The majority come from girls as bland and ordinary in appearance as me.  Maybe we feel left out of alternative clothing, and figure this is as good a way as any to embrace some steel and leather.   Perhaps they’re as fantasy oriented as I (pathetically) am and think “Those look like something I’ve seen out of a movie!”, as I did when I first saw them.

(And they look like something out of a movie because they’ve been in dozens and dozens of movies. They seem to be a popular base boot for costume designers, who then overlay them with even more outlandish buckles or straps.  Firefly featured them a lot, I believe.)

Oddly, only one person has ever remarked that they’re a turn-off.  I expected more. They were always a bit of a dare for men to hurl “Dyke!” at me, but none of them have.  I get nastier remarks when I wear high heels, which makes me tempted to forgo heels altogether, and wear them even to formal events. (I won’t. I do have a sense of occasion.)

I’m going on a bit too much, but so let me wrap this up into an actual thank you package.    Thank you, New Rock boots!   They’re the most comfortable, durable, and interesting boots I’ve ever owned.   They clink like I’m wearing spurs.  They’re the antidote to my bland daily uniform of t-shirt, jeans, and jacket.  They’ve attracted more compliments and conversation than anything else I’ve worn, which is kind of humbling, but I can live with it.   When I put them on, I’m pretty much set for any situation (be it weather, socializing, or facing down a jerk).

And I’m especially thankful I found another dream pair in black: