UGG Belcloud Boots, $275 via UGG Australia

I’m a Southerner, born and bred, with family in the South back to before the Civil War. I don’t fit many of the well-worn stereotypes about people from the South, but it’s the region of my birth, an incredibly complicated part of the country and a place for which I will always have immense love and gratitude. I live in the North now, though, so there are there some adjustments that have to be made, most of which involve cold weather and the lack of serviceable barbecue in New York City. (Seriously, don’t even bother. Even the places that are supposed to be good aren’t good.)

As a result, it felt like kind of a big deal for me to head out yesterday afternoon in search of snow boots in the shoe stores of Manhattan. I had never bought such a thing before, never even contemplated it. The amount of snow one experiences on a yearly basis in Atlanta is hardly enough to require special footwear, but my first winter in New York will be different. I never expected to come home with a pair of UGGs, but the UGG Belcloud Boots impressed me from the beginning.

I tried on a couple pairs of Sorel boots, since they seem to be the big thing right now in fashion circles and they’re somewhat reasonably priced. They weren’t for me – too much fur trim, too many extraneous details, almost all of them were brown or tan in some part. That’s not the look I’m going for in a pair of boots that I’ll want to wear quite often for an entire season, even if it might be fun on certain days. I’ll build a snow boot wardrobe later – first, I needed something more in line with my own personal style.

That’s when I laid eyes on this pair of UGGs, which don’t look anything like the UGGs we’ve all become accustomed to seeing on everyone from miniskirted teens at the mall to lazy celebrities in paparazzi photos. I slipped them on easily, and immediately felt much more comfortable, both literally and figuratively, than I did in any of the other options I had tried all day. Although they’re lined in fluffy UGG goodness down to the ankle, they aren’t bulky or cumbersome at all like most winter boots, and the weatherproofed, water-resistent leather is soft and pliable.

Also, I have “athletic” calves, and the lace-up portion at the top of the boot accommodated them very comfortably. I hardly felt like I was wearing a snow boot at all, but the thick rubber sole and “duck boot” styling at the foot tell a different story. If you’re looking for a sleek, attractive, functional option for winter, you could do a lot worse than a pair of UGGs, which is something I never expected to say. They come in several color combination as well. Buy through UGG Australia for $275.