<p>Marian: DO NOT BUY BOOTS NOW!!! Our D moved from So Cal to Boston as a freshman last year. We went around and around about what to get for the cold climate. Your D will want to see what the other girls wear. I will tell you, that college kids do not wear snow boots. In fact, they barely wear boots at all. We visited during Parent Weekend in late October and took D to the Northface store to get a good waterproof, windproof winter jacket. She got the type that has a lining that can be worn in/out or by itself. Most of the time she did not wear the lining at all, or just wore the lining without the shell…(Boston had a very mild winter this year, though). Apparently, North Face is the type of jacket popular on campuses. She also wanted a few of the muffler/scarfs and warm hats. Gloves are a must, not the fleece type as wind goes right thru them. Again, your D will probably want to wait until she sees what she needs and wants. Our D finally went out in January (with a few “local” gals) and got “ugg-type” boots that she could wear in the cold/wet. When we visited in the middle of February, we saw kids in flip flops. Having said all of this, if your kid is going to upstate NY where there was 100 inches of snow…then I don’t know what to suggest!!!</p>
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<p>The college is located in a small town with few choices of stores. The locals do their major shopping in a much larger city that’s a bit more than an hour away, but my daughter will not have a car, and public transportation to that city is expensive and inconvenient. That’s why I was looking for some suggestions about alternatives – such as companies like LL Bean that might carry boots out of season.</p>
<p>doubleplay, I understand what you’re talking about when it comes to buying winter clothes in Florida. My mom was living in Florida when she had to equip herself for a trip to Antarctica. She ended up buying everything from catalogues because the local prices were so horrendous.</p>
<p>Marian, I think you’re going to feel better if you buy boots, despite all of this wisdom. Sometimes the heart has its own reasons.</p>
<p>Since your daughter already observed the campus in winter, and saw their booted feet…</p>
<p>Do you ever go onto ebay auctions? If so, people re-sell boots under women’s apparel. You won’t overspend, and if it’s not the perfect answer, at least it’ll get her started. If she wants to improve on it next winter, she’ll be able to.
When you bid, first check on two things: the seller’s feedback rating should be >95% positive, and investigate the shipping/handling costs so you calculate that into your thinking before you decide on how much to bid. Our approach is to pick one price, and say, “that would be worth it to us” so we just bid one time. If we win, great. If we lose, we wait for another pair to come up within some days or weeks. We don’t get into competitive last-minute bids with other eager buyers that way. </p>
<p>SnowBoots aren’t senstive fits to the foot, not the way real shoes or stylish boots are! So if you know she’s, for example, shoe size 7, that’s all you need to know. If in doubt, pursue the next half-size larger than her shoe size, because socks will make up the difference. Often boots only come in the whole-number sizes, anyway. If she’s a size 7 shoe, then go for a size 7, or 7.5 boot. If she’s a 7.5 shoe, then go for a size 7.5 or 8 boot. In other words, go for same size or a half size larger than her shoe size. (not sure why it took me so many words to say this, sorry) </p>
<p>And if she doesn’t use them, believe me there will be some students, especially from other countries, who are completely appalled at the snow and will welcome hers as a gift. Some schools have swap-center, also. They won’t go to waste. Just tell her if it’s a wrong purchase, to donate them rather than leave in backs of closets. I agree with all the parents, it’s a shame to see things in the backs of closets.</p>
<p>Marian: You can still wait until your D gets to school and then send her the links to look online for what she wants. She won’t need them right away and it is just one more thing to move across country. She can always try on boots that belong to a roommate or other girls in the dorm and see what she likes. You can find almost any boot at Zappos online. You can also shop for the coat online (Northface is available on many sites).</p>
<p>I think it depends if your kid is one who follows whatever everyone else is doing or if they are one who picks things based on what they like. If I point out “the kids are wearing such and such”, I get back “and do I care what everyone else is wearing?” My D is tall and thin as a reed and gets COLD. She also would never wear flip flops or tennis shoes in the snow. We got on <a href=“http://www.zappos.com%5B/url%5D”>www.zappos.com</a> and she ordered several pair of boots. That way she could try them on at home and decide without pressure. They had over a thousand pair of boots - amazing. The shipping to you and back is free (I am sure it is figured into the cost of the boot, but because it says free, it made me feel better!). We did the same thing with a heavy duty down coat - got it on-line. Sent one or two back before she found one she liked. It gets cold where we live, but during high school, she never had to spent that much time outside. In college, you walk to classes - it gets cold and you might have to trudge through a lot of snow before the crews get it cleared.</p>
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<p>You’re right about this. My daughter specifically said that she wanted to get boots before the end of the last winter season so that she would have them for college, but she didn’t have time to do it and it was my fault that she didn’t have time. I had a broken leg then, and she was doing a lot of my household chores and errands for me because I couldn’t do them myself. That extra work on top of all her school responsibilities meant that the shopping trip kept getting postponed. By the time she had a chance to go to any stores, it was too late to buy winter stuff. So I feel guilty.</p>
<p>Marian, I really should give you the ones my son owns. He’s going to So.California and is eyeing flip-flops now. Goodbye to Buffalo for him…</p>
<p>This whole thing is like a big national square-dance! Exchanging our darlngs, shufflng them all around. Tee-hee.</p>
<p>Marian, there are several shoe stores online that offer free shipping and free return. So if you want to order a couple of pair to try, it won’t cost you anything to return them.</p>
<p>Agreed…do not waste money buying boots. Let the kid get them herself if and when she thinks she wants them. She may think she wants boots now…but perhaps waiting until she sees what other students have and use in her new climate will be helpful. DD (we live in CT) NEVER owned a pair of boots in her post elementary school life until she went to college in California (go figure) where she bought herself a pair of UGGS. DS went to school in Boston and wore sneakers all winter. He did have hiking boots, but not insulated boots of any kind. Both kids bought what others had in their college towns…can you believe kids wear Uggs in CA???</p>
<p>I got through most Madison, WI winters with just sneakers on all but a very few days. You learn to avoid the deep slush puddles at corners but the rest of the walks were always cleared quickly. I got a ticket once for not clearing my piece of sidewalk within the time limit (4 hours I think).</p>
<p>Online works. Even though we are right here <em>next door</em> to LL Bean, we buy almost everything on line, whether it’s from Beans, Northface or wherever.</p>
<p>For the last couple of years, NorthFace has been the thing for winter jackets (read lightweight fleece). But that could change.</p>
<p>I’ll chime in since I had the exact same worries last year for my Houston daughter headed to Chapel Hill, NC. Now IS likely too early…she won’t want a bunch of boots or winter clothes taking up dorm room space now anyway. </p>
<p>My d lived in ‘slip on’ and ‘maryjane’ style Skechers (fashionable yet great for walking) until Christmas. She occasionally wore her jeans tucked into tall riding style boots for bad weather scootering, but more often than not relied on her cute Target rainboots or the Skechers. </p>
<p>For Christmas, we gave her a pair of tall Uggs. (She had always said she would not be caught dead in Uggs, but she absolutely fell in love with those boots.) Timing was good…the coldest weather was after Christmas… and by then she had sent home the summer apparel and had made space in her room for winter stuff.</p>
<p>Zappos is great as many have mentioned. No worries about getting the proper fit or look…free shipping both ways until you get it right.</p>
<p>(Also waited until after Christmas to get her a great deal on a really cute Northface jacket. But Chapel Hill is pretty mild compared to other NE locations, so I’m not sure if you can hold off that long.)</p>
<p>Well, ldmom06, it’s interesting hearing a different geographical perspective.</p>
<p>It would never have occurred to me to think of North Carolina as “northeast,” but I guess it is if you live in Texas. It is, in fact, two states SOUTH of where we live. If my daughter had been going to UNC (as eight of her high school classmates are – it’s a very popular university in these parts), it wouldn’t have even have occurred to her to buy boots or a real winter coat. She didn’t own those things in Maryland, so why would she need them in NC? </p>
<p>I wonder which is more of a change, in terms of culture and climate – Maryland to upstate New York or Texas to North Carolina.</p>
<p>where exactly is the college…</p>
<p>anyways I know I never wear boots when it is cold unless I don;t have anything else to wear.</p>
<p>Just as the opposite of others…my D took her Uggs with her in the fall- when she came home in February the snow had gotten so bad she bought two more pairs of DSW boots to go back to school in. All her shoes were getting ruined from the snow that was on the streets and sidewalks or the salt from the melting. Of course, she’s near where the 100 inches of snow was… I think you should buy her one pair of boots (Zappos is great) and see what she needs. Mine definitely wanted high ones that her jeans didn’t drag in the snow in</p>
<p>Marian - lol! It surely is about perspective. My d said she loves Chapel Hill was ‘so tired’ of the ‘freezing cold and wet weather’. But what can I say, she’s a Texas girl and can walk barefoot on asphalt on a 100 degree summer day without complaint. Though I do think MD, and NC, are almost as humid as TX sometimes. ;)</p>
<p>I also think individual preferences need to be considered. My d is thin, gets cold easily and loved her Northface jacket. It wasn’t a big, bulky thing…but it had some down for warmth. (She also rides a scooter everywhere, so decent outerwear was necessary.) My husband, the Colorado boy, runs around outdoors on a 40 degree day in a short sleeve t-shirt and flipflops. In winter, I’ll break out the flannel jammies and he’s sleeping in running shorts and a T. Brrrrr.</p>
<p>(I actually would consider NC technically Mid-Atlantic, but was referring to the schools other posters were talking about when I said ‘other NE’.)</p>
<p>Chipmoney, I’m talking about Cornell.</p>
<p>Thanks, everybody, for all your thoughts on this unexpectedly controversial subject.</p>
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LOL, ldmom! When we lived in the upper midwest, my rule for the kids was “below 40, you wear a jacket!”</p>
<p>As soon as the temp got above freezing, they’d pull out the shorts.</p>
<p>Maybe boys are different- my s never wore a coat to school this whole year, and neither did most of the other boys. He wore a short sleeve t shirt and said all he had to do was walk into school. When we went to visit my d at Colgate, I bought him a ski coat, gloves and boots- which all went back when we went home because he never put them on, through tours at colleges or a night out with is sister. And this was in February at the height of the snow and cold this winter!</p>
<p>“Ithaca Is Gorges” is the town motto. At Cornell, you ARE wise to get boots because she can explore the beautiful rural region up there, for fun or if she takes geology field trips, whatever. Even for a photography course, she’d want to get out into the area and not be restricted to pathways, even though they’ll be shoveled. </p>
<p>That is unlike schooling in more urban northern campuses such as Buffalo or Syracuse (100 inches of snow, no surprise); or Boston, Chicago. There the kids can really get by with sneakers all winter on campus. I don’t know how, but they do it.</p>
<p>It’s most important to have tread-bottoms so you don’t slip on ice, so don’t send a kid with leather-soled boots for snow season! </p>
<p>The Inuit people have some 30 words for “snow,” because they perceive the differences (weight, wetness, texture) which relate to their different activities. </p>
<p>To add to your chores, does she have a fall rain jacket she’s happy about?</p>