They’re back: Moonboots

It was a special trip to Anchorage’s Gary King Sporting Goods (aka “Guns and Bait”) when I got my first-ever pair of Moon Boots. I’d had hand-me-down, fakes before, but the vinyl film was cracked and peeling. Buying brand new Moon Boots in 1981 made me feel special, popular, and way in style. The boots I chose had metallic silver vinyl and the brand name printed on the side in big, high-tech, astronaut lettering. They were the epitome of cool and, at the risk of sounding seriously backwoods, I thought they were actually what the astronauts wore.

As a child those already iconic boots helped me avoid the home-grown Alaskan label that I fought with things like bleached-blond hair, strip-mall tans, and mini-skirts better suited to sunny California than the negative-10-degree temps of an Alaskan winter. And, they can do the same for me now.

Moon Boots have come a long way since the brand debuted 40 years ago and today there are more than 15 styles, from retro-high-tech to subtly understated suede to choose from–but I haven’t changed. I still want to look cool, so I sport my new pair of  chocolate suede Moon Boots while sipping soy hazlenut lattes in one of Boulder’s downtown coffee shops. They fit in just fine.

– Christina Allen