Moc your socks off

Winter provides plenty of opportunities to purchase new, seasonal products. Some folks go all out and buy snowblowers, winter jackets and holiday-themed dishtowels. But the most important item for winter in Michigan is shoes. While not pleasant, it is just easier to deal with cold ears, cold hands and cold arms than it is to deal with frozen toes. The obvious way to address this situation is to buy shoes that keep feet warm and dry. The army/navy stores offer plenty of styles, but if you like to be bold with footwear look for the Merrell Alpine Moc shoes ($82 at www.merrellboot.com). They are low-top, rubber-soled shoes with quiltlike material on the exterior. Supposedly, they “take a down jacket to ground level,” and are even weatherproof. And they’re available in bright colors such as red, yellow, green and blue. The people I know who wear Merrells, although they are a bit odd (the people, that is), do swear by the quality of these shoes.