Paraboot’s Winterproof Shoes Put My Sneakers in Hibernation

I’ve loved sneakers my whole life, and if I were ever required to flee suddenly with a single pair of shoes, I would grab my burliest pair of sneakers and hope for the best. But if I’m being honest, it’s been six years or so since I’ve really enjoyed wearing sneakers—but finding a suitable replacement for the workhorse role they played in my life was going poorly. I say “was” emphatically, however, because now I have the Paraboot Thiers, a deep cut in the brand’s catalog. They have become the backbone of my wardrobe for nearly a year now.

For those unfamiliar with the model, the Thiers made its first appearance in the Paraboot catalog in the 1960s, originally introduced as a light(er)weight, low(er)-profile alternative to heavier derby-style options like the Michael. You can find them with a couple of different sole units—a rippled one and one more reminiscent of a lug—and in a couple different shades of suede and leather, but for the most part, they’re enticingly boring.

The uppers are affixed with a weight-shedding Blake construction and the moccasin-style toe-box is shorter and rounder than most, almost like a snub-nosed Timberland 3-Eye Lug. And for anyone concerned about beating boat shoe allegations, these puppies have four eyelets and wear far more like sneakers or Wallabee Lows than a pair of daintier two-eyed Sperry’s. That’s all to say that the Thiers are a cocktail of utterly familiar elements, but the finished product is wholly distinct from anything else in the category.

I bought the black ripple-soled pair first, thinking they’d work with most of the jeans and cords I had in my closet, hoping that they’d fill the void sneakers had left in my life, and they ended up doing all three. With aplomb. So much aplomb that I bought a second pair two weeks later—the tan suede-lug soled iteration—and liked them even more than my first pair.

Not only are the Thiers comfortable and durable and off-kilter enough to stave off any semblance of footwear ennui, but they require the exact same level of consideration as a pair of white sneakers did when they were the load-bearing shoes in my rotation. My Thiers, however, can seamlessly travel where a pair of scuffed up sneakers either couldn’t or shouldn’t in regards to formality.

This is the part of this where I mention that they’re not cheap, BUT they’re typically 30-40% cheaper than the Michael, depending on which Michael you’re into, and they’re every bit as beautifully-constructed as any of the more lauded styles in the Paraboot catalog. If your shoe selection has been bumming you out recently, or if you’re going through something of a footwear crisis, consider treating yourself to a pair of Thiers. I can’t be sure they’ll make your life easier, but they did do that for me. And while I am a bit loath to cook my own corner here, sometimes a corner is worth cooking.