Camper Covers by Alfredo Häberli
Though the East Coast has been in the grip of serious winter weather, we here out west have been pummeled by quite a wet 2010. Naturally rubber boots of all stripes have carried the rainy day, as common a sight on the streets of San Francisco as skinny jeans and fringed moccasins. And though I've no beef with Wellingtons, I do hate carrying around an extra pair of shoes once I'm through with my galoshes. Enter Swiss design star Alfredo Häberli's ingenious rubber shoe covers for Camper Together.
Not only do the things slip so easily over any old pair of Oxfords or bluchers, but they keep the rain out, keep leather soles from sliding all over the place, and can be taken off in seconds. Leave them under your desk on rainy days, as I do, and then slip them back on when the yen for an afternoon coffee gets too strong.
Häberli also designed a pair of shoes for Camper you can get with the covers. I like them in blue, though the real coup here is the covers, which I've seen in shops for as little as $35. The red interiors of the covers not only make for a nice contrast to the exteriors (which I've seen blue, green, and pink) but are wonderfully soft, and a sure bet not to scuff your togs.
Online editor Amanda Dameron snapped a few photos of me sporting the covers on a rainy day this week. I sported them home afterward and found that they kept my shoes admirably dry.
My favorite bit about the shoes Häberli designed is actually the sole, whose clever cartoon of the designer eschews the meddlesome trappings of capital B Branding in favor of something more idiosyncratic.
All told, I'm hooked. Though it does put a damper on the many joys of city life--afternoon at the park, cycling out to the ocean--at least my feet are calling out, "Bring on the rain."
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