Ugg boots and high boots, leather and suede boots, thermal boots and felt boots - shoes for the winter season are very diverse. Each type has its own characteristics and advantages, but not every pair can be shod in severe frost. Also, not everyone can withstand urban slush, generously flavored with harsh chemicals. Today we’ll talk about traditional Russian shoes, but not about felt boots that are familiar even to foreigners, but about fur boots called kitties. Shoes, typical of the indigenous people of the North of our country, have now begun to spread actively in other regions of it. What is it like, how to choose and what reviews does it have?
Fur on your feet!
No matter how accessible and popular clothes and shoes made of modern and high-tech materials are, they cannot completely eradicate traditional wardrobe items. Of course, light jackets and down jackets, boots made of water-repellent materials are convenient and practical, but in terms of their parameters they can not be compared with good fur products.
Kittens (emphasis on “Y”) are boots made entirely from deer skins. Their manufacture is a specific and time-consuming process. In the small villages of the Khanty-Mansiysk Okrug there are also craftsmen who are engaged in piece tailoring, but still the factory goods go on mass sale.
In any case, kittens are winter shoes that will provide warmth and dryness of the feet, even if the temperature is 50-60 degrees below zero, which is a serious advantage over other peers.
Assortment and differences
The lineup of this type of boots is divided into products for men, women and children. Kitties - shoes that were made not for one or two seasons. A pair made in accordance with all the rules can be worn for a good ten years. Only the sole is subject to replacement, and the top retains its original appearance for many years.
Women's kitties and shoes for men differ significantly in style. The most important difference is the height of the shaft. Models designed for the stronger sex are usually taller. Also, shoes for men and women are decorated differently. For ancient masters, decor is not a simple decoration, but, above all, a talisman. Protective amulets used to embroider both clothes and shoes. Kitties were decorated with beads, leather cords and ribbons, and fur mosaics. Modern masters preserved these traditions and even supplemented them using metal elements, applications and stones in their work.
There is a division into typically male types of ornament and female. So, in the first case, the masters use a more strict and restrained decor, girls and women decorate their boots with an ornament with an intricate geometric (often rhomboid) pattern, children's kittens are just as elaborate. Shoes of this kind for babies are generally filigree work, because the master has to work with very small blocks and patterns.
Not to be confused with boots
Many mistaken kitties for ounces. But these two types of winter shoes are different from each other. High fur boots usually have low shoes made of hard leather, kersey or nubuck, and their top is fur. Special requirements for its quality and "origin" are usually not presented.
But kitties are shoes made exclusively from fur taken from the top of a deer, which is called kamus. The fact is that it is in this part that the animal’s hair has the necessary properties, the villi on it are very hard, they are not saturated with moisture, pushing it away from its surface. Kittens on the outside are completely furry, with the exception of the trim, which is located on the rise, along the edge or center of the shaft.
What should be kitties?
In order for the shoes to faithfully serve their operational life, they must be of proper quality. Note that hand-sewn products will cost the buyer a very impressive amount. Village craftsmen take about 20 thousand rubles for one pair. Kittens made at the factory cost a little cheaper - about 18 thousand, low women's boots - 10 thousand. Such a considerable price is simply explained: in addition to being exclusive shoes, often made by hand, about ten skins are taken to sew it.
The raw material is subject to specific processing, it is first frozen out, then smoked. The better the dressing of the kamus from which kittens are made, the longer they will last, the warmer the legs will be even during the most adverse weather conditions. In general, this type of boots is recognized as the warmest of all existing. Therefore kitties are especially in demand among people forced to work on the street.
Among them are employees of the oil refining and oil producing industries, builders, geologists. Hunters and fishermen appreciate their warmth and convenience. Some manufacturers produce model kitties. Shoes, the photo of which is presented in the article, are designer models that differ not only in practicality, but also in beauty.
How to wear kitty?
Fur boots can be fleecy not only outside but also inside. But still, more often they are insulated with sheepskin, applied on a knitted base. The sole is laid with a felt insole. Such shoes will save your feet from the cold at very low temperatures, but if you have to walk in conditions close to extreme, you need to use additional accessories.
Khanty, who are the main "designers" and manufacturers of kitties, put a hay layer on the sole, and they also put on a foot a special woolen liner - a siskin. You can warm yourself with the help of tabor - this is like the upper boot, which is shoes on top of pussycat. They are also sewn from deer skins, but they are lower and coarser in comparison with fur boots.
Reviews about this shoe
Those who manage to get the original kitties, and who know for what purpose they get them, are most often satisfied with their purchase. This is a rather specific shoe that is not intended to be worn during a slushy winter. Wet snow does not have the best effect on fur boots. If you shoe them on dry frosty weather, they will last for many years. At the same time kitties do not require special care, it will be enough to store them in a dark place, box or cloth bag.
Buyers also note that inexpensive models, which are probably just not a very high-quality fake of the original reindeer fur boots, often stick up and do not provide adequate protection for the feet from cold and moisture.