My old boots after many good years of service have finally fallen apart. In all efforts to repair them, the last straw was when the rubber sole came off on a very rocky trail.
Apparently, many stores don't sell boots for women. [link] Like that. The closest thing I was directed to was an open foot velcro shoe which was the "hiking boot" for women. The lady working there and I actually got into a long talk about stupid it was that the marketers thought to label this velcro thing as a hiking boot.
It was a little reminder that less women do work outside or go on hikes and so much of women's clothing is not made to match. Likely why I am so grateful to Girl Scouts for giving me those early childhood experiences of the outdoors and wilderness. Though a fun exercise, when in a crowded area, look at women's clothing and compare it to men's clothing. On average who would be more prepared to go on a hike or go in to woods at that moment.
I ran into the same problem with wallets... they just don't make practical back-pocket type wallets for women, I ended up just buying a men's wallet. All the women's wallets were either like clutch purses or absurdly impractical and flimsy...