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The author's Ecco boots (and legs). Photo by Jeff Gauger

Now Comes Catastrophe

By Jeff Gauger on January 15, 2026

I’m wearing my Ecco ankle boots as I write. And I’m sad because they’ll soon leave my feet forever.

I got these Size 12s in 2017. I think that was the year. Time melds events into flatness, blurring our memories – or molding them into tidy fictions.

My Ecco’s are my second pair of this design. I got the first in 2012 (I think. Eek!) and liked them enough to buy the same again.

Now comes catastrophe. Ecco, which makes famously pricey yet durable shoes, has discontinued my ankle boots. Ecco didn’t consult me. Did not consult me.

But these Ecco’s must go. They’re shabby and worn. Little of their tread remains. My feet, thousands of steps and innumerable rounds of putting on and taking off have left them too loose to cinch tightly.

I’ve been here before. I wore a blue sweater from high school into my 40s. I’ve kept ball caps into faded and stained embarrassment. I used the same shoehorn for decades. They all brought joy.

Rest well, my Ecco’s. We – my feet and I – will miss you.

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Published in Life

Jeff Gauger
Jeff Gauger

Jeff Gauger is the 30-Second Read editor. He lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and works as a college writing and journalism instructor.

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6 Comments

  1. Carrie Kent Carrie Kent

    I can relate, Jeff. My mother passed away 24 years ago, and I still wear several clothing items I retrieved from her closet when she died. I’ve also bought the same style of purse 3 times in a row, now. When it works for you, it works for you!!

    • Jeff Gauger Jeff Gauger

      They’re ccomfort clothes, Carrie. I wish I’d thought of that phrase when writing today’s essay.

  2. Steve Fehr Steve Fehr

    Hey, sole brother. I too am an Ecco fan. A good podiatrist should be able to recommend a replacement. Or call the Ecco store at the Tysons Corner Mall in Northern Virginia.

  3. Steven Doyle Steven Doyle

    This is nothing. I have clothes dating to the 1980s, although not always seen in daylight, and I have others from the 1990s. I think my oldest pair of shoes is from 2007, a pair of Nike trail shoes I first wore when traversing China to pick up our daughter. I also have a dressy pair of black “Beatles Boots” (you have to be old to know) from 2008, and those have been re-healed and resoled at least once, maybe twice. I feel embarrassed by some of this.

  4. Darlene Olivo Darlene Olivo

    Great column, Jeff. I hope you find new fall-in-love-with boots.

Comments are closed.