Burberry and barn boots

I snagged this disclaimer from a reseller: "Burberry sells its quality products through burberry.com, its stores and select retailers. Burberry cannot guarantee the authenticity of Burberry merchandise unless purchased from such sources. Burberry is unable to guarantee that products purchased from other sources will not be counterfeit, tampered with, second-hand or of other doubtful origin."

I see the Burberry pattern everywhere in Toronto---mostly scarves in the classic fawn, red, white, and black, but also umbrellas, coat linings, earmuffs, wallets, and even rubber boots (I nearly bought a nice cashmere Genuine Burberry scarf in grey, black, and white, but restrained myself, for a change, even though it was half-price; I just noted to myself I'd bought a perfect English cashmere scarf for a buck in a thrift store).

I feel kind of embarrassed when I see whole groups of (mostly) women with the same scarf casually wrapped around the throat. And everyone sells some kind of Burberry. I expect to see Pez dispensers in the Burberry pattern soon.

Speaking of rubber boots, where did this look come from? The site claims that these are accountants wearing their rubber boots. Looks funky (I kind of like it) and it's become part of the late-winter look, at least in the west end of Toronto where I work. Sure, they protect the pant cuffs when you tuck them in, and they're replacing the admittedly impractical calf-hugging high-heeled pointy-toed black boots (and the utterly impractical Uggs, which just slide around on the snow and ice and aren't that warm to begin with). But does everyone have to jump on the bandwagon?

And while I'm on a style rant here, when will marketers stop dressing teenagers (and their older sisters who should know better, or should at least invest in a full-length mirror) in shorty jackets and low-rider jeans, displaying camel toes and muffin tops?

And cleavage season will be starting soon. I'm a straight woman but I still get retina burn on the bus and subway every day, starting about now. I can't take my eyes off it! I guess that's the point. Do women still complain about sexual harassment and disrespect? There's a place to start right there.