Flip Flops in January, Really?

I am a frustrated consumer today. My middle child has three pairs of shoes. There's the nice, "I'm sorry honey, we only wear these on special occasions" pair. There's her tennis shoes, great for p.e. but not a good daily shoe for my dress wearing daughter. And then there's her boots. They look like uggs, only they aren't. They're the cheap Target knock offs. More power to you if you buy your kids uggs, but I just can't bring myself to spend that much on something she'll outgrow in a year. Though after this little adventure, I may be changing my mind on quality vs. dollars, not that I have the dollars to justify changing my mind. See her favorite black boots ripped. I repaired them once but this is beyond mama repair. So I set out to find her a replacement pair. Let me tell you, no one has boots. What am I finding instead? FLIP FLOPS!!! Come on, it's the middle of January. Yes, I know we're in the South and that it's somewhere around 60 degrees outside. But here in the South we like to at least look like we're braving a fierce winter and be very prepared for that flash snow we might get. Besides 60 degrees is relatively cold to us and it may drop to 40 any minute now. (Those of you farther north, I'm fully aware that you are laughing right now.) It's not even anywhere near Easter which is the proper time to whip out the sandals and pretend like your toes aren't ice cubes. So where, I ask you, are the boots? My poor princess has been forced to wear pants for days now because she has to wear her tennis shoes. Oh, the horror! I offered to let her wear her nice shoes, but it's not just the special occasion thing that keeps her from wearing them. Apparently they're also somewhat uncomfortable. This middle child of mine is pure drama and actually pulls the back of her hand to her forehead in mock faint form. Bootless days are cause for such over the top gestures. Are boots in January too much to ask of major retailers and thrift shops? Do you really make that much more on sandals by displaying them in the middle of winter? What if we do get that flash snow I was talking about? (We'd better. Snow is the biggest thing I gave up when we moved here. I need my yearly fix.) For now I guess we'll just have to deal with a bootless existence. Maybe it's just the character building experience my drama queen needs.