We never want to smugly whisper “We told you so,” but sometimes it just creeps out. For instance, when Nordstrom reached out to let us know that they were stocking Canadian Indigenous footwear brand Manitobah.

The made-in-Winnipeg moccassins and cozy-cool handcrafted boots first landed on our radar back in 2015, when the brand wowed our Designers of the Year fashion judges and scored a One to Watch award. To see them land a major retail deal with such a storied department store seven years later has us at once feeling like proud friends and also kind of annoyed it took the world so long to get on board. Congrats and duh!

burgunday boot

We don’t mean to throw shade on good folks of Nordstrom, of course—keep those Western Canadian brands coming! Rather, this is a chance to celebrate just how far Métis entrepreneur Sean McCormick has taken his gorgeous, high-performance designs. On the shelves at Nordies, find shearling-lined, ankle-length waterproof Pacific Puffer boots ($200) in rich colourways (burgundy, oak, charcoal), or the tall and sturdy Pacific Winter boots ($285)—a traditional design with high-tech soles.

brown boot

Besides being based on time-honoured designs that have been put to the test over centuries, these bad boys are made by a Winnipegger, so you know they’re going to be both waterproof and winterproof: bring on your worst, Canadian weather.

Manitobah, now available at Nordstrom.

indigenous woman in the mountains, wearing manitobah mukluks

Stacey McLachlan

Stacey McLachlan

Stacey is a senior editor at Western Living magazine, as well as editor-in-chief of sister publication Vancouver magazine. She loves window shopping on the job: send your home accessories and furniture recommendations over to [email protected]