Before these, I hadn't ever had rain boots.  But now that I have them, I wish I had them sooner.  With this spring/winter lasting as long as it is, I'm glad to have boots that keep snow and dirt and water off of me but aren't super-brightly colored or covered in gaudy polka dots, so it's much easier for them to temporarily blend in with professional attire on my way to and from the office.  They are pretty shiny, but they don't seem to scuff very easily, so even after a few weeks of fairly regular use, they still look great.