Moccasins

After posting the question on the Princess forum, someone suggested I try here instead.

My daughter is trying to save money for some moccasins when we go on our Alaska cruise in August. Can anyone give me a price range and where the best place would be to buy them? I know the price will depend upon what she wants but I thought if someone could give us a range, it would help her save up the money for them. I did find out this morning that she is looking for ones with a sole so she can wear them outside if she desires...

Found this for Ketchikan http://fishcreekalaska.com/

Oops --baby ones!

Moccasins are not traditional Alaskan Native footwear... Mukluks are.

Moccasins are not traditional Alaskan Native footwear... Mukluks are.

Thank you for clarifying. Can you tell me a price range and where to buy Mukluks, please?

Thank you for clarifying. Can you tell me a price range and where to buy Mukluks, please?

I don't really have any answers for your question. I've never bought a pair before.

But, to make sure you get a quality product and not some junk made somewhere else, there's a couple of things to look for:

https://education.alaska.gov/aksca/native.html

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0177-buying-alaska-native-art

https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/ded/DEV/MadeInAlaska.aspx

If it doesn't have a "Made in Alaska" or "Silver Hand" logo, then I wouldn't buy it.

No idea what sort of 'tourist markup' would apply in typical cruise ports, but you can find a wide range of modern-soled mukluks here in Canada for anything from $150 to well over double that depending on length of the boot, materials, and fanciness of design. Moccasins tend to be about half the price of mukluks.

As always when it comes to 'where to I buy X in Alaska' unless you are emotionally invested in acquiring a thing while cruising, I'll point out it will probably be much cheaper to order online - e.g. from Manitobah who offer free shipping and returns and are an aboriginal-owned company. With our Canadian dollar low against yours their footwear should be even more of a bargain...

in SE, there really aren't stocking retailers except those with cheap import insults that are targeted at tourists.

a pair of boots (mukluk is a northern or central alaskan term, not SE) made of seal or sea otter will have to be made by a native artist as the animals are protected marine mammals. all the ones i know are made on commision, measured to fit, there is no shelf stock.

have your daughter's feet stopped growing? does a starting price of $250 make you cringe? these are handmade shoes, not tourist trinkets.

in SE, there really aren't stocking retailers except those with cheap import insults that are targeted at tourists.

 

a pair of boots (mukluk is a northern or central alaskan term, not SE) made of seal or sea otter will have to be made by a native artist as the animals are protected marine mammals. all the ones i know are made on commision, measured to fit, there is no shelf stock.

 

have your daughter's feet stopped growing? does a starting price of $250 make you cringe? these are handmade shoes, not tourist trinkets.

This is great info! Thanks. I didn't think about the fact that my daughter's feet may not be done growing (she's 14 and already a size 11 in women's so maybe I'm just wishing they would stop growing!).

We are definitely aware of cheap touristy knock offs of anything we will be purchasing in AK and we will be careful to purchase only native AK products. There's no sense purchasing some cheap products made in other areas/countries when I could just do that online!!

$250-300 was around what I was thinking she would shoot for, after all, they would be handmade and that doesn't come cheap. :)

I don't really have any answers for your question. I've never bought a pair before.

But, to make sure you get a quality product and not some junk made somewhere else, there's a couple of things to look for:

https://education.alaska.gov/aksca/native.html

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0177-buying-alaska-native-art

https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/ded/DEV/MadeInAlaska.aspx

If it doesn't have a "Made in Alaska" or "Silver Hand" logo, then I wouldn't buy it.

Thanks for those links! I will definitely check them out to be sure we won't be purchasing anything not made in AK. Support the local economy!! :)

and you really won't notice it until you've spent a couple of days in SE.

and it will depend if your daughter is too cooooool or not.

get her a pair of XtraTufs before your trip and decorate them. these are traditional SE AK boots.

the company made a high heel version for Miss Alaska one year.

KK-L came through PSG on a lindblad tour a few years ago and she was so excited to show me her pair of 'tufs and the store had shown her how to turn them down down correctly.

if you ever call them "SE tennis shoes" we'll know you read crappy travel guides.

and you really won't notice it until you've spent a couple of days in SE.

 

and it will depend if your daughter is too cooooool or not.

 

get her a pair of XtraTufs before your trip and decorate them. these are traditional SE AK boots.

 

the company made a high heel version for Miss Alaska one year.

 

KK-L came through PSG on a lindblad tour a few years ago and she was so excited to show me her pair of 'tufs and the store had shown her how to turn them down down correctly.

 

if you ever call them "SE tennis shoes" we'll know you read crappy travel guides.

Thanks, bottom-dragger! I will show her them and tell her about them and see if she's interested! In MN we use these types of boots too...my husband and I have Mucks. They are a necessity for MN spring and fall, especially since we live in the country (also called sh^tkickers :rolleyes:). We have yet to buy her a pair since her feet have grown so much, but maybe it's time to buy her a pair of XtraTufs and decorate them!! It sounds like fun!

Crazy Haired Cruiser, I'm not sure if this is accurate info., but my son's friend's dad was a dr. He said you can tell when a young person's feet have about stopped growing by feeling the bones in the heel. Something fuses or connects or something? I'm not trained in that area at all and don't know if it's true. If your daughter happens to see a dr. for anything before her trip, perhaps she (or you) can ask about that and find out if she is likely to grow out of those shoes (boots?) in no time or not. Hope this helps!

Crazy Haired Cruiser, I'm not sure if this is accurate info., but my son's friend's dad was a dr. He said you can tell when a young person's feet have about stopped growing by feeling the bones in the heel. Something fuses or connects or something? I'm not trained in that area at all and don't know if it's true. If your daughter happens to see a dr. for anything before her trip, perhaps she (or you) can ask about that and find out if she is likely to grow out of those shoes (boots?) in no time or not. Hope this helps!

Thanks for the info, mlbcruiser! She's actually due for a checkup so I will try to remember to ask.

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some local examples

more

Those boots are adorable!