The Zips were overshoe style boots that every kid used to have. The buckle type were also popular but Zips were much easier to use and didn't freeze your fingers taking them off. You don't see galoshes or overboots anymore.........and BF Goodrich, a fine American car parts supplier, was bought out by Michelin.
This was yet another move by the the French to try and get even for losing Canada to the Brits. They haven't bothered much with good English products as most English products, especially in the automotive field, never were all that good and have for the most part, and to continue in a scatalogical vein, not worth a crap from the gitgo. This all leads back to some Treaty or another signed a long time ago by some dead guys............