Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

TOP 5 Go-Go Boots Trivia for the Retro-Curious

by Roselle

One of the events that marked the 60′s era was the appearance of Go-Go Boots. Before that period, wearing boots as a fashion accessory was unheard of among women. Boots were used solely for functional purposes – as in wearing one if the weather requires it, during horseback riding, or during rugged activities.

vinyl pull on boots low heel spiegel catalog 1968

Go-Go Boots from the Spiegel catalog in 1968

(image from coololdstuff.com)

If you’re wondering how boots became a fashion accessory, here are a few things you might want to know of its history:

1. Andre Courreges was the designer who introduced the Go-Go boots to the world of high fashion, thereby making the boots internationally stylish. By doing so, he made the boots a fashion accessory that can be worn anytime, anywhere, with anything – very far from the old pre-conceived idea of women’s boots. Soon after, manufacturers started mass producing these boots making it available to everyone.

2. The first type of Go-Go boots was simple in design – calf-high, low heeled (1 inch), with a pointy or round toe, and made of either leather (more expensive) or vinyl (more affordable for school girls).

3. The term Go-Go was adopted after young Go-Go dancers were seen wearing the boots in an afternoon TV show.

4. As the hemlines in the 60′s went up (became shorter), the height of the boot also became higher reaching up to the knees. There was also another reason why the boot height went up – for modesty. Shorter skirts meant more skin shown. With high boots, the women stayed modest-looking as less skin was seen. In the 70s, the lace-up boots came into fashion. And as the years progressed, the attention shifted towards the heel height, making it higher and higher.

Assorted Go-Go Boots from the 70s

A variety of Go-Go boots from the 70s

(image from coololdstuff.com)

5. There is a strong connection between the Go-Go boots and UK’s Kinky boots (black leather knee-high boots with very high heels and pointy toes, ala Dominatrix). But the Go-Go boots came in more variety so it became an easier choice for most.

These days, we no longer call the Go-Go boots by its name. We simply call it ‘boots’. In fact, the boots we have in our closet are the modern day versions of the Go-Go boots. Here are some updated styles that offer a hint of the original Go-Go appeal: