Groovy History

Nancy Sinatra captured our attention back in the 1960’s when she came out with her hit song, “These Boots Are Made For Walking” and wore her boots with little dresses or miniskirts on stage. In the 1960’s Go-Go boots made their debut, those knee-high women’s boots were all the rage! The name came from the French word, la gogue, which means joy or happiness.

Go-Go boots were popular in the discos and the first American discotheque opened in Hollywood back in 1963, which was of course named Whisky a Go-Go. They had young women dancing in cages above the dance floor, clad in miniskirts and Go-Go boots, hence the name go-go dancers. And young women across the U.S. went crazy for this style, they started following the trend and dressed like them.The fad faded away when the hippie look became popular, but boots have sustained their popularity throughout the years in many variations. From James Bond vixens to Emma Peel on The Avengers to NFL cheerleaders, boots are always a sexy choice when it comes to fashion. “Barbarella” comes to mind, when Jane Fonda had little on other than her silver boots.

Of course any cool guy was wearing their Chelsea boots, made popular by mod bands like The Beatles and Rolling Stones. Which became known as Beatle Boots, since they started the trend for young men around the world. The tight fitting, ankle boot with a Cuban heel had a pointed toe back in 1961. The Beatles paired their boots with suits, the Stones or The Monkees usually had on tight-legged trousers and button-down shirts with theirs.

During the 70’s, lace-up boots and cowboy boots were popular with long skirts or maxi dresses. Then the platform boots took over, made popular by bands like KISS or rockers like Elton John or David Bowie. Of course you can’t mention platform boots without mentioning Stevie Nicks. Her flowy, fairy-like dresses and skirts paired with her signature platform boots were unforgettable. The disco phase came with platform boots and polyester bell bottoms, along with the perms and afros. ABBA had hit songs and fashion with their t-shirts worn as dresses for the girls and bell-bottomed overalls for the guys, all wearing platform boots.

And who can forget the “Duran Duran” ankle boots in the early 80’s that girls and guys wore with their trousers tucked in. Or the granny ankle boots that Madonna made popular in her early videos, including “Like a Virgin”. If there’s one trend that will never go out of style, it has to be boots!

One Of These Days These Boots Are Gonna Walk All Over You….