Boots, more than any other shoe, have caused visceral reactions in me over the course of my life. It’s so funny to see all the styles I once obsessed over come back in fashion. Sleek, smooth dark leather boots have always had major lust appeal to me.
Wendy B has been taking some major walks down fashion memory lane lately. Her post on 80s Madonna boots triggered a lot of emotion about the first pair of shoes that I fell in love with. I was about 9.
From my comment:
The first pair of shoes I had a fashion crisis over were lace up Madonna booties when I was in the 3rd grade! My best friend Angie came to school wearing a pair. She must have had a fit for her mom to let her leave the house in them. She let me wear them at recess and I was in love. I had never felt such shoe lust before! Only problem, Angie got them at a thrift store. I begged and begged my mom for a pair. God bless her for humoring me, she took me to every shoe store in the area but no one had them! I was devastated.
Yes, at 9 I had a fashion meltdown. I remember how they felt as if they were in my hands right now. The leather was thin and supple, had the rich leather smell, and they fit like a glove. The heel was just right to stomp around in. All I wanted to do was walk the perimeter of the tennis court over and over at recess to hear the click of heels on the blacktop.
They looked kinda like this, with a more delicate heel and a few eyelets shorter.
Later in the 80s, I had a few pairs of flat boots like these, in black and brown, worn with big scrunchy socks and leggings. One of my biggest delimas was having black scrunchy socks that weren’t faded. I felt that it gave my black boots the illusion of being taller. (Oh to be consumed with such life-altering issues!)
In the early 90s, when long lean silhouettes were in, I found some like these, with the most delicate platform and paired them with black ankle-length body con skirts and big black tunics. I was probably about 12 or 13. I went to private Christian school where skirts had to be below the knee and I took everything there to the extreme. I was also the only kid who didn’t go to church so, I was constantly trying to get a rise out of my teachers with a goth look. My parents never really cared how I dressed, as long as I got good grades and stayed out of trouble.
Then there was grunge. Also in the early 90s, after I discovered Pearl Jam and the movie Singles came out, I had a desperate need for Doc Martens. My life wouldn’t be complete without them. The closest place that had them was 2 hours away at Nordstrom in DC (before the age of internet shopping). My uncle’s wife’s family lived up there so around Christmas they took me on a big shopping trip to the biggest malls I’d ever seen. I saved my allowance and looked forward to the trip for what seemed like an eternity. This was the first major thing I had ever bought for myself and $100+ was a huge deal at that age. All I got were the 8 eyelet Docs and a Soundgarden cassette. I slept in my Docs that night and killed my feet breaking them in.
In the mid 90s, I started attending an alternative artsy fartsy school and could wear whatever I wanted! Oh bliss! After the grunge phase wore off and punk worked its way in, I needed authentic combat boots. After a ton of phone calls, my mom took me to an old Army surplus store about 45 minutes away (always the sport) where I found a vintage pair of flat-sole boots in my exact narrow size. They eventually got covered in spikes at the tops.
Boots took a spot on the back burner for a while as I became obsessed with sneakers and heels, vacillating from hardcore shows to bars and dance clubs. I had worked some good basic boots into my wardrobe for Winter but nothing to obsess about. Then the open toed ankle boot made the scene years ago and it was like finding a long lost love. This pair of soft leather ankle boots have been my favorite pair of shoes for years. They’ve been re-heeled so many times.
Now, my collection of boots is ridiculous and every Fall I get obsessed with a few new pairs. If I could have any boots in the entire world, I would pick the Ann D triple lace flats and the Hispar 3-buckle field boots. Le sigh. With my budget being what it is right now, these would be a bigger deal than $100 Docs at age 13.
What were your fashion obsessions growing up?
<!--