Dries Van Noten s/s 11 Boots

via hypebeast

The Dries Van Noten show is typical of what most of this season has looked like to me. A beautiful collection with some very nice but rather boring footwear. The collections have all been perfectly wearable, and a perfect example are these perfect boots. I was hoping for a little more excitement than this. The frustrating thing is that it can be difficult to find good images of a lot of the footwear in new season shows, and I'm sure there will be some absolute gems, but for now perfect will have to do.

Stella McCartney f/w 09 Thigh-high Boots

via net-a-porter, elle.com & style.com

What drew me to these boots (aside from the amazing perforations and metal hell & toe) is how full-on and yet normal they are. Usually thigh high boots are overly sexy, to the point where people would be rather hesitant to wear them, but because these synthetic leather boots are so tight they almost have the look of leggings which are commonplace these days. Boots like this - when the top is covered - also have the unique quality of not having any visual cut-off point, unifying the leg and the foot.

While rsearching these I found a great comment/essay by an anonymous boot fetishist on the Hapsical blog that I want to share here:

My own theory about Boots as Women’s fashion is that Boots are likely to be worn during Progressive periods. Women choose to wear Boots as a symbol of Power. They are, after all, the footwear of choice for dominatrixes and superheroines.

In the early part of the twentieth century, Boots went out of fashion more or less as soon as Prohibition started. The style didn’t come back into popularity until the very Progressive sixties.

As a life-long Boot fetishist, I have also studied the history of the ThighBoot ( as well as the Over Knee Boot ) as Women’s fashion. The first examples were found in the early sixties at the Paris fashion shows. These were derided as ‘sewer boots’ by some, but obviously made a huge impression on others. These included the wardrobe designer Michael Whittaker of the TV series ‘The Avengers’, in which Honor Blackman, as Cathy Gale, appeared in truly knee-high Black Leather Boots. As well as a full black leather outfit to match. For the year 1963, this was pretty shocking television. In February of 1964, Blackman and Patrick Macnee ( John Steed ) would release the hit single 'Kinky Boots'. KB mentioned every possible style of women's boot, including Thigh-highs.

In the U.S., the Thigh-high style really took off in 1965, some say as a result of the success of the then blockbuster film ‘Dr. Zhivago’. From the second half of the sixties and especially throughout the seventies, ThighBoots ( even Thigh-high Frye Boots ) were a must-have in a Woman’s footwear collection. Many of the era’s actresses, including Faye Dunaway, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jane Fonda, Dianna Rigg, Sally Fields and Rachel Welsh would often appear on film in tall or over the knee boots.

Thigh-highs were to stay fashionable until the year 1980. Right at the time when Progressivism was in freefall and Reagan and Conservatism began to Rule. Anyone stating that thigh-highs were still part of the fashion scene in the ’80’s is distinctly incorrect. In 1980, the de rigueur style was ankle-low and flat-heeled. In anything, the popularity of Punk meant that combat boots were also the new sensation. Along with, of course ( yawn ), leg warmers.

Today, the longevity of the ThighBoots style is likely a result of the explosion of adult images on the web, particularly the number in which the female subjects are clad in over-the-knee footwear. In addition, the oughts have been a decade in which conservatism has been in ever increasing retreat, especially with the election of Obama.

Patrick Macnee & Honor Blackman - Kinky Boots

Yves Saint Laurent Men's s/s 11

via gq.com & daylife

As usual I loved the YSL show. Pilati showed some simple yet different footwear. In particular sandals that had a kind of brim that made them seem like foot coffins. I didn't like that they failed to hold their shape very well, but I found the idea rather good. R.I.P feet.

Dr. Martens For Life

via drmartensforlife

So apparently the Dr. Martens "For Life" range of footwear are guaranteed for your whole life so Mr. Dr. Marten will repair or replace them until you're dead. Nice idea but what I really like is that they are your classic work boot made from nicer materials that will last longer.
The other purpose of this post was to put this link up from Steve at Style Salvage Blog with a behind the scenes look on how Dr. Martens are made. Dr. Martens: the craft of an iconic shoe.

Push it Real Good

via smokeandmirrors

Was very impressed and rather amused by this editorial from V mag titled 'Push it Real Good' inspired by the style of Salt 'n ' Pepa (awesome) with a hint of spice (girls) which came in the form of customised giant platform Adidas and Reebok sneakers. What really got me was how perfect the continuation of the Adidas stripes down the side of the platform was. (Click on the images for a larger view.)
Photography: Josh Olins
Styling: Clare Richardson

Adam Kimmel f/w 10 Velvet Desert Boots

via colette

These aren't that impressive design-wise but I love Desert Boots, and I love velvet, and I love gray so for me, these are basically the shit.

Madeleine Vintback

via beckmans

Beckmans College of Design student Madeleine Vintback's folio includes these wonderfully foot distorting creations.

Jil Sander f/w 10 Men's Shoes

via jilsander & gq.com

Sometimes there are collections I see that I don't particularly like but are something different that I feel we are ready for (does that make sense?) This, in my opinion, is more important than making shoes just beautiful, because beauty needs to change in order to remain potent. It's one of the reasons why we have trends. That's how I felt when I saw this footwear by Jil Sander. Shoes have been narrow for a while now and in the last few years soles have become chunkier but not the shape of the shoes themselves. It gives these shoes a certain edge and makes them more forward thinking. They're not exactly beautiful now, but it just feels like it's time.

Burberry Prorsum s/s 11 Men's Gladiator Sandals

via lovemagazine

Gladiators keep fighting on at Burberry. A point of difference with these is the combination of laceholes and a zip.

See by Chloé Tassel-detail Moccasins

via net-a-porter

I'm gonna reference some older posts now. I've posted on how well Chloé does wintery shoes before HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, and I've also posted about my unsureness in regards to whether or not I hate denim footwear HERE. Well, See by Chloé makes great summery shoes, and these are denim, but I think I like them. They're just really cute.

Prada s/s 11 Men's Shoes

via daylife & gq.com

New season runway time again. Prada is consistently strong and one of the shows I'm always keen to see. Miuccia Prada, being the genius that she is, presented creepers - which have featured a disproportionately large amount of times on this blog. However these are no pedestrian platforms. They are layered with a very strange combination of different types of sole which reflects the stripey clothing perfectly. This seamless translation from clothing to footwear is one of the things I most admire about the label. Gush, gush, etc.

Bottega Veneta Top-Stitched Brogues

via browns

Such a nice effect. They almost don't need the brogueing on the front because it complicates them.