In the Belle Époque, women would slowly but surely adopt thigh boots for utilitarian reasons. They were worn only in bad weather. It wasn’t until the 60s that this accessory acquired a purely aesthetic function, creating an image in the collective imagination of a boot-wearing Amazon warrior. Just like the first uses of thigh boots for men, the modern she-knight incarnates authority and discipline, highlighted by their constraining fit on the legs and at the ankles, just like a body enclosed in a corset.
The sixties also led to a few scandals when Yves Saint Laurent paired a mini skirt with black crocodile leather thigh boots from Roger Vivier for his 1963 runway show. Symbolic of the sexual revolution at its peak, the outfit was the talk of the town. Australian daily “The Sun” called this impressive line of thigh boots created by Roger Vivier “the first major change in terms of boots or shoes in the last 20 years.” In 1967, the iconic Brigitte Bardot would sing her hit “Harley Davidson” dressed in long black thigh boots, and who could forget Jane Fonda with her long two-tone thigh boots in “Barbarella”. Soon the piece would become a cult classic, to which designers like Versace or Mugler would eagerly respond with progressively provocative styles in the 90s. Eroticism came into the picture by lifting the heel and tightening the ankle to highlight the contours of the leg. Julia Roberts’ character in “Pretty Woman” reminds us that this accessory captures and drives the line of sight downwards, adding a touch of seduction to their story. And let’s not forget that actually putting a pair of thigh boots on remains a strange act in itself. It takes time to get into them. It’s a sensual matter; the actions involved bring to mind stripteasers of the 50s putting their stockings on. Wearing thigh boots completely changes a woman’s behavior and way of doing things, giving her more confidence and forcing her to arch her back and sway when she walks. Finally, thigh boots play with the female body, adapting to it and constraining it at the same time, all while espousing and influencing it.
Today, Casadei is lacing up its thigh boots in an echo of the corset, while Chanel is taking it down a notch, or even classing it up, in a flat version. This accessory that once fell from grace is now back from the dead, revisited in a version that envelops the leg in something reminiscent of protection, as if to perfect the female body, wisely revealing the curves in the meantime.
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