Go-go boots
Encyclopedia
Go-go boots are a low-heeled style of women's fashion boot worn since the mid-sixties when fashion silhouettes focused on accentuating the leg. They first appeared in the 1960s.
Nowadays "go-go boot" is often used to describe any style of knee-high boots
regardless of heel height, but this article mainly describes the original boot of that term.
expression à gogo, meaning "in abundance, galore", which is in turn derived from the ancient French word la gogue for "joy, happiness". The term "go-go" has also been explained as a 1964 back construction of the 1962 slang term "go", meaning something that was "all the rage"; the term "go-go dancer
" first appeared in print in 1965.
In 1958, the first Whisky a Go-Go in North America
opened in Chicago
, Illinois
, on the corner of Rush Street
and Chestnut Street. It has been called the first real American
discothèque. In Paris
, the original accented Whisky à Go-Go opened in 1947.
).
Materials can be synthetic or natural, with the oldest designs being made from plastic or vinyl
in various colors, the most popular being white. Women's styles tend to be taller, tighter and with a slightly higher heel than girl's styles.
silhouettes, but also offer some modest coverage for the less daring but fashion-minded women.
André Courrèges
is often cited as the originator of the fashion go-go boot; a low-heeled, calf-high boot made of white plastic with a clear cut-out slot near the top was featured as part of the "Moon Girl" look featured in his Fall 1964 collection. Other designers, including Mary Quant
, designed their own versions of go-go boots. As hemlines rose, so did the height of the boot, and the heel height dropped proportionately, culminating in a pair of thigh-high garter boots designed by Yves Saint-Laurent, which clipped up underneath the tiniest of skirts. Manufacturers began mass-producing runway knock-offs in contemporary colors and materials. These knock-offs were extremely popular with teenagers, who could be seen wearing go-go boots both on the street and in television dance shows. They were often seen worn by "Dolly Birds" in London during the 1960s. The boots usually had a zipper in the back although some styles featured a side zipper or no zipper at all.
Female dancers on the TV shows Hullabaloo
and Shindig
also wore the short, white boots. As such, those came to be called "Hullabaloo Boots" and "Shindig Boots". Beverly Bivens
, lead singer of We Five
, wore such boots for several television appearances by the band in 1965. Nancy Sinatra
's 1966 number-one pop hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'
" helped popularize go-go boots, and the Space Age boots worn by Jane Fonda
in 1968's science fiction film Barbarella
were a nod to their erotic past.
Fashion trends progressed and as women's trousers and maxi-length skirts where only the foot showed became popular, legs were de-emphasized. By the early seventies, go-go boots were referred to simply as boots, and the emphasis shifted to the height of the heel and the development of the platform. Many women also wore them in the 70s.
", a style of calf- to knee-length pull-on black leather boots with 3–4 inch heels and pointed toes. The term kinky boots refers to the style's dominatrix
and fetish
origin, and alludes to the perception that women in boots are powerful. Kinky boots broke into mainstream UK fashion in the early nineteen sixties, and were seen on Honor Blackman
and Diana Rigg
in the original Avengers
television series.
worn with a dress or miniskirt
regardless of heel height. Cheerleaders
, including the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
, Scottish Rockettes, and Oakland Raiderettes
, often wear go-go boots. High-heeled versions of go-go boots are still worn by exotic and go-go dancers. Reproduction go-go boots are available from many costume and specialty stores.
Nowadays "go-go boot" is often used to describe any style of knee-high boots
Knee-high boots
Knee-high boots are boots that rise to the knee, or slightly thereunder. They are generally tighter around the leg shaft and ankle than at the top. Mostly made of a synthetic rubber , they are used by fishermen, dairy workers, stable hands, duck hunters, clammers, etc. to protect the feet from...
regardless of heel height, but this article mainly describes the original boot of that term.
Etymology
The term Go-Go is derived from the FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
expression à gogo, meaning "in abundance, galore", which is in turn derived from the ancient French word la gogue for "joy, happiness". The term "go-go" has also been explained as a 1964 back construction of the 1962 slang term "go", meaning something that was "all the rage"; the term "go-go dancer
Go-Go dancing
Go-go dancers are dancers who are employed to entertain crowds at a discotheque. Go-go dancing originated in the early 1960s when women at the Peppermint Lounge in New York City began to get up on tables and dance the twist...
" first appeared in print in 1965.
In 1958, the first Whisky a Go-Go in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
opened in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, on the corner of Rush Street
Rush Street (Chicago)
Rush Street is predominantly a northbound one-way street in the Near North Side community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States...
and Chestnut Street. It has been called the first real American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
discothèque. In Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, the original accented Whisky à Go-Go opened in 1947.
Style
Go-go boots are either calf-, knee- or above knee-high boots with a low or flat heel. The style is very simple in shape with a chiseled, rounded, or pointed toe. The boot is usually fastened with a side or back zipper, although by the Seventies it was not uncommon to find lace-up versions that accommodated a wider variety of calf sizes. Heel height ranges from flat to low 1" shaped, with the occasional two-inch Cuban heel also known as the "kupfer or Trani" (as on Beatle bootsBeatle boots
Beatle boots are a style of boot that have been worn since the 1960s. The boots are tight-fitting, Cuban-heeled, ankle-high boots with a sharp pointed toe, made popular by the English rock group The Beatles, for whom they were originally made. The style can feature either zipped or elastic sides...
).
Materials can be synthetic or natural, with the oldest designs being made from plastic or vinyl
Vinyl
A vinyl compound is any organic compound that contains a vinyl group ,which are derivatives of ethene, CH2=CH2, with one hydrogen atom replaced with some other group...
in various colors, the most popular being white. Women's styles tend to be taller, tighter and with a slightly higher heel than girl's styles.
History
The idea of a women's mainstream fashion boot was revolutionary. Before the introduction of go-go boots, women's boots were generally worn only during inclement weather, rugged activities, or horseback riding, but not as street shoes. This new style of footwear was designed to complement the shorter hemlines of the new, modern look. Go-go boots draw attention to the legs and accentuate the simple A-lineA-line
An A-line skirt is a skirt that is fitted at the hips and gradually widens towards the hem, giving the impression of the shape of a capital letter A. The term is also used to describe dresses and coats with a similar shape.-History:...
silhouettes, but also offer some modest coverage for the less daring but fashion-minded women.
André Courrèges
André Courrèges
André Courrèges is a French fashion designer, known for his ultra-modern designs. At the age of 25, after studying to be a civil engineer, he went to Paris to work at Geanne Lafaurie fashion design house...
is often cited as the originator of the fashion go-go boot; a low-heeled, calf-high boot made of white plastic with a clear cut-out slot near the top was featured as part of the "Moon Girl" look featured in his Fall 1964 collection. Other designers, including Mary Quant
Mary Quant
Mary Quant OBE FCSD is a British] fashion designer and British fashion icon, who was instrumental in the mod fashion movement. She was one of the designers who took credit for inventing the miniskirt and hot pants. Born in Blackheath, London, to Welsh parents, Quant brought fun and fantasy to...
, designed their own versions of go-go boots. As hemlines rose, so did the height of the boot, and the heel height dropped proportionately, culminating in a pair of thigh-high garter boots designed by Yves Saint-Laurent, which clipped up underneath the tiniest of skirts. Manufacturers began mass-producing runway knock-offs in contemporary colors and materials. These knock-offs were extremely popular with teenagers, who could be seen wearing go-go boots both on the street and in television dance shows. They were often seen worn by "Dolly Birds" in London during the 1960s. The boots usually had a zipper in the back although some styles featured a side zipper or no zipper at all.
Female dancers on the TV shows Hullabaloo
Hullabaloo (TV series)
Hullabaloo is an American musical variety series that ran on NBC from January 12, 1965 through August 29, 1966. Similar to Shindig! it ran in prime time in contrast to ABC's American Bandstand.-Overview:...
and Shindig
Shindig!
Shindig! was an American musical variety series which aired on ABC from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. The show was hosted by Jimmy O'Neill, a disc jockey in Los Angeles at the time who also created the show along with his wife Sharon Sheeley and production executive Art Stolnitz....
also wore the short, white boots. As such, those came to be called "Hullabaloo Boots" and "Shindig Boots". Beverly Bivens
Beverly Bivens
Beverly Bivens was lead singer with the American West Coast folk-rock group We Five from 1965-67. After her marriage to jazz musician Fred Marshall and the break-up of We Five, she sang for a while with the experimental Light Sound Dimension, but, by the late sixties had largely left the music scene...
, lead singer of We Five
We Five
We Five was a 1960s folk rock musical group based in San Francisco, California. Their best-known hit was their 1965 remake of Ian and Sylvia's "You Were on My Mind", which reached #1 on the Cashbox chart, #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart...
, wore such boots for several television appearances by the band in 1965. Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sandra Sinatra is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer/actor Frank Sinatra, and remains best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"....
's 1966 number-one pop hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'
These Boots Are Made for Walkin'
Jessica Simpson recorded her own version of "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" for the soundtrack to the film The Dukes of Hazzard . Simpson's cover was co-produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and was released as the soundtrack's first single in 2005)...
" helped popularize go-go boots, and the Space Age boots worn by Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
in 1968's science fiction film Barbarella
Barbarella (film)
Barbarella is a 1968 Franco-Italian science fiction film based on Jean-Claude Forrest's French Barbarella comics. The film was directed by Roger Vadim and stars Jane Fonda, who was Vadim's wife at the time.-Plot:...
were a nod to their erotic past.
Fashion trends progressed and as women's trousers and maxi-length skirts where only the foot showed became popular, legs were de-emphasized. By the early seventies, go-go boots were referred to simply as boots, and the emphasis shifted to the height of the heel and the development of the platform. Many women also wore them in the 70s.
Go-go boots vs. kinky boots
Go-go boots share some history with the UK's "kinky bootsKinky boots
Kinky boots are boots with extreme characteristics which are intended to present a dramatic sexy appearance, such as by a prostitute or dominatrix. Extreme characteristics might include very high heels, thigh- or crotch-high length, or unusual colors or materials. They can be related to boot...
", a style of calf- to knee-length pull-on black leather boots with 3–4 inch heels and pointed toes. The term kinky boots refers to the style's dominatrix
Dominatrix
Dominatrix or mistress is a woman or women who takes the dominant role in bondage, discipline and sadomasochism, or BDSM. A common form of address for a submissive to a dominatrix is "mistress", "ma'am", "domina" or "maîtresse"...
and fetish
Fetish fashion
Fetish fashion is any style or appearance in the form of atype of clothing or accessory, created to be extreme or provocative. These styles are not usually worn by the majority of people on any regular basis. They are usually made of materials such as leather, latex or synthetic rubber or plastic,...
origin, and alludes to the perception that women in boots are powerful. Kinky boots broke into mainstream UK fashion in the early nineteen sixties, and were seen on Honor Blackman
Honor Blackman
Honor Blackman is an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in The Avengers and Bond girl Pussy Galore in Goldfinger .-Early life:...
and Diana Rigg
Diana Rigg
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, DBE is an English actress. She is probably best known for her portrayals of Emma Peel in The Avengers and Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service....
in the original Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
television series.
Modern-day use
Many versions of go-go boots are still worn today, although the term "go-go boot" is often used to describe any style of knee-high bootsKnee-high boots
Knee-high boots are boots that rise to the knee, or slightly thereunder. They are generally tighter around the leg shaft and ankle than at the top. Mostly made of a synthetic rubber , they are used by fishermen, dairy workers, stable hands, duck hunters, clammers, etc. to protect the feet from...
worn with a dress or miniskirt
Miniskirt
A miniskirt, sometimes hyphenated as mini-skirt, is a skirt with a hemline well above the knees – generally no longer than below the buttocks; and a minidress is a dress with a similar meaning...
regardless of heel height. Cheerleaders
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
, including the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is the National Football League cheerleading squad representing the Dallas Cowboys.- 1960s :The original cheerleading squad was a made up of a male-female group called the CowBelles & Beaux. The group made its sidelines debut in 1960 during the Cowboys' inaugural...
, Scottish Rockettes, and Oakland Raiderettes
Oakland Raiderettes
The Oakland Raiderettes are the cheerleading squad for the Oakland Raiders professional American football team. They were established in 1961 as the Oakland Raiderettes. When the Raiders moved to Los Angeles in 1982, the cheerleading squad became known as the Los Angeles Raiderettes...
, often wear go-go boots. High-heeled versions of go-go boots are still worn by exotic and go-go dancers. Reproduction go-go boots are available from many costume and specialty stores.