Style A Go-Go: Where This Season's Thigh High Boots Got Their Roots

Becky Ellis

Thigh high boots have been, er, creeping up on us for a few seasons now, and this fall they're going to explode into the mainstream. Some women shun the thigh-high boot for fear of being propositioned on a late-night McDonald's run. But unlike the infamous hooker heels worn by Julia Roberts in the 1990 hit Pretty Woman, go-go boots are low- (or no-) heeled numbers — and when you've got leather between your thighs, that's what keeps you from looking like a woman of ill repute.

Go-Go boots hit the scene in the mid-60s, and they ranged from mid-calf to mid-thigh; before that, boots were relegated to hiking, horseback riding or tromping about in inclement weather. Although now ultra-tall boots are thought of as sexy, in their early years, they succeeded in part because they afforded a bit of modesty to women flitting about in teeny tiny skirts.

While women wore plenty of basic black, white was very popular, too, and many found that the must-have, psychedelic mini-dresses of that era were complimented by brightly colored vinyl (Note: This is not part of the current trend. Don't buy lime green vinyl thigh-high boots). Of course, seasons change, hemlines drop, neon goes out of style. And when legs went out of sight, boot leg height went out of mind. The focus shifted to platforms and heels, and “go-go” was dropped, making go-go boots just... boots. An unfortunate change in lexicon, I think, since the term came from the French à gogo, which means “in abundance” or “galore.” I have love for this trend à gogo.

P.S. The two pair of vintage thigh-high boots pictures are available on etsy. Some fabulous Second City Style reader should snatch them up, pronto. The neutral, flowered boots are size 7 and the multi-color 80s pair are 7.5.

1. 60s Thigh High Go Go Boots from Etsy
2. 70s Boot Ad
3. Jane Fonda In Barbarella
4. 80s Multicolor Boots from Etsy
5. Sienna Miller
6. Jimmy Choo Thigh High Boots in a Current Ad Campaign