Simple style
Lace-up boots
Pull on a pair of lace-up boots and immediately you mean business. Tug the laces through the eyelets, tie with a double bow, and you’re ready for whatever lies outside. This is footwear for the purposeful. Securely shod, you can step out with confidence and take life firmly in your stride.
There is a rich variety of lace-up boots to choose from depending on your mood and intention. There are Edwardian-style mid-calf boots with much lacing up the front and varying heel heights. There are no-mess hiking boots in which to scale a mountain or wear with thick socks and a skirt to add a little rugged outdoorsyness. And there are elegant-yet-sturdy leather ankle boots similar to those worn by a March sister in Little Women – basket, straw hat and Prairie-style dress optional.
The first lace-up boots were worn towards the end of the Victorian era and peeped out coquettishly from beneath voluminous skirts. An alternative to button-up boots, they reached just above the ankle and laced up the side.
As skirt lengths shortened in Edwardian times, ankles and calves were increasingly on view and lace-up boots extended accordingly. This mid-calf style has proved enduringly popular: Zara’s recent icecream coloured versions sold out in a flash. It’s easy to see why: they’re fetchingly feminine and look good with an eclectic array of garments. They also suit more anarchic fashion styles – many a goth or steampunk enthusiast has a pair, often adorned with extra buckles and worn with layers of black velvet and fingerless gloves.
Maximum lace-up boot attitude, however, was reached with the advent of Dr Martens. Created in 1945 by Dr
Klaus Maertens, a 25-year-old soldier, who developed air-cushioned soles to ease his injured ankle, they became a symbol of rebellious youth. Once favoured by postmen and factory workers, DMs were soon adopted by skinheads, punks, goths, fans of grunge and many others with an anti-establishment stance. You might like to channel Viv Albertine, guitarist for trailblazing punk group, The Slits, who pioneered wearing her DMs with dresses – and sometimes even a tutu. Sales of
Docs slumped in the 2000s, but they’re back in favour now as a new generation has discovered their knock-about, goanywhere-do-anything, no-nonsense qualities. No one messes with a pair of lace-up boots, which is why we love them.
“Lace-up boots are footwear for the purposeful”