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I have these boots. They're perfect boots. They've got an intimidatingly high platform, but no heel to speak of, so I can run around in them for hours. They lace, so the shaft circumference is forgiving, and unlike some lace-up boots I can manage to strap them around my fat calves with no gapping. And they instantly punk up any outfit, not obnoxiously but just a little, which is something I feel I need right now because I'm almost 28 and my hair is a natural color for once and my clothes at the moment tend to be fairly staid black and gray. I don't want to go all-out, but it's nice to have the option to wear something that will give an outfit just a little character.
Unfortunately, these boots are also pretty old. I think I bought them for myself for my 21st birthday, and I've expected a lot of them over the years. Some of the eyelets are falling out. Several of the speed-lace hooks have gotten mashed down -- I'm not sure how that happened -- so it's hard to hook a lace into them. One of the laces is almost frayed through, and laces for boots this tall can't be picked up in the CVS. A couple years ago the heel came off the left boot, and I stuck it back on with Shoe Goo, and it came off again, so I put it back on with hot glue and drywall screws. It's not going anywhere now, but it does testify to their condition. The State of the Boots is not strong.
So I'd like to replace them. Sadly, they no longer seem to exist. I've found the one place on the internet that seems to have them (last one, if you're interested, or want to alert me to an extant boot with similar qualities), but they've only got a men's 10 and a men's 13. Barring a miracle of eBay, it appears I'm SOL.
Fashion is, of course, not only for covering up our bodies (and our feet), but for declaring our allegiences. These boots represent not only a subculture and an attitude, but a particular time period in my life, and being unable to replace them highlights the degree to which I can't go back. And I don't want to go back, not wholesale, but I would like to keep reinventing myself out of pieces of past selves, instead of having to start with a clean slate. Losing these boots would mean losing a sartorial anchor point, something that has helped define my style for the last seven years. It seems obvious that when a piece of clothing wears out, it's time to move on -- but when that piece of clothing has become iconic or identity-constitutive, your outfits and your self-presentation don't always make sense without it. I can get other boots -- I have other boots -- but to a certain extent they're the boots of someone else.
What are your anchor points? What are the items that transform your wardrobe into your wardrobe, instead of just a bunch of clothes? (I suggest you identify them and then buy extras while you can... just in case.)
Readers have left 9 comments. No.1 Untitled
I HAD THESE BOOTS! Twice. My first pair were cheap nonleather ones from Hot Topic, my second were much nicer, leather Muros (I believe this company's since gone out of business).
My most obvious anchor point is probably my no-pants snobbery. And my extensive collection of over-the-knee socks, though they don't see much wear this time of year. No.2 Untitled
(I believe this company's since gone out of business)
Yup, hence my trouble. It appears they are a Bed-Stu/Muro joint project, and Muro has gone out of business, while Bed-Stu is still making perfectly unremarkable shoes. No.3 Untitled
I'm honestly, vaguely, nostalgically tempted by the Bronx ankle boots on that page. Though it's been so many years since I wore platforms like that, I should probably consider that I'd have to learn to walk and drive in them again.
Is wearing platforms like riding a bike? Do you never forget how to do it, once you've learned? No.4 Untitled
Jeans and a t-shirt being my uniform of sorts, that item for me is my last pair of dark wash, straight-leg, Old Navy jeans in the style that I used to be able to fit. They changed their cut, and since then I have had NO LOVE from them, jeans-wise. Fortunately I bought something like four pairs of them when I found them initially.
But I am down to my last pair now. Woe.
The good news is that I got some Bitten jeans in September that I am still really digging. So I may yet learn to love again. ;) No.5 Untitled
I just would like to suggest taking your boots to a shoe repair/cobbler shop, where they can replace eyelets and speed laces and repair soles and even find you shoelaces that will fit. Probably not for keep, but in a sense, having them repaired would give them that makeover while maintaining their foundation. No.6 Untitled
Tracy, that's a good idea -- I had no idea they could replace eyelets! But I guess it makes sense.
The sole is now on so thoroughly that I don't think they'd be able to get it off in order to put it back on with more standard cobbling methods. Also I feel kinda punk saying my shoe is held together with drywall screws. But fixing the eyelets would be aces. No.7 Untitled
FJ, when I clicked the link, it looked like they had a pair in men's 8, which is women's 10...so if that's what size you wear, you might be in luck.
If not, perhaps ebay? No.8 Untitled
Also, my wardrobe staple is my scarf collection. I have stupidly bad luck with jewelry - I either break or lose it - and I discovered that I can find scarves almost anywhere and usually pretty cheap (Ross Dress for Less and Stein Mart are two good ones, also, LB and Express and Chico's when they have sales.) They jazz up even the most boring outfit and make me look like I actually THOUGHT about my outfit rather than simply selecting the turtleneck sweater and black pants closest to the front of the closet. No.9 Untitled
They have a pair in men's 8 in patent leather. Woe!
I'm crossing my fingers for an eBay coup, but meanwhile I'm going to take Tracy's advice and get them some spa treatment. Meanwhile, I am today wearing something that I think might be a new anchor point: a denim skirt, pencil most of the way but with kick pleats at the bottom so I can walk. It might not be perfect -- it's a little long -- but I've been looking for a denim skirt for-EVAH. It might possibly transform my wardrobe. |
