The Lingering Impact of Slouchy Boots Trends of the 80’s — Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents

A little bit of swashbuckling bravado boots might be just what we need to keep up the fight

Laird Borelli, Vogue

In my middle school days, fashion trends were aplenty. Most of us kids of steelworkers did not have plenty to spend on them. We settled for knockoffs in a time long before TJ Marshalls and Gabe’s provided options.

I never had Jordache jeans. Nor parachute pants, athleisure track suits, and no bomber jacket. I did have leg warmers, but they were cheap so the elastic wore out and they basically warmed my lower calf if I was lucky.

One middle school trend that I longed to participate in were suede slouchy ankle boots. Sometimes called pirate boots, sometimes dorfs, and sometimes peter pan boots. I secretly thought they looked like elven boots and given my recent introduction to Dungeons & Dragons, I was infatuated.

From Elle.com

For the uninitiated, slouchy boots date all the way back to the 17th century-when the Cavaliers, the royalist supporters of King Charles I, sported tall soft leather boots that folded over the ankle. These exact boots were later worn by naval officers and helmsmen well into the 20th century to protect against spindrift and cold weather. Notably, in 1981, the late Dame Vivienne Westwood debuted her now-famous pirate boots in her famed “Pirate” collection, which defied punk’s underground…