Gogo boots have gotten a bit of a dirty reputation in recent years, due to their association with strippers and the sex industry, but this reputation is totally undeserved. They are an important part of any woman’s wardrobe, and it is important to try to save their place in fashion history. An item that can be worn with almost any outfit and enhance it. They are fantastic for enhancing the shape of the leg, and are a surprisingly revolutionary piece of footwear, far from the exclusive domain of strippers and sex workers; they are a liberating and eternally fashionable item to wear on your feet.
The term actually derives from a French expression. À gogo, which means ‘in abundance’ is derived from the old French term for happiness, la gogue. This entered the English lexicon in 1962 as a term meaning “all the rage”, thus giving the Gogo boots their name. But why are they so revolutionary? Well, the whole concept of a conventional women’s boot as a fashion accessory was totally unknown, as they were only used to keep feet warm during winter and rain, and not as street wear. They were specifically designed to complement the fashions of the time, with short skirts like the trendy miniskirt. They accentuated the shape of the leg on display and also helped cover up a bit of the leg, perfect for women who weren’t sure about showing the flesh.
Designer André Courrèges is widely credited with creating the first Gogo boots. It was a calf-length, low-heeled boot created for her Fall 1964 collection as part of the ‘Moon Girl’ look. These boots quickly became popular, and were soon mass-produced, becoming a huge hit with ‘Dolly Bird’-dressed girls in 1960s London. They were usually designed with a zipper in the back or on the side, and were adopted by teenagers, who saw them being worn by dancers on TV shows, helping to further popularize them.
This popularity soon made them iconic. For example, the boots from the Nancy Sinatra song ‘These Boots are Made for Walking’ are widely recognized as Gogo boots. The boots became a part of pop culture when Jane Fonda wore them in the cult sci-fi film Barbarella. Such success prompted other designers to attempt to make their own version of the boots, with the height of the boot increasing as the hems got higher and higher, culminating in Yves Saint Laurent’s thigh-high garter boots. These, in turn, gave rise to the ‘kinky boots’, calf-high or thigh-high boots with a pointed heel, and were worn by Diana Rigg and Honor Blackman in the classic TV series The Avengers.
Today, the Gogo boot has become a huge part of fashion around the world, so it’s important to stop stereotyping it as slutty footwear. It is one of the most revolutionary fashion garments of the sixties and a key piece of any woman’s wardrobe.