In an ode to… I sing the praises of clothing items that are near and dear to my heart. I decided to create the series last year to share with you some of my fashion staples. I already shared my love for white button down shirts and skater dresses, which are considered quite classic pieces by many. Combat boots, on the contrary, are not considered a classic fashion item. Today I would like to share with you why they are to me.
Combat boots may not be very stylish, but I love these. Click to find out why!
Let’s not beat about the bush: the fact that I am keeping a blog on make up, fashion and other girly things will seem very crazy to people who used to but do not currently know me. Up until my mid-twenties I was more of a tomboy. So anyone I knew in highschool or during my college days and who finds this space, will probably not believe that I am still the same person. I am, yet, when it comes to my style there has been a massive, massive change that started around the time I started my first real teaching job.
Before I got into make up, skater dresses and heels, I wore baggy jeans (I owned a pair of dungarees which were my favorite), oversized t-shirts and to top it all off I cut my hair short when I was 14. Don’t believe me? This blog post is filled with pictures from my late teens and early 20s. I was very much experimenting with my style for that entire period. Dyeing my hair a purple-red shade? Check. Not giving a damn whatever I may look like? Check. But most of all, I hated all that a girl was supposed to be and look like and I tried to kick against that societal believe. I kicked hard and for a long time at that.
It was during this time that I bought my pair of combat boots from an army consignment store and for years they were the only pair of shoes I owned besides a pair of trainers. To me, these shoes aren’t merely a fashion item. They symbolize my late teens and early 20s, trying to find out who I wanted to be and exploring my identity, as well as sometimes crossing the boundaries of what others deemed appropriate for a ‘lady’. To me, these shoes symbolized such an important part of my life that I hadn’t gotten rid of them up until this point.
Needless to say, I hung on to theses shoes for years because of the memories I made while wearing these. But as I was clearing out my closet during my Christmas break I felt it was time for them to go. I still have those memories, but I simply felt that I no longer need to have a keepsake to remind me of them. Besides these shoes are so worn down that the insides of it have completely worn away. Unless I were to get the soles replaced completely I can no longer wear these if I wanted to. So it was definitely time for them to go.
But I could not throw them away before devoting a blog post to these shoes. They are quite possibly the best shoes I ever owned. Not because they are smart looking and not even for the memories attached to them. Judging these shoes based on the sheer quality they have, is why they deserve a place on the blog. They take some time to break in (which I did during freshers week in college), but once you are through that stage, you will not go back. They are comfortable, sturdy and appropriate for all weather. Which is why I wore these all the time.
RIP sweet boots!
Do you have any clothing items that remind you of a specific time in your life?
P.S. I didn’t throw the shoes away. I’m pretty sure that if someone would want to wear these they still could. I therefore donated these to my local charity shop.