An Exception To The Rule

I am thoroughly enjoying my give and take with boot historian AndyP.  If you'll recall, here I showcased a pair Anglo-European platform boots and mentioned that this particular style had never really caught on in the U.S.  In the text I mentioned that as a hobbyist, I could only speculate that this was the case, while as a historian Andy could prove it. Well, the very next day, Andy presented the proof: catalogs from the same year from the US and the UK. If you'll review them it's pretty clear that my speculation was correct. The snug, side-zip platform knee-high was much more popular on the eastern side of the Atlantic.

I've never understood how an exception could PROVE a rule, but here is an exception to the rule(ironically this was found on Andy's tumblr)

You will not find a more American picture than this one, and you won't find a pair of boots more typical of the Anglo-European platform boot. Both of the two critical features are evident, they are quite snug to the leg and have a slight scallop which almost covers the knee.

Again, I really am enjoying this.

Also in the comments here, you'll find that a self-important blow-hard spent some time discussing the American popularity of the Frye boot and its relative the Zodiac boot. If you look at the boots in the Montgomery Ward catalog that Andy presents you'll see that several fit the profile of the "Frye-style" boot, while none of the Freemans boots do.  I think we're close to an earth shattering consensus in a esoteric field of study which interests only a handful of people.

For the pickers of nits:I'm not saying that 70's platform boots were unheard of in the states. I postulate that they were FAR more common in England and that MOST American platform boots lacked the distinctive scallop  in the front that almost covered the knee. 

70's Style Platform OTK's

http://www17.zippyshare.com/v/fAj8Kfih/file.html
From Kidnap (1974) we see some mid-70's style platform knee-scraping boots worn at least 2 different ways

Back on the horse, pt 7

https://www69.zippyshare.com/v/wG84MggR/file.html
Now, this is the stuff right here. From The Au Pair Girls (1972). Clearly the shoe store scene is the star, but the additional bootage isn't bad.  The yellow, platform knee-scrapers she's trying on are of particular interest. For quite a while now, AndyP and I have been exploring the trans-Atlantic differences in 60's and 70's boot styles. I can say with confidence that this yellow pair is as clearly English as any pair you'll find.  The toe alone is quintessentially 70's English.  When considered with the scallop over the kneecap, the platform (nice blue detail) and shaft, this boot is textbook "Benny Who." If you're new here, my lazy-man nomenclature names many boot styles by the TV shows they appeared in. This style was common in The Benny Hill Show and Dr Who, hence "Benny Who."
By way of contrast, the swing-set knee boots are mid-Atlantic, while the suede bedroom knee-scrapers are still somewhat English, but lack the extreme detail of the shoe-store platforms.

(It's not yet 7 am on a Sunday and that's a big block of text I banged out. Excuse me of parts of it are written in High Gibberish.)

Platform Thigh Boots On Kat Von D

From the early days of my youtube channel, now getting the "full blog" treatment.
 
http://www11.zippyshare.com/v/QtI3Elzo/file.html
This potpourri of boots from LA Ink MOSTLY features Kat in embellished spiky platform leather thigh boots. There are some other boots on other women sprinkled throughout.

70's Style Knee Scraping Platform Boots

http://www27.zippyshare.com/v/29694032/file.html

From Frank En Eva (1973). The difference between a hobbyist and a historian? The hobbyist (that's me) notices that lots of these side-zip platform knee-scrapers show up in mid-70's Dr Who's and Benny Hill's, dubs them "Benny Who" boots and moves on.  A historian (that's AndyP) does extensive research and creates a chart that shows exactly where these boots belong on the evolutionary flow chart(I've probably mis-named the "tree," but I'm too lazy to find its proper name). I have a gut-feeling, backed up by years of casual observation, that these boots were infinitely  more popular in England and Europe than the States.  Andy could provide actual evidence.

If you're not checking out Andy's tumblr-

Made For Walking

You're missing some great vintage boots.

Early 70's Platform Thigh Boots

http://www37.zippyshare.com/v/HLHREEtZ/file.html
From El robo de las momias de Guanajuato (1972). A very interesting pair of white over the knee boots that were ALMOST ahead of their time. That's a pretty unique and magnificent pair of boots she's wearing. The foot is not that different from the 70's style platforms  I've discussed on several occasions(here and here-are the two most obvious examples). What makes them noteworthy is the platform foot paired with buckle/scalloping details at the top of the remarkably high shaft. That shaft paired with a 60's style foot would be nice but unremarkable. I don't think I've seen many pairs of boots that are quite like this.

70's Platform Boots

http://www89.zippyshare.com/v/3o4Kh1Wr/file.html
From Street People (1976), Classic 70's platform knee boots worn over jeans.

Gold Platform Knee Scrapers

From the early days of my youtube channel, now getting the "full blog" treatment.

http://www79.zippyshare.com/v/f8k0HK1V/file.html
 From Americathon (1979) John Ritter anxiously  removes her gold platform knee scraping boots. Actually kinda funny.


Have you ever started a project and about half way through realized you'd made a horrible miscalculation?  I thought I had about 10 or 15 videos from the early days of my youtube channel that I posted before I started this blog.  I thought I'd give them the "full blog" treatment (thumbs, zippyshare, etc) just so they'd have a place here.  I know there are a number of people who might have missed them when I posted them to boots-n-heels. I figured I'd get the list together and it would be an easy, nostalgic day that would help mark my blog's first full year. It would have been quick and easy if my guesstimate hadn't been way off the mark. It wasn't 10 or 15 orphaned videos, its 59!  I won't be putting all 59 up and once and I will be noting them as quasi-reposts with the line-
"From the early days of my youtube channel, now getting the "full blog" treatment." If you've been with me from the start, you've probably already seen them.

Tucked into boots...Ahead of their time

http://www41.zippyshare.com/v/PuyXSrme/file.html
From  Abigail Lesley Is Back in Town (1975). Thankfully the best bits (for us anyway) of this Joe Sarno soft-core classic are all safe for work. I did trim out the scene on the bed for the youtube version. While it is suggestive, it is not explicit. But Youtube's community guidelines specifically mention activities on a bed as being potentially problematic, so......consider the extra minute a zippy-share bonus.
Back to the boots.  As noted boot historian AndyP and I have discussed, the 70's style platform boot was much more common in England and Europe than the U.S. and there were some differences between the English and American styles.  The boots in this American production are almost Mid-Atlantic, sharing some characteristics of both, but the knee-grazing shaft height is more English.
The boots alone, while quite nice, are not as extraordinary as the way they're worn in the final scenes. Traditionally these boots were worn with skirts, hot-pants or under high-cuffed jeans. It is quite rare to see these boots worn over tight jeans, especially as early as 1975. I don't know what, if anything, this means, but I know I REALLY like it. I do think it's worth noting that the outfit she's wearing on the sand dunes would have looked current and stylish in 2010, a mere 35 years after the movie was filmed.

White Boots in Hairspray

http://www.mediafire.com/file/e897s77njxhugj8/hairsprayliveedit.mkv
Ariana Grande dances in shiny, white platform knee-scrapers. From the televised version of Hairspray. This year, any boot with a hit of gloss was a welcome change.

Reader Tip-Yellow Thigh Boots

Thanks for the tip, you don't often platform yellow LEATHER thigh boots. Vinyl, sure but from :07 to .15 and again from 1:33 to 1:45 some great views of a very unique pair of boots, including a brief close-up of them being laced.


BTW-the quickest way to send me a message/tip is to leave a comment on any post on this blog. I'm automatically sent an e-mail after every comment.

Frye Style Boots In The UK in 1977

http://www50.zippyshare.com/v/lvULmd1q/file.html
I am certain that you are breathlessly following the groundbreaking work that AndyP and I are doing to identify, quantify and rationalize the divergence of popular boot styles in the US and UK during the 70's. It is clear that during that turbulent decade the platform boot was more popular in the UK, while the Frye-style boot was more popular on the western side of the Atlantic.
This is not an absolute. A look at The Runaways and Stevie Nicks shows that the side-zip, knee scraping, tight-to-the-leg boot was not completely foreign to American legs. Conversely, the first season of the BBC series Citizen Smith (1977) shows that English feet were sometimes shod in casual earthtone, pull-on knee high boots with a rounded toe and solid heel & sole.
While these boots are most certainly not a product of the Frye bench, they certainly fit the mold. A textbook pair of Fryes would likely have a heel that was 1/2 an inch or so taller, and a sole that was a fraction thicker. But these are difference that would likely only be noticed by a true boot hobbyist.
I also think the rest of her outfit is worth noting. To my eyes her clothes are more One Day At A Time/Nancy Drew than they are Dr Who.
Please also note a very quick de-booting scene. 
Sorry no youtube