Fashion boot

A fashion boot is a boot worn for reasons of style or fashion (rather than for utilitarian purposes – e.g. not hiking boots, riding boots, rain boots, etc). The term is usually applied to women’s boots.Pre-1960sIn the 19th and early 20th Centuries, ankle and calf-length boots were common footwear for women. Rising hemlines made longer styles of boots popular. In 1913, Denise Poiret, the wife of celebrated French couturier Paul Poiret, caused a sensation in Paris and New York by wearing knee-length boots in wrinkled morocco leather. Designed by her husband, made by the bottier Favereau, and styled with a low heel and a square toe, she had versions in red, white, green, and yellow. By 1915 the New York Times was reporting that, inspired by Mme Poiret, women had adopted these "Russian boots" as an acceptable alternative to baring ankles and calves. By the 1920s Russian boots were available in a variety of styles, calf- or knee-length, with a Cuban or Louis heel which could be pull-on, or zip-fastened for a closer fit Worn with knee-length skirts, they often featured decorative features such as elaborate stitching or fur trims Russian boots were sporadically popular during the 1920s, as a more fashionable alternative to galoshes, but fell out of favor by the 1930s.One reason for the decline in popularity of boots during the first half of the 20th century may be because streets became cleaner as roads were surfaced and horse-drawn transport gave way to the motor engine. The additional protection provided by boots was no longer needed