Lace Up Boots Trend
Lace Up Boots Trend

DALLAS, Aug 3, 2009 / FW/ — Knee high boots this season are accompanied by a lace up front from bottom to top. This detail adds edge to something quite feminine; Richard Chai represents this idea by meshing the lace up feature with a pointed toe and the soft gray hue. Jill Stuart and Charlotte Ronson embody masculine characteristics.

This trend seems to reflect the structure of a corset. This attribute of the 1800s represented the delicacy of a lady. Women were seen as the weaker sex in the Victorian era, and it was used to discern a female’s virtues and strength based on fit and tightness. The meaning carried in this trend seems a bit ironic because this season’s fashion seems to be sending a message begging for womanly fortitude and independence.

The depth behind these trends appears to be contradictory, or is the fashion world purposely presenting freedom to reveal which side you lean towards through clothing? Or does the essence signify nothing more than what they appear to be: an item to simply flatter? The latter seems somewhat unfulfilling.

[LAUREN SCRUGGS]
Photos courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week