A lot of the world — especially the parts of the world where stars tend to swan around in large numbers — is in the midst of an extended heatwave right now, and yet you wouldn’t know it from looking at these famous feet.
With celeb hot spots (literally) like Los Angeles, New York, London and Paris all (once again!) seeing temperatures hit the 90s this week, you might expect red carpets, sidewalks, festival sites and concert stages to be awash with strappy sandals, flip flops and Birkenstocks — or even just light, bouncy sneakers.
But no, this isn’t just a Brat summer, it’s quite literally a hot girl summer: it’s just this time most of the heat is radiating from their legs and feet.
Since June, stars including Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Kim Kardashian, Bella Hadid, Charli XCX and Shania Twain have been teaming their cute outfits with knee- and ankle-high boots: some are big and stompy, some are pointy and sexy, some are black, some are white, some are studded, some are weirdly open-toed, but all of them make our legs feel sweaty.
According to high fashion magazine L’Officiel, this trend was unexpected. “Boots have stayed a summer staple for 2024, departing from the norm, where many shelve their favorite pairs for the season,” they declared. “Cowboy boots, grungy combat boots, and towering platform boots were spotted first on the runways, and quickly translated to street style looks worn by the chicest of celebrity fashion icons.”
It takes a brave woman to opt for a knee-high boot with a bare leg; it’s just not usually a nice feeling. It is, however, a seriously cool look, and this gang knows it.
Whether you have gazelle-like limbs like Swift or more petite gams like Kardashian, there’s something about tall boots that just screams “I’m sexy and I know it” whatever the weather. Wearing them makes you feel confident, powerful, proud and sophisticated, whether your style of choice is cowgirl, goth, dominatrix or a little of all three.
That’s until it comes to taking the boots off, anyway. A high boot without socks underneath is a recipe for sweaty, stinky disaster. It feel disrespectful to imagine these stars smelling of anything other than roses and success, but they are mere flesh and blood, which means they do — whisper it — sweat just like us, especially if they are prancing around on stage a lot.
Option two is to wear thin socks underneath the boots; this usually eliminates the dreaded stink, but feels very weird and, in a moment of passion, when it’s time to remove your footwear of choice, looks weird too, in which case we’d advise keeping the boots on for as long as possible and really leaning into that sexy, powerful vibe.
Come fall and winter, the knee-high boot trend is expected to run and run (this time, with tights), but it seems these stars jumped the gun a little. Still, this is sustainable dressing — a good pair of boots lasts years, never goes out of style and looks just as great with jeans as it does with a dress or hot pants. Just be sure to give them a good airing out between seasons.
