Jockey Boots
Jockey Boots
At the beginning of the century, low shoes were the most fashionable footwear for men. Showing a man's ankles was especially fashionable. Boots were only worn by military officers or by others for traveling, riding a horse, or hunting. The increasing popularity of horseracing triggered a fashion for jockey boots in the mid-eighteenth century, and young men began wearing jockey boots for everyday wear. Jockey boots were tall, dark leather boots with a rounded toe. The boot top had loops designed for making it easier to pull the boots on and tops that folded over to show a contrasting color of leather lining the boot. Jockey boots were worn by a select few, but the fashion for wearing them ushered in the larger trend for boots in the nineteenth century.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Cosgrave, Bronwyn. The Complete History of Costume and Fashion: From Ancient Egypt to the Present Day. New York: Checkmark Books, 2000.
Pratt, Lucy, and Linda Woolley. Shoes. London, England: V&A Publications, 1999.
[See also Volume 3, Nineteenth Century: Boots ]