Tall knee high boots for men?

[Lorinz]

I was interested in a pair of YSL Otto boots, which are tall boots for men:

I was curious of an outside opinion on this style of boot. Is it generally read/seen as feminine for men to wear boots this height? By that I mean with them actually showing fully like in these photos, or are you generally supposed to wear them with boot cut pants covering them up so they look "normal"? My experience with western cowboy boots as a reference is that you wear them with the shaft being covered by the pants, and uncovered is seen as a style more for women. How is it for these kinds of boots (The Otto) by comparison? I know about equestrian/police style boots, although they tend to have less of a heel compared to these as far as I know.

 

[My Scooter]

Tell these guy's it's to feminine to wear tall boots? This is a picture of some of the local Sheriffs. Pictured is the "Motors" officers. When riding a motorcycle it's very important to protect your ankles from injuries. I have seen accidents where the ankle has spun around 360 degrees. Tall boots protect you from injury. It's all a matter of taste what you like.

 

[ton312]

In my view any boot (tall or short shaft) with a 3” or greater heel looks extremely feminine.

 

[Joseph Hill]

Very tall boots are a dicey territory, but height is not the feminizing or masculinizing factor. The cop picture, and any number of polo players, lumber jacks, and vintage riders show that very tall boots can certainly be very masculine. While looking for Wesco engineer boots, I came across an unusual ****** of thigh high engineer boots (with denim shorts!). Way into certain territory, but still surprisingly masculine. The first picture shows boots that are very much womans boots being marketed to estrogenic males. Very Weimar Berlin.

 

[MrProper]

Personally, I don't like high heels or high shaft. In combination even less.
Nevertheless, there are always one or two people for whom it somehow looks quite cool. Probably mostly musicians lol.
But I think if you like it, go for it. It doesn't really matter what others think.

 

[navetsea]

I'm not sure if its feminine or not but perhaps a bit costume-ish outside of fashion or equestrian events to wear it over the trousers, but of course it is case by case, if you pair it well or if you can pull it off naturally then perhaps it might work.

 

[Guppy]

It's something you would consider costume wear if you're not a horseman or riding a motorcycle or maybe a Germany's WWII-era leadership officer's uniform.

I have a pair of 14" Frye Campus boots, which don't go quite to the knee, but maybe a couple inches below, which is plenty for me. They don't get worn a whole lot.

 

[belfastboy]

Tell these guy's it's to feminine to wear tall boots? This is a picture of some of the local Sheriffs. Pictured is the "Motors" officers. When riding a motorcycle it's very important to protect your ankles from injuries. I have seen accidents where the ankle has spun around 360 degrees. Tall boots protect you from injury. It's all a matter of taste what you like.

View attachment 550248

They are all packing weapons.....I am sure not telling them their boots look anything but wonderful....fabulous even. Bu the boots def make them look fat.

 

[TLW '90]

The example you pictured look extremely feminine as does the guy wearing them, so much so that I would likely assume this person is ***.
I would not call them this or say anything insulting to them, but if I saw a guy wearing them I would assume they were ***.


Now a boot like this I don't think looks feminine, but it would take a certain kind of person to pull off a visible pair of knee high Moccasin boots.

And it would take yet another certain kind of person to pull these off.

I have thought about getting a pair just to have the motivation to finally get into traditional archery.

 

[zebedee]

With heels that high, it's a staging of Roald Dahl's 'The Witches' Grand High Witch that a person would need to need to be going for.

 

[Monitor]

Feminine and masculine are just ideas. Concepts. None of it exists. Wearing a pair of boots won't make you question your gender, or ***uality for that matter and if it does, I'd wager a height of a shaft ain't the cause of it.

I prefer to wear either ankle or knee-high boots, which I have two pairs of. Much higher than the ones you posted. But I wear them heavily stacked. It certainly doesn't bother me and I'm usually dressed in a very masculine fashion. In my opinion.

Knee-high boots do however have somewhat of an association with predominately *******ual leather ****** scene (BLUF) but having basis in hyper-masculinity, to consider them feminine is ironic.

Last but not least, the YSL's you posted, the Otto model, would make a near-perfect ToS-era Starfleet boot.

 

[Dbtk44]

I wear 16" engineer boots when I ride. Nice protection, good warmth in the cold, and I like the style. They just work for me. I wear them outside my jeans, which is contrary to what the flavor-of-the-month "biker styling" dictates...something I've never cared about, at all. I'm not striving to be a fashion plate, so I pretty much wear what I like, how I want to wear it. Now, If I somehow found a pair of pink, fuzzy high healed thigh-high boots that I really got along with, I'd wear em! Really don't care what other people think of what I have on...as long as i dig it and it's practical or serves a purpose, I'm going with it. Most of "style", honestly, is really how you actually "FEEL" wearing whatever it is you're wearing, and the confidence (or, lack of) that you exude.
I just happen to prefer more "classic" styles, and what fits/feels best to me...but again, if I dig it, I'm sportin' it regardless of the styling.

Not the best pic, but you get the idea..

 

[Monitor]

Just got these. Highest boots I wore so far.

 

[Edward]

I was interested in a pair of YSL Otto boots, which are tall boots for men:

I was curious of an outside opinion on this style of boot. Is it generally read/seen as feminine for men to wear boots this height? By that I mean with them actually showing fully like in these photos, or are you generally supposed to wear them with boot cut pants covering them up so they look "normal"? My experience with western cowboy boots as a reference is that you wear them with the shaft being covered by the pants, and uncovered is seen as a style more for women. How is it for these kinds of boots (The Otto) by comparison? I know about equestrian/police style boots, although they tend to have less of a heel compared to these as far as I know.

Taller boots have been around for men for a very long time. Mostly now seen in the equestrian world. Motorcycling also, though on this side of the pond at least motorcycle boots that rise much higher than midcalf haven't been in for a long time. They can still be found, but they're rare to see. The practical limitation with boots that tall is really that they require to be worn with britches, which are themselves deeply out of fashion in the contemporary world. Any longer than calf-length, and I find that a boot just *has* to be worn over the trousers to be at all practical, and my trousers are all much too wide to fit inside any boot that wouldn't end up itself laughably wide in the trunk to accommodate them.

That all said, at some point I'm very keen to pick myself up dome britches for outdoors applications, at which point I very much have my eye on a pair or two of taller, lace-up boots.


The particular boots in the photos you post would doubtless be interpreted as "feminine" by the majority of people today - particularly on account of the heels. If a man really wanted to wear them, however, I would think it a shame if he didn't feel able to - assuming the cut fits, and the construction is designed to take the weight distribution of the average man (heels of that height made for women don't tend to last long under AMAB weight - as many of us in the Rocky Horror subculture have found over the years).

Feminine and masculine are just ideas. Concepts. None of it exists. Wearing a pair of boots won't make you question your gender, or ***uality for that matter and if it does, I'd wager a height of a shaft ain't the cause of it.

Quite so! Good call on Kirk's boots.

I wear 16" engineer boots when I ride. Nice protection, good warmth in the cold, and I like the style. They just work for me. I wear them outside my jeans, which is contrary to what the flavor-of-the-month "biker styling" dictates...something I've never cared about, at all. I'm not striving to be a fashion plate, so I pretty much wear what I like, how I want to wear it. Now, If I somehow found a pair of pink, fuzzy high healed thigh-high boots that I really got along with, I'd wear em! Really don't care what other people think of what I have on...as long as i dig it and it's practical or serves a purpose, I'm going with it. Most of "style", honestly, is really how you actually "FEEL" wearing whatever it is you're wearing, and the confidence (or, lack of) that you exude.
I just happen to prefer more "classic" styles, and what fits/feels best to me...but again, if I dig it, I'm sportin' it regardless of the styling.

Not the best pic, but you get the idea..

Yes, with boots hitting knee-height, the only way to wear them is over the trousers - or they're a pain (or, unless you're wearing Oxford Bags, almost impossible) to get on and off. In the 60s heyday of British motorcycling, the most popular boots were typically knee-high and worn over the trousers - Lewis Motorway boots and various equivalents from the likes of Goldtop being a paradigm example. With the right trousers - I rather like, though don't yet own,. elephant ear britches - they're a great look. Especially for mud and wet. I've also considered taller boots for wearing with a kilt, though they'd have to be zip-up, snugger-fitting boots; I tried (at home) a pair of engineer boots and they looked a bit ridiculous with the looser fit. Like wellies with shorts.

 

[Tom71]

Personally, I don't like high heels or high shaft. In combination even less.
Nevertheless, there are always one or two people for whom it somehow looks quite cool. Probably mostly musicians lol.
But I think if you like it, go for it. It doesn't really matter what others think.

I could not say it better.

My only addition would be: the higher the shaft, the more trouble to get them on/off (unless, of course, they are zippered all the way down).

 

[navetsea]

when I was a kid I always dream to wear high riding boots with series of tabs and buckles on the side like old motorcross boots, I love Fist of The North Star manga and they all wore those boots in post apocalyptic setting.

 

[cbez]

clinch highliners are cool but out of my budget

 

[Doctor Damage]

Tell these guy's it's to feminine to wear tall boots? This is a picture of some of the local Sheriffs. Pictured is the "Motors" officers. When riding a motorcycle it's very important to protect your ankles from injuries. I have seen accidents where the ankle has spun around 360 degrees. Tall boots protect you from injury. It's all a matter of taste what you like.

My dad used to be in a hobby club with a guy who was on the Ontario Provincial Police motorcycle highway unit for several years and he said classic riding boots like that did little when a stone bounced up off the road and hit you in the ankle (which apparently hurt like a sunofagun). You really need special padded boots or boots made of multiple layers for protection.

 

[Trouser Bark]

I wear mostly tall boots and have a pair of tall Chippewa's on now. Engineers, harness, lineman boots and more... if they're not tall they're not among my favorites.

I frankly don't know when someone else is wearing tall shaft boots unless they're wearing their boots outside their pants and I don't know anyone that does that. No one knows that my boots are tall when I'm around them.

I have multiple pairs and have a tendency to be looking out for another pair that I don't need. Sometime in the next 90 days I'll order another pair of harness boots, this next pair from Wesco in brown w/ brass hardware. I need them like I need a hole in my head but whatever.

To answer your question directly I have never thought of any of my tall boots as being feminine in appearance nor do I have any element of my appearance that others might interpret as feminine. At least I don't think that's the case. I honestly never thought of that before though I know there's a *** subculture that's big on leather and big boots are popular among that set. There's a big boot guy on the web that calls himself booted harley guy and he fits that description in a big way. He also has some helpful reviews of big boots and others.

There are a few things about tall boots that take a little getting used to and that don't always apply to standard 11 or 13" shaft boots. Starting with 16" boot heights as measured from the top of the heel stack to the top of the shaft there are aspects that come into immediate focus. They are:

- taller boots are a little heavier but not much

- taller boots once broken in are not difficult to put on or take off

- avoid double thick leather in the sole; it's much too stiff and leads to plantar fasciitis.

- the top of an 11" boot is rarely an issue but...

- the top of a 16" boot shaft rubs your calf and initially causes a lot of irritation

- taller leather boots are like a comp weight jacket... they lend a feeling of protection

- Wear what you like and because you like it; never to meet another's preferences.

They're rare and not for everyone but I love 'em and highly recommend them. Some styles of clothing and footwear require that you have the courage to be yourself. Where tall boots are concerned the level required is low. Do it.

 

[Mickiemac]

Those are hideous. They look more like a stylized version of the platform footwear that was all the rage back in the 1970's. I was around then but never saw the appeal of the look. Fashion is for the moment, personal style is enduring.