History

Riding boots.
Originally, boots have a utilitarian role, like most clothing and accessories. In the field of riding, the boots are naturally worn to ride on horseback protecting the lower part of the body. Distinguishing then: soft boots, also called French boots or rider, whose stem, soft and wide, ended with a large knee in which the knee was engaged, the court or cauldron boots whose knee It was flared in the form of a funnel, the strong boots like those used by the postilions, the hussar boots whose stems wore pleats on the instep, and the boots in the English or on the back. This utilitarian role is still important in clothing, especially in the case of rain boots (plastic) and after-skis (sometimes called snow boots) used to walk in the snow.

Historically, only men have worn waders for several centuries, from the Renaissance to the Revolution. The boots up to the thighs were essential to preserve the pants, worn prematurely by friction on the saddle of the horse. When one did not go up on horseback, the waders were turned down (it was question of "port to the musketeer"). The invention of the Jacquard loom in 1801 provided affordable fabric, which brought the boots down below the knee.

Women rode horseback riding. The queens Christine of Sweden and Catherine of Russia, allowed themselves to wear boots to the extent that they went astride. During the winter of 1963-1964 the waders reappear, in women this time. This mode remained rather marginal until the explosion of women's thighs during the winters 1967-1968, 1968-1969 and 1969-19701.


Go-go boots, a clubwear reference since the 1970s.
Some models of boots appeared to follow a fashion effect, mode which Cristobal Balenciaga is one of the initiators when in 1963, he launched the boots worn with his sports tailors2. The most common models today are those with high stems, for both men and women. The waders can be worn as riding boots.                                      
                    Boots are usually distinguished by the height of their upper. There are several main models. They can be worn by men or women.


Boot: The boot, or half-boot, is a boot whose stem stops between the ankle and the top of the calf. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the term "boot" specifically referred to women's shoes stopping at mid-calf and laced on the front. The term "boot" is used to designate a men's boot.
Boot: The upper of a boot can go up to the knee. This model of boot has no specific designation. The term "boot" is used to designate it.
Riding Boot: The cavalier boot, often associated with the wearing of the miniskirt, is first popularized in its vinyl version, then in buckskin. In fashionable vinyl, then suede, followed the fashion of the leather boot, most often black. The cavalier boot is a timeless classic of fashion shows. In their 2008-2009 fall-winter collection, Marc Jacobs or Anna Sui, for example, dress their models with high boots20,21.
Knee boot: the height of the boot stops at the knee.

Thigh boots used for fishing.
Thigh-high: The thigh-high is a boot whose upper reaches above the knee and sometimes to the groin.
Pontoon: higher than the thigh, the pontoon is a prop for protection against water: the fishermen use it to advance far into the water. They are sometimes held by braces or attached to the belt. They are also used by sewers and cavers.