Sweaty knee-highs in summer is celebrity style crime we need to give the boot… they should only be worn in open field
Cossie? Tick. Suncream? Tick. Boots?!
8
For me, and most of us, there's not enough room in my 55x40x20cm cabin bag to cram in a pair of knee-highs.
In a small footwear triumph, I don't mean Ugg boots.
Thankfully that fugly trend seems to have been killed off for now.
What I am referring to is heavy, clompy, sweat-inducing leather boots.
An autumn perennial, knee-highs are a hit with celebrities and fashionistas.
They're also on the pins of youngsters at various summer events and dance floors.
While I'm all for getting the most wear out of clothes — because, let's face it, the majority of boots are pretty expensive — slipping into leather during a 30C-plus heatwave is my idea of hell.
So why am I seeing the style set stomp around in them everywhere?
The trend is a result of 'concert core'.
Cast your mind back to last year when Taylor Swift, was prancing around in a bejewelled bodysuit and boots on her Eras tour.
Beyonce sends fans into a frenzy with surprise Destiny's Child reunion during final Cowboy Carter show
And pint-size pop star Sabrina Carpenter donned Sixties-style PVC go-go boots during her Short n' Sweet shows.
A key look
Then earlier this year, Beyonce line-danced in chaps and thigh-high, tasseled cowboy boots during her Cowboy Carter tour.
All of these extravagant shows saw thousands of fans turn up in copycat footwear.
According to PrettyLittleThing, online searches for western boots rose 85 per cent in in the run up to Beyonce's shows.
So, the 'Beyonce effect' has cemented boots as a key look for summer.
Meanwhile, the trend has been championed by the catwalk.
Luxury brand Chloe, responsible for the boho revival, gave it a twist with biker boots and slouchy suede styles on its summer runway.
And supermodel Bella Hadid was spotted wearing brown boots in sunny London in May — but she is in her cowgirl era, thanks to dating real-life cowboy Adan Banuelos.
A forgivable style crime for someone who lives and breathes that way of life, I suppose.
8
8
8
Even model Alexa Chung — known for vintage ballet flats and loafers — is getting in on the act, pairing black patent boots with what looks like a nighty and barn jacket.
This mish-mash styling is popular among Gen-Z.
TikTok fashion influencers also advocate for the 'wrong shoe theory,' which translates to wearing an unlikely shoe with your outfit.
For instance, a delicate, lace white dress with Hells Angels biker boots.
Think Olivia Rodrigo performing at Glastonbury this year.
Or an oversized blue shirt with clompy buckled boots, like Kourtney Kardashian out and about with her one-year-old son Rocky.
I can get on board with the aesthetic, but can you imagine the horrid hot and sweaty congestion of your calf encased in a cheap high street pair, which are probably made from plastic?
And just think of the blisters.
Dua Lipa went for a similar buckled pair when attending a festival recently.
At £1,840, the Miu Miu boots are unattainable for most of us, but at least they looked practical for stomping through fields and complemented the singer's denim shorts.
Hollywood star Kate Hudson wore dalmatian-print cowboy boots with hot pants and a blouse to Coachella festival — and she didn't look out of place.
Along with boots at festivals, my millennial brain can forgive those who wear ankle boots in the summer.
It was a strong look from our glory days paired with a skinny jean or mini-skirt.
But anything higher than the lower calf breaks me out in a sweat.
I appreciate navigating what to wear in summer is never easy.
Is it going to rain?
Will you be fainting in commuter heat?
Will you need a puffer jacket for the Arctic air-con?
8
8
But now we've thrown knee-high boots into the mix.
If a rainy day is on the cards then winner-winner with your practical footwear.
But if not, and the day turns out to be a scorcher, your feet will be squelching around in sweat while your legs chafe.
For festivals, camping and fly-fishing, boots are the right call.
If I get a whiff of the rising odour from someone's sticky sweat buckets it best be in an open field.
Anywhere else is unacceptable.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
10 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett's daughter Willow, 24, sparks concern posting a crying selfie with X-rated message
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett's daughter Willow sparked concern this week after she uploaded a photo of herself crying to social media alongside an X-rated caption. The singer, 24, uploaded the worrying selfie to her Instagram Story on Wednesday for her 11.5 million followers to see. The close-up photo showed Willow, who has multiple piercings and a neck tattoo, staring off into the distance with tears streaming down her face. Willow, who has previously hinted that she's interested in both men and women sexually, added the shocking caption: 'who ate all the p***y' While Willow may have intended her post to be humorous, fans were left worried for her well-being. 'Is she ok? She does not seem like she's ok' penned on concerned fan on X (formerly Twitter). Some social media users even went as far as to place blame on Willow's famous parents for her emotional outburst. The singer, 24, uploaded the worrying selfie to her Instagram Story on Wednesday for her 11.5 million followers to see One harsh comment read: 'Will Smith and Jada have utterly failed as parents.' Several commenters went on to slam the Smith family as 'broken' and 'weird' as they reacted to Willow's selfie on X. Some even suggested that Willow posted the crying photo and outrageous caption with the sole purpose of 'trolling' people online — something they suggested her brother Jaden Smith, 27, has done in the past. However, many of Willow's fans came to her defense as they praised her for being 'unfiltered' on social media unlike many of the other kids of A-list stars. 'This is the most unexpected caption of the year,' penned on X user, with another adding: 'she's so real for this' Willow's IG post also sparked conversations about her sexuality. Willow first came out as bisexual in 2019. And in April 2024, she offered further insight into her sexuality and gender identity. At the time, she shared with fans that she sees herself somewhere between 'heterosexual' and 'bi/pansexual.' Will Smith and Jada Pinkett's daughter Willow sparked concern this week after she uploaded a photo of herself crying to social media alongside an X-rated caption; seen in Febraury As for her gender, she indicated using an emoji that she mostly identifies as 'female' but with a slight lean towards 'non-binary.' Willow has been most open about her polyamorous lifestyle, which is when someone has 'open intimate or romantic relationships with more than one person at a time,' according to Verywell Mind. She actually spoke about being polyamorous for the first time while appearing on her mom Jada's Facebook chat show Red Table Talk back in 2021. 'The history of marriage really irks me. Just the history of marriage as a whole and what it has represented over the years, for women in particular,' she told Jada and her grandmother, Adrienne Banfield-Norrison, who is the show's co-host. 'With polyamory, I feel like the main foundation is the freedom to be able to create a relationship style that works for you and not just stepping into monogamy because that's what everyone around you says is the right thing to do,' Willow explained. 'So, I was like, "How can I structure the way that I approach relationships with that in mind?"' However, Willow admitted that she couldn't ever see herself going 'past two partners' in a relationship. The online discourse about Willow comes six months after she and Jaden accompanied their dad Will to the 2025 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California. Will skipped the star-studded red carpet and, instead, let his kids steal the spotlight at the Arena. He reunited with Willow and Jaden inside the arena, where they watched the likes of Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan and Beyonce take the stage from the comfort of VIP seats. Missing from the action was Will's wife Jada, who revealed back in 2023 that she and the Men In Black star had been secretly separated for seven years, beginning in 2016. The admission came three years after Jada's marriage to Will came under public scrutiny in 2020, when she interviewed him on her show Red Table Talk about an 'entanglement' she had four years earlier with their son's friend August Alsina, who is 21 years her junior. News of Jada's fling with August first emerged in early 2020 - but she and her spouse initially denied the allegations, claiming they were 'absolutely not true'. While the 'entanglement' put major strain on the couple's 30-year relationship, neither Will or Jada have ever filed for divorce. Earlier this year, it was reported that the couple were continuing to live in separate homes, though sources insisted that they are still together. Will and Jada 'are living their own lives but haven't completely severed ties,' a source told PEOPLE in January. 'Call it what you want,' the outlet's source added. Meanwhile, another inside said the pair, who got married in 1997, are 'still together' but 'have had separate homes for years.' In 2023 it was reported that Jada had her own house nearby to Will in Calabasas — the same year she confirmed their separation. Speaking to PEOPLE at the time, Jada claimed her and Will were 'still figuring it out. We've been doing some really heavy-duty work together. 'We just got deep love for each other and we are going to figure out what that looks like for us.' While promoting her memoir Worthy on the Today show two years ago, Jada gave insight into her marital woes and told host Hoda Kotb that the relationship had left them 'exhausted.' 'I think by the time we got to 2016 we were just exhausted with trying,' Jada admitted. 'I think we were both kind of just still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be,' she explained of what caused them to drift apart. In Jada's book, she describes the separation as a 'divorce,' but clarified they never filed any paperwork. 'It was not a divorce on paper. But it was a divorce,' Jada said. Meanwhile Will wrote in his 2021 memoir, Will, that there were times in their marriage when they were both 'miserable and clearly something had to change.' Jada later revealed how the pair found their way back to each other after Will infamously slapped comedian Chris Rock during the 2022 Oscars. The confrontation took place after Rock made a joke about Jada's shaved head, prompting Will to make his way to the stage, slap the presenter and say 'keep my wife's name out of your f**king mouth.'. 'That was a moment that I knew I would never leave Will's side after all those years thinking I would,' she told Extra. 'I didn't go in there as his wife, but I was leaving as his wife,' she added. 'You know, it's funny how intense situations can amplify love, and it was a pretty difficult time, but it definitely drew us closer. So yeah, it's crazy how things work.' While speaking to Daily Mail's YOU Magazine, Jada said 'many positive things came after' Smith slapped Rock. 'After all those years trying to figure out if I would leave Will's side, it took that slap for me to see I will never leave him. Who knows where our relationship would be if that hadn't happened?' After Jada spoke publicly about their marital estrangement, Will followed up with his own comments on the situation. In an email published in the New York Times, Will said her comments on their relationship were a wake-up call to him, adding that she was more 'resilient, clever and compassionate' than he'd realized. The King Richard actor told the paper, 'When you've been with someone for more than half of your life, a sort of emotional blindness sets in. 'And you can all too easily lose your sensitivity to their hidden nuances and subtle beauties.' Despite the strides they've made in their relationship, Will and Jada have not been photographed together publicly since November 2024.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
King Charles to mark 80th anniversary of VJ Day with address
King Charles will mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day on Friday with a message paying tribute to the service and sacrifice of military personnel in the second world war who fought and died in the Pacific and far east, saying they will never be forgotten. In an address, Charles will reflect on the horrors experienced by prisoners of war and civilians of occupied lands in the region 'whose suffering reminds us that war's true cost extends beyond battlefields, touching every aspect of life'. VJ Day on 15 August marks the anniversary of Japan's surrender to the allies after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, which in effect ended the second world war. The message will be released at 7.30am BST on Friday, before the king and queen attend a service of remembrance with veterans and the prime minister, Keir Starmer, at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. On Friday evening, hundreds of buildings across the country will be lit up to mark VJ 80 as part of commemoration events planned throughout the UK. In his six-minute speech, echoing the historic broadcast by his grandfather, George VI, Charles will describe how the heroes of VJ Day 'gave us more than freedom; they left us the example of how it can and must be protected', with victory made possible by close collaboration between nations 'across vast distances, faiths and cultural divides'. He will say this demonstrated how 'in times of war and in times of peace, the greatest weapons of all are not the arms you bear but the arms you link', and will add the service and sacrifice of veterans and those who lost their lives fighting in the conflict 'shall never be forgotten'. Friday's televised service, broadcast live by the BBC, will pay tribute to all those who served in the Asia-Pacific theatre, including Burma Star recipients, British Indian army veterans, former prisoners of war, and those who fought in pivotal battles including Kohima and Imphal in India. Charles, Queen Camilla and other senior figures will leave floral tributes during the service, which will be hosted by the Royal British Legion in partnership with the government. A national two-minute silence will conclude with an aerial display by the Red Arrows and the service will draw to a close with a flypast by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, before the king and queen attend a reception with second world war veterans.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Ghosting, breadcrumbing, one-night stands: are we done with dating apps?
More than a million people in the UK left dating apps last year – a problem so severe, explains the Guardian writer Kitty Drake, that the apps are in 'financial crisis'. She talks to Helen Pidd about why so many are fed up of swiping left and right: done with feeling so disposable, inauthentic profiles and the bad behaviour the apps encourage, from ghosting to breadcrumbing to one-night stands. They also discuss a class-action suit against Match group – the owner of apps such as Tinder, Hinge and OkCupid – that has one central allegation at its heart: that it is in the financial interest of the apps not to allow its users find love, but to keep them constantly searching for the next date. Even if we leave the apps, though, have they left an indelible mark on our dating habits?
