My favourite boots. A Requiem.

(Click to view the enlargement)

There comes a time when out of pity, or even common decency, you have to put something to rest.

The boots that started the Berger style renaissance - because a 'Eureka!' light bulb went off over The Little Shoe Box, and Ebay's Bob and Angie possessed the common sense and boot savvy to see the design and run with it...well, after viewing them in the bright, unforgiving lights of a photoshoot - it's time.

Since I currently live in this dark little cave apartment, it was easy to overlook the wear and tear. Everything looks good under soft lamps and candle light! This photoshoot in CA from last week though. Oh my.

Scratches, dents, dings, smudges, stretches, broken stitches, worn away leather...these tough girls have paid their dues. They've visited 4 countries, and have been dragged across countless time zones; shoved into suitcases, purses, and plastic bags, and tried on by dozens of fetish models, dominas, and kinky women. Slept in, thrown under beds, and got up to things that are probably illegal in most countries (and States). They were often the first pair of custom fetish boots many women (and men!) held in their hands, and inspired them to order custom boots for themselves - and to appreciate quality leather.

I may (righteously) rag on The Little Shoe Box from time to time - and these boots certainly have a few careless flaws because their work - but Gino picked an exquisite hide for these boots. The leather is soft as silk. They required no 'breaking in' period like most boots. The measurements - truly crotch high with a 6" heel - were correct.

Just to provide a bit of history, the design was inspired by a vintage pair of Berger boots.

(Click here to view the enlargement)

Do you know what's funny? That picture was originally printed in D.J.'s 'Boot Lovers Digest' magazine in the early 1990's - before D.J. and I ever met. That's how I discovered the design - I was buying the BLD magazines. Who could have predicted?

(Even looking at that picture again...Christ! Berger knocked it out of the park with that pair! Perfect. Just flawless. Oh, and D.J. will be happy to tell you that he currently owns them - and no, they don't fit me. It's...a sore spot. I don't want to talk about it. *sulking*)

It's time to retire my favorite girls. I can't bitch and moan and be an insufferable boot snob when I'm stomping about in beat-up boots of my own. D.J. suggested that I take them to an upscale repair shop - and he's right to recommend such a thing.

But you know? I kind of like them beat up. It's my scar fetish. Boots are like flesh that way (to me). Every mark and every flaw are like scars and tattoos and they tell a story - and I'm the only one who knows the story. A few characters may recognize their part, of course - but they just popped up in a chapter.

I don't know how the story will end for these boots, but their life - from now on - will be private.

Bootlovers #59 will be the last time you see these boots in a gallery.

Comments

[Alex]

Wow.

You've just posted some video previews of Mistress Antoinette's boot collection -- boots that are special because they belonged to her.

But you're obviously a boot celebrity of the first rank by any reasonable definition of the term. And those were pretty much "your boots" -- I mean, the boots that got you into the fetish in a serious way, the boots you've worn most often, the boots that go back the furthest in time, the boots that have been on cam the most often (probably).

So that seems like a pretty big deal.

I'm sorry they're giving out on you.

[bootchick]

Teri - sorry to hear that you are putting your favorite boots out to pasture. Still, that does give you room to find a new favorite pair. Any candidates thus far?

[João]

Hey Teri.

Loved the way you talked about the boots, like you are talking about a dear friend. I perfectly understand what it is to become emotionally attached to an object.

I remember those boots well. I think the first time I saw them featured they weren't even finished yet. The tops were still missing.
Even if they get the upscale repair I would put them aside, to use in only some very special ocasion. :)

They have become a classic themselves.

[Jayteasee]

From a boot fetishist point of view it's kinda warming to know that such wonderful boots have been so much that there actually IS wear and tear. :)

But I hope you never say never, I mean, if you say they won't be seen again... I mean, I feel that the scratches and stuff just give character.

MY Opinion. :)

[WC]

Teri,

I once owned that issue of BLD - 'twas a sad day I had to unload it - and the story of how Berger made them to keep himself and his family out of the Holocaust is burned into my brain. And so is that pair in the photo.

When you say DJ owns them, did he own them when BLD was first published? As I recall, the Texas woman modeling them owned them at the time.

[manoleat]

Teri,
since I miss to see your favourite boots on you I had to buy my own pair to remind me ;)
http://oi45.tinypic.com/33jkeuu.jpg
A lucky acquisition of new old stock from Canada.
The gallery of MT in the original ones was a stunner.
A late thank you again for that!

[phk1]

I find the design and manufacture of shoes very interesting, I researched manufacturing and machines, and I found this website differently. Just out of curiosity, which boots or designer are these boots? Machines and supplies are very expensive and today's problem is to compete with Asians. I really liked the design of this boot.

[phk1]

I wanted to see more pictures of this pair of boots in more detail.