Shoe blog

Alexander McQueen’s Thigh High Stegosaurus Boots

The windows at Bergdorf are intricate, impressive and memorable this year. More photos and descriptions of those windows to follow. But for now, let’s discuss these FIERCE thigh high boots in the window. I dub them the Stegosaurus Boots for the pointy spine of pyramid spikes lining not only the back of the boot, but also the back of the heel.

Houndstooth is Alexander McQueen’s statement of the year. Artfully draped, it makes a fine Scottish statement (the history of houndstooth purports it to be a wool cloth originating in the Scottish lowlands, and McQueen has mined his Scottish history before).

McQ rarely does anything that doesn’t make a statement, but are these boots, with their spike heel, pyramid spikes lining the entire back of the boot and the heel, wild yet classic pattern, and skintight fit, too much?

Does the mono effect of matching the boots to the rest of the outfit make for houndstooth overkill? Or would you wear these every day if you could?

Inside the store, in the Shoe Salon, I found that the boot was available in black. A little less wild, but somehow I liked it less.

When I was at Bergdorf, in the flurry of picture-taking, I neglected to ask the price on these carnivorous stegosaurus boots. So I called today, and the sales rep said they didn’t have them anymore — that they had been “sent back to the vendor.” (I got this image of Alexander McQueen’s office getting a box that said “RETURN TO SENDER” with a ton of spiky boots crumpled inside).

Did they get sent back because they weren’t moving units, or because they were defective somehow, or why? Why would they send extra shoes back when they’re still in the window through the holidays? Surely people will be asking for them.

She did say that they were in the realm of $1000, which is MUCH less than I was expecting. I wonder if she’s right.