British Military Women in Civilian Knee-High Boots: A Neglected Episode in Women's Uniform History

Abstract

This research note explains how British women soldiers serving in Northern Ireland during the 1970s came to wear civilian knee-high fashion boots with their uniforms. It shows how this practice originated in grass-roots concerns about inclement weather, secondary to a local command decision that these servicewomen should undertake their duties wearing skirts. The wider context of the practice is examined and it is contrasted with the pre-planned adoption of similar boots by East Germany's Nationale Volksarmee. It is also considered in relation to fashion theory and especially the transgression of the boundary between the personal and military domains.