It was probably inevitable that the humble desert boot would enjoy a revival of sorts this fall, especially for those of us who like to interpret current trends (in this case, the ankle boot) in a classic way.

For all you brats out there who are—or claim to be—“too young to remember”, the Clark’s desert boot


along with its companion style, the Wallabee,

were wardrobe staples for the under-25 crowd in the 1970’s.
   
    While they might have gained their first wave of popularity with the hippie culture (we have one male friend who still insists on referring to them as “Dope Smokers”), by the time we started wearing Wallabees—usually with a below-the-knee wool plaid skirt and cowl-neck sweater—they were considered to be more preppy than druggie. 
    [At least that was the case in our Connecticut high school, where probably 75% of the student population owned a pair, along with every other masculine sport shoe, like L.L. Bean hunting moccasins, Timberland Hiking Boots, Sperry Topsiders and Frye boots.

When we were feeling particularly girly, we’d throw on a pair of clogs.]

But, to be honest,  we never really liked our Wallabees, and not just because they looked so absurd with knee socks and a mid-calf skirt.  Even though we obviously had a high tolerance for clunky shoes (see above) there was something singularly vile about their square toes and thick, spongy soles that made us feel like we were wearing loaves of banana bread on our feet.  They were definitely the least-worn shoes in our closet.


We much prefer the cleaner lines of the desert boot, which, while it never went away completely, has certainly not been something we’ve seen any women wearing lately.

Until we spotted this pair in a Vogue photo feature (August ‘08) by Tonne Goodman on timeless dressing:




We couldn’t believe how fabulous they looked with white jeans and a camel car coat, and when we read that they were, in fact $90 Clark’s Originals and not some $1100 Marc Jacobs version,  we immediately went to find them online.

It turns out that Clark’s doesn’t currently carry a women’s desert boot, but, as any girl who rode the Doc Martens bandwagon in the 90’s can tell you, buying men’s shoes isn’t a huge deal. (And if you don’t already know your men’s size, there are plenty of online conversion charts to help you figure it out.)

JCrew also carries a more-expensive-than-the-original version of the boot, (of course!) also only in men’s sizes:




But if the idea of men’s shoes doesn’t appeal (and you’d think we’d have learned our lesson with those Wallabees, right?), Bernardo—yes, the cute-little-sandals people—just introduced their “Sahara” style:




They’re not in the stores yet, but you can “pre-order for September” on the Bernardo website. 

Cut for a womans narrower foot and available in a bunch of different colors, patterns and textures, a line like this makes us wonder if this kind of lace-up ankle boot could become the winter version of the ballet flat.
And why not?  They’re practical yet elegant in their simplicity, and perfect for those outdoorsy-type events where you want a little coverage but not a full boot, like a football game or something country-ish like a steeplechase.

In fact, if what we’ve seen so far is any indication, it looks like our “Dope Smokers” have totally grown up.
   
Maybe we should call them “Martini Shakers” from now on?