Wish I Still Had My White Shindig Go-Go Boots

Inexplicably, one evening recently, I was drawn to You Tube videos of the defunct show Shindig from 1964 and 1965. It was a musical variety show that featured all of the top 40 acts of the day along with some great go-go dancing by a group of Shindig dancers.

Those dancers with their ponytails and flips boogied their hearts out- most of the time while wearing these fairly atrocious looking white calf-length boots. They had no heels, and were made of white leather. Called Go-Go Boots, they were the “must-have” item of the season for little goobers like me who wanted everything cool they saw on TV.

I got my wish in 1965, because a beautiful pair of white Go-Go Boots was my main Chanukah gift that year. I was a happy girl to have them.

I wish I still had memorabilia like that. Some people save everything of meaning from their youth. I tossed just about everything.

The real question is what the heck was a nerdy, bookworm, non-dancer doing with a pair of Go-Go Boots in the middle-class neighborhood of her youth? Not the most practical item, but it was transforming to put them on and play 45’s on the record player or even listen to the transistor radio and dance like a Shindig girl. That was the power of certain objects: they had the power to take me from my dreary existence to a place much more exciting. Wearing them, I felt like a real go-go dancer. Pure fantasy and I loved it.

If you hadn’t caught my past blog – when I was still on the Chronicle site, about my quest for a John Romain purse – click here to read it. Another nostalgia trip for precious items of long ago.

4 comments

  • I see the writer has floor knowledge it the topic as well
    as some practical expertise. Such sort of info is more valuable than copypasted blog posts
    thoughts.

  • Hi, loved your article, I just listed my old gogo boots on my store tired dealing with all my “stuff” besides would never fit. I think I made my Mom drive to every shoe store in the area to find the perfect pair, had to have these to wear with the fake fur “bear coat”
    🙂

  • I’m a pack rat–only problem, my feet and waist have expanded and dont fit. But make great costumes for kids over the years

  • I still have my pair. Mine are the back-zip models with a 1 inch heel. Size 9, would sell.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *