History Main / BootsOfToughness

Like other articles of clothing, [[ClothingReflectsPersonality a character's footwear can speak volumes about what the audience can or shouldn't expect from them]]. When the character is wearing good solid boots, it's usually a safe bet that they aren't going to turn out to be a pushover or a wimp. These are Boots Of Toughness: boots used to signify that the character is tough. The boots themselves don't have to be tough; they may be battered, damaged, mended or even almost completely worn out. What they do have to be is Substantial, Sturdy, and Practical.

* '''Practical:''' Whatever it is the character needs to do, these boots make that easier, or at the very least, they do not make it more difficult. High-heeled fashion boots generally fail these criteria, although CombatStilettos in boot form can count in that the character wearing them demonstrates their toughness by not being handicapped by the high, narrow heels.

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'''s Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg wear tough boots, and even tougher ''socks'' inside those boots. They spend a lot of time walking and working outdoors in a mountainous terrain, and they're ''tough'' women.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': Wendy Corduroy wears mud caked boots and more often than not comes off like a slacker. But in "Into the Bunker" she fights an inhuman monster that has taken her shape, and acquits herself admirably against something quite strong. It should be mentioned that Wendy is the only daughter of an extremely tough lumberjack.

* '''Sturdy:''' While the boots don't have currently be in good condition, they need to give the impression that it took a lot of time and hard usage to beat them up or break them down that badly. If they are in good condition, they need to stand up to hard wear.
* '''Practical:''' Whatever it is the character needs to do, these boots make that easier, or at the very least, they do not make it more difficult. High-heeled fashion boots generally fail this criteria, although CombatStilettos in boot form can count in that the character wearing them demonstrates their toughness by not being handicapped by the high, narrow heels.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. In the AlternateUniverseEpisode "The Wish", a DarkerAndEdgier Buffy wears cargo pants and combat boots, in contrast to her normal ActionFashionia look.

[[AC:Anime and Manga]]

[[AC:Film]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]

[[AC: LiveActionTV]]

[[AC:{{Music}}]]

[[AC:VideoGames]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}: Undyne wears boots most of the time and is a huge badass.

'''Substantial:''' Boots of Toughness are not flimsy or delicate. They don't look fragile, and they don't require lots of attention. Wipe off the mud and the blood and the beer, give 'em a quick swipe of shoe polish once in a while, and they're good to go. The character wearing fancy python-leather cowboy boots with lots of tooling and inlay work is probably not a tough working cowboy — his boots aren't suitable.

'''Sturdy:''' While the boots don't have currently be in good condition, they need to give the impression that it took a lot of time and hard usage to beat them up or break them down that badly. If they are in good condition, they need to stand up to hard wear.

'''Practical:''' Whatever it is the character needs to do, these boots make that easier, or at the very least, they do not make it more difficult. High-heeled fashion boots generally fail this criteria, although CombatStilettos in boot form can count in that the character wearing them demonstrates their toughness by not being handicapped by the high, narrow heels.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': Wendy Corduroy wears mud caked boots and more often than not comes off like a slacker. But in "Into the Bunker" she fights an inhuman monster that has taken her shape, and acquits herself admirably against something quite strong. It should be mentioned that Wendy is the youngest and only girl child of an extremely tough lumberjack.

Like other articles of clothing, [[ClothingReflectsPersonality a character's footwear can speak volumes about what the audience can or shouldn't expect from them]] When the character is wearing good solid boots, it's usually a safe bet that they aren't going to turn out to be a pushover or a wimp. These are Boots Of Toughness: boots used to signify that the character is tough. The boots themselves don't have to be tough; they may be battered, damaged, mended or even almost completely worn out. What they do have to be is Substantial, Sturdy, and Practical.

'''Practical:''' Whatever it is the character needs to do, these boots make that easier, or at the very least, they do not make it more difficult. High-heeled fashion boots generally fail this criteria, although CombatStilettos in boot form are often a {{Subversion}}, in that the character wearing them demonstrates their toughness by not being handicapped by the high, narrow heels.

!Examples

* Nancy Sinatra sings about her boots as a metaphor for becoming tough in her hit, "These Boots Were Made For Walkin'":
--> These boots were made for walkin'

* Literature/TheHollows: Rachel's entire team wears boots, specifically chosen for toughness, style and comfort given their jobs.
* Literature/InCryptid: The entire Price family wears boots because cryptozoology usually takes them into terrain and territories where tough boots are needed. The trope is played with in the case of Verity, who prefers dancing shoes and doesn't always think to put the boots on before she goes to work and ends up ruining sneakers.

Like other articles of clothing,[[ClothingReflectsPersonality a character's footwear can speak volumes about what the audience can or shouldn't expect from them]] When the character is wearing good solid boots, it's usually a safe bet that they aren't going to turn out to be a pushover or a wimp. These are Boots Of Toughness: boots used to signify that the character is tough. The boots themselves don't have to be tough; they may be battered, damaged, mended or even almost completely worn out. What they do have to be is Substantial, Sturdy, and Practical.

* Franchise.IndianaJones: Indiana as an AdventurerArchaeologist wears boots, tough enough for stomping killer ants. His teacher persona does ''not'' wear them, opting for everyday shoes, not that he'd need them since when he's teaching, nothing "adventurey" happens.

Substantial: Boots of Toughness are not flimsy or delicate. They don't look fragile, and they don't require lots of attention. Wipe off the mud and the blood and the beer, give 'em a quick swipe of shoe polish once in a while, and they're good to go. The character wearing fancy python-leather cowboy boots with lots of tooling and inlay work is probably not a tough working cowboy — his boots aren't suitable.

Sturdy: While the boots don't have currently be in good condition, they need to give the impression that it took a lot of time and hard usage to beat them up or break them down that badly. If they are in good condition, they need to stand up to hard wear.

Practical: Whatever it is the character needs to do, these boots make that easier, or at the very least, they do not make it more difficult. High-heeled fashion boots generally fail this criteria, although CombatStilettos in boot form are often a {{Subversion}}, in that the character wearing them demonstrates their toughness by not being handicapped by the high, narrow heels.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': Wendy Corduroy wears mud caked boots and more often than not comes off like a slacker. But in "Into the Bunker" she fights an inhuman monster that has taken her shape, and acquits herself admirably against something quite strong. It should be mentioned that Wendy is the youngest and only girl child of an extremely tough lumberjack.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor "The Day of the Doctor"]] the War Doctor, the one who fought in the Time War, wears boots. His more pacifistic incarnations wear shoes of various kinds.

Like other articles of clothing,[[ClothingReflectsPersonality a character\'s footwear can speak volumes about what the audience can or should expect from them]] When the character is wearing good solid boots, it\'s usually a safe bet that they aren\'t going to turn out to be a pushover or a wimp. These are Boots Of Toughness: boots used to signify that the character is tough. The boots themselves don\'t have to be tough; they may be battered, damaged, mended or even almost completely worn out. What they do have to be is Substantial, Sturdy, and Practical.

Let\'s take those one by one:

Substantial: Boots of Toughness are not flimsy or delicate. They don\'t look fragile, and they don\'t require lots of attention. Wipe off the mud and the blood and the beer, give \'em a quick swipe of shoe polish once in a while, and they\'re good to go. The character wearing fancy python-leather cowboy boots with lots of tooling and inlay work is probably not a tough working cowboy — his boots aren\'t suitable.

Sturdy: While the boots don\'t have currently be in good condition, they need to give the impression that it took a lot of time and hard usage to beat them up or break them down that badly. If they are in good condition, they need to stand up to hard wear.

Practical: Whatever it is the character needs to do, these boots make that easier, or at the very least, they do not make it more difficult. High-heeled fashion boots generally fail this criteria, although CombatStilettos in boot form are often a {{Subversion}}, in that the character wearing them demonstrates their toughness by not being handicapped by the high, narrow heels.

Boots of Toughness often figure in a FeetFirstIntroduction.

----

!Examples

[[AC:Film]]
* Franchise.IndianaJones: Indiana as an AdventurerArchaeologist wears boots, tough enough for stomping killer ants. His teacher persona does \'\'not\'\' wear them, opting for everyday shoes, not that he\'d need them since when he\'s teaching, nothing \"adventurey\" happens.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* \'\'Literature/{{Discworld}}\'\'\'s Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg wear tough boots, and even tougher \'\'socks\'\' inside those boots. They spend a lot of time walking and working outdoors in a mountainous terrain, and they\'re \'\'tough\'\' women.
* Literature/TheHollows: Rachel\'s entire team wears boots, specifically chosen for toughness, style and comfort given their jobs.
* Literature/InCryptid: The entire Price family wears boots because cryptozoology usually takes them into terrain and territories where tough boots are needed. The trope is played with in the case of Verity, who prefers dancing shoes and doesn\'t always think to put the boots on before she goes to work and ends up ruining sneakers.
* \'\'Literature/TheKaneChronicles\'\': Sadie Kane is rarely seen when she\'s not wearing a pair of combat boots, and while her older brother is neither a wimp nor weak-willed, she is most decidedly the [[LittleMissBadass tougher of the two]].
* In \'\'Literature/QuiteContrary\'\', Mary wears a pair of heavy boots that are frequently mentioned to be good for kicking people and stomping through the forest. This is in contrast to the flimsy, sexy Literature/LittleRedRidingHood Halloween costume she wears for most of the book, and she even uses her boots to remind herself that she is not just a damsel in distress.

[[AC: LiveActionTV]]
* \'\'Series/DoctorWho\'\': In [[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor \"The Day of the Doctor\"]] the War Doctor, the one who fought in the Time War, wears boots. His more pacifistic incarnations wear shoes of various kinds.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* \'\'VideoGame/{{Elsword}}\'\': Among Rena\'s advanced classes, Wind Sneaker wears boots and is tougher at physical combat - especially kicking - than her other classes Grand Archer and Night Watcher, who wear CombatStilettos.
* \'\'VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII\'\'. Aerith Gainsborough wears a pink dress and red jacket over a pair of old brown boots that seem almost too big for her, hinting at her [[SilkHidingSteel inner strength beneath the feminine look]].

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* Turanga Leela in \'\'WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}\'\' wears very heavy boots and is fond of kicking people with them.
* \'\'WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}\'\': Spinelli the tomboy wore extremely stompy boots, and was one of the toughest kids on the playground.
* \'\'WesternAnimation/FairlyOddparents\'\': Jorgen Von Strangle is the toughest Fairy in Fairy World, and dresses like a drill sergeant, right down to the combat boots.
* \'\'WesternAnimation/GravityFalls\'\': Wendy Corduroy wears mud caked boots and more often than not comes off like a slacker. But in \"Into the Bunker\" she fights an inhuman monster that has taken her shape, and acquits herself admirably against something quite strong. It should be mentioned that Wendy is the youngest and only girl child of an extremely tough lumberjack.