It’s not often that a pair of military boots shows up on the cover of a magazine. Aside from the usual suspects, glossy mags usually prefer Prada or Gucci to Danner or Oakley.

Yet that didn’t stop Scottish actor Gerard Butler (300, P.S. I Love You) from striking a pose on the April issue of W Magazine in a pair. Wearing Bates U.S. Navy DuraShocks Steel-Toe Boots, Butler promote his most recent flick The Bounty Hunter with costar Jennifer Aniston.

Hat tip to @batesfootwear for the picture. Watch The Bounty Hunter trailer below, which will be in theatres this Friday.

Kiefer Sutherland's combat boots

Why did Kiefer Sutherland wear such an atrocious ladies outfit on national television last week? We mean, the muddy combat boots he marched out in were mostly awesome, but what’s with the awful woman’s dress?

Apparently, the star of 24 lost a sports bet and had to wear an unflattering green dress on The Late Show with David Letterman.

Dave’s reaction: “Wow, wow. Oh my god. Wow, wow. Oh ho ho. Oh ho my god. You’re doing the remake of Beverly Hillbillies? You’re granny? What’s happening here?”

“Over the weekend I was so sure New England was going to win that I told a guy who used to be my friend that if New England lost, I would wear a dress on Letterman,” Sutherland confessed.

“But I mean if you’re going to commit to the dress, why not go all the way?” Letterman asked. “What about stockings and heels? Maybe a brooch? Maybe a necklace?”

“You shoulda seen me shopping for this thing today,” Sutherland quipped. “Not looking really butch now, am I?”

Well, no. Except for those military boots. Way to keep it real while publically humiliating yourself. Watch the full video below.

(Via The Daily Dish)

Danner Boot v. rag & bone's "Danner Combat Boot"

They say imitation is the biggest form of flattery. However, when that imitation poses a threat to the bottom line … well, we all know what comes next.

A lawsuit, of course!

According to WWD, Danner Inc. has filed a lawsuit against rag & bone over the New York-based label’s “Danner Combat Boots by rag & bone.” Obviously, they weren’t shy about who inspired their black lace-up, combat-style boot, which is carried by Barney’s New York and Saks Fifth Avenue reports New York Magazine. Above is a side-by-side comparison of the two boots, the original Danner boot on the right and rag & bone’s version on the left.

In addition to the rag & bone suit, Danner is also suing Acadia Footwear, a Portland boutique, for name infringement. Danner’s trademarked Acadia boots were developed more than 25 years ago.

Other noteworthy ’shoe suits’:

• Balenciaga v. Steve Madden – Selling “inspired-by” shoes for just pennies compared to the originals, Steve Madden’s blatant imitation brought on a suit from Spanish designer Balenciaga.
• Alexander McQueen v. Steve Madden – At it again, Steve Madden was named in another late 2009 suit claiming that the New York-based footwear designer copied Alexander McQueen’s trademarked zipper.
• Nike v. Chinese Shoemakers – Nike won a 2007 lawsuit against Chinese shoemakers that were using the Air Jordan logo on athletic shoes not produced by Nike.
• Adidas v. Topline – Even though Topline’s white shoes had one more and one less stripe than Adidas’ three-stripe Superstar sneaker, that didn’t stop Adidas from suing for infringement.
• Gwyneth Shoes v. Paris Hilton – One of the latest ’shoe suits’ is over insoles. That’s right: Insoles, the part of the shoe you can’t even see! Gwyneth Shoes is claiming that Paris Hilton’s footwear line stole its heart-shaped insole.

(Image via NyMag.com)

Vintage WWII Jump Boots

What’s one of the best ways to remember the soldiers who fought before? Picking up a pair of vintage combat boots will certainly do the trick.

Boots from another era pours on the nostalgia and forces you to remember those who served before every time you lace those puppies up. Even if you don’t plan on actually wearing the boots, they can certainly make a great collector’s item for any history buff or enthusiast.

But where can you buy older-than-dirt boots? eBay, of course!

Right now you can find more than 75 results when you search for “vintage military boots,” though it definitely takes some sifting to find real gold.

Here is a pair of vintage WWII Jump brown boots that appear to be authentic, especially with a $600 price tag. According to the seller, these boots are excellent condition and were made in the USA. The boots, however, are strikingly similar to a pair of historic military Corcoran brown jump boots that retail for $159.99. This style of boot is said to have played a part in the Allies’ success during WWII.

Vintage Vietnam NAM Jungle Boots

Jungle boots are another style up for grabs on eBay. Although they’ve been worn a few times, the vintage Vietnam NAM Jungle boots is spike protective and dated 6-66 on the top (which is a little spooky!). Jungle boots actually gained major momentum during the Vietnam era with troops climbing through heavy, damp brush doing their best to avoid booby traps and who knows what else. Here’s another pair of vintage, Vietnam-era boots. However, to us, they look neither vintage nor like combat boots.

While buying vintage boots can be a fun hobby, we don’t recommend entering any battles with old school boots. Boot technology has improved greatly during the past 40 years. Military boots now carry features such as side zippers and enhanced waterproofing. It’s those little things that make life easier when you’re on tour. If you own a pair of vintage boots already and just want to fix ‘em up, look into getting them recrafted. They’ll be shining like new in no time.

Counterculture groups like punks and goths have always embraced combat-style boots and dress. The look possesses that very extreme, fight-the-man edge, which typically scares the bejesus out of any little old lady crossing the street.

And then every so often the traditional soldier appearance mixes in with these extreme fashion statements, and it injects its sexed-up self into the mainstream. Such is the case in R&B star Rihanna’s new music video for “Hard.” She explained the music video’s concept to MTV as “couture military. … We have tanks, we have troops, we’ve got helicopters, we’ve got explosions.”

In the video, the controversial singer sports an army-green mesh helmet and fatigues, aviator sunglasses, high-waist hot pants, military boots and what appears to be black Sonic the Hedgehog shoulder pads. While some of her outfits are very loosely based on modern soldier uniforms, the gold bikini, which appears later in the video, seems more likely inspired by Xena Warrior Princess or Princess Leia’s infamous metal bikini.

What do you think of her Lady Gaga-esque military look? Would anyone serving our country actually wear any of these styles? We’re gonna have to doubt it.