Combat Boots

Combat Boots are also popular as fashion clothing in the goth, punk, heavy metal, industrial, skinhead, and BDSM subcultures. Beyond fashion as such, many individuals choose to wear combat boots simply due to durability, comfort and other utilities, as the boots are specifically designed to be comfortable to wear in a variety of changing conditions for long durations without significant long-term wear. For these and other reasons, they can be purchased in almost every moderately sized city at military surplus stores.

Typical goth dress usually consists of popular tight-fitting trousers, pointy boots, flouncy shirts in the manner of Lord Byron, and anything with buckles on it. The nature of the event will to some degree dictate the dress code, but expression of personal style is generally more important, and it's not unusual for several club-goers on a given night to appear dressed very formally or elaborately in a way unrelated to the specific event.

Borrowing from punk fashion, sometimes goths will tear or cut their clothes apart (usually with scissors), then repair their clothes with safety pins or similar concepts to fit a particular goth style associated with punk, industrial or similar music cultures. This creates a particular 'splitting at the seams' look, that can also be seen in clothing decorated by multiple buckles. Like the punk subculture with which it shares roots, early goth fashion had a strong emphasis on the DIY (Do It Yourself) ethic (this DIY approach is not as common as it was in the 1980s).

Platform boots are boots, with thick wedge soles or a combination of thick soles and high heels that are similar in some respects to the platform shoe. They were seen as the cutting edge of fashion in the UK during the 1970s and were worn by both men and women. Since the 1970's ended, the platform boot declined in popularity. However, some music artists have worn them in music videos and on stage.

Marilyn Manson wore platform boots on the Mechanical Animals promo and Rock Is Dead tours. His main outfit was a black mesh jumpsuit with feathers on the ends of the sleeves and the collar, a black thong with about 6 rivets on the front, as well as black platform boots.

For his Grotesque Burlesque tour and associated promotion, Manson, as well as most of the other band members, wore platforms——most notably in the shots taken by Gottfried Helnwein. For live performances, the prominent wearers were Manson, Skold, John 5, and Pogo. Ginger wore them too, but most of the time they were hidden behind his drumset. They were only viewed when he stood up on the drums, tried to "trash" one or two, then jumped off and ran offstage. These styles of boots are also popular in the goth fashion.