Coachella's Overwhelming Fashion Statement: Low Boots With Low Heels

Getty Images

It was only practical: the polo fields of Coachella were wet, then cold, then dusty, then just plain old dirty. There's no room for fancy footwear here, even if you're Rihanna or Katy Perry. What we saw everywhere we looked, from the mosh pits to the VIP area to backstage: low, flat boots, in a cowboy or motorcycle shape, a trend spawned from Isabel Marant's "Dicker" boots a few seasons back.

our editor recommends

Coachella 2012: Snoop Dogg Resurrects Tupac Shakur Via Hologram (Video)

Coachella 2012: Rihanna Finds Love With Calvin Harris

PHOTOS: Scene At Coachella Music Festival 2012

The streetwear designer is pretty much singlehandedly responsible for starting the trend a few years ago of the low boot with the low heel, or cowboy boot heel. Her Dicker boot went around the world, and she's kept it in all her collections for many seasons. Now there's a thousand knockoffs and every color one can imagine. We've seen plenty of L.A. chicks -- at art openings, offices, Whole Foods and parties -- pairing flat boots with everything you can imagine: fancy dresses, pleated skirts, jeans, leggings, shorts, summer dresses, winter dresses, sweaters, etc. They're the go-to footwear of spring and, while there's nothing summery about them, these boots are shaping up to be 2012's big warm-weather style. A far cry from high-heeled Louboutin strappy sandals. (Does this mean the hippie chick look is back in style? Are women suddenly feeling the need for some comfort and practicality? These boots can be sexy, too, if you wear them with something short or filmy.)

Ke$ha is seen here at Coachella in a short white dress, a multitude of bracelets and dusty short boots. Very funky. Most of the colors we saw them in were black, dark brown, a grey beige hybrid, and that orange leather tone. Now there's a version you can get at Barneys for $800 and at Nordstrom for $70 -- not to mention a cheaper Urban Outfitters boot, which is just as good. They look much more authentic and cool when they're scuffed up -- particularly with dirt from Coachella.