Stevie Nicks Had to Change Her Entire Wardrobe After She Broke Her Foot

In the late 1980s, Stevie Nicks had to give up her platform boots in exchange for athletic shoes. The singer, who made platform boots a part of her onstage uniform in the 1970s, had to switch things up after she broke her foot. She wasn’t prepared to give up her stage style for the sake of her injury, though. Nicks explained how she decorated a pair of Reeboks for her performances. This did require her to change up her whole wardrobe, though.

Stevie Nicks’ platform boots are a key part of her wardrobe

Nicks has maintained the same style since early in her career. Before getting onstage, she dons flowing dresses, hats, shawls, and platform boots. She noted that the boots are what really get her ready to perform. When she puts them on, she feels like herself. 

“That’s when I really feel like Stevie Nicks — I really feel myself turned into her,” she told The New York Times Style Magazine.

She waits until the last minute to put her boots on.

“I don’t put the boots on until right before I walk up to the stage,” she told Rolling Stone. “But when my little foot goes into that boot, it is like Cinderella. All of a sudden I become me.”

Stevie Nicks changed up her wardrobe after she broke her foot

While on tour in 1989, Nicks was unable to wear her boots. After breaking her foot, she needed to temporarily retire her boots.

“I broke my foot in a swimming pool this summer, and was in a cast for eight weeks,” she told the Austin American-Statesman. “I just got out of it when the tour began.”

She wore Reebok sneakers for a more comfortable fit. She also had to make changes to her wardrobe. The platform boots added a considerable amount of height to her short stature, and her dresses would have been too long.

“I spray-painted my Reeboks and put rhinestones on them and I had to have all my dresses altered because without my boots, I’m 5 inches shorter.”

The singer likes that she can also use her boots as a weapon

Luckily, Nicks could bring her boots back into her fashion rotation after her foot fully healed. She likes that the shoes give her height, but she also has a practical reason for wearing them: they can be used as a weapon.

“If you put on a pair of really strong suede boots to your knee, that have got a substantial little platform and a really good heel, then if somebody tries to drag you off that stage, you can seriously kick them with that boot,” she told Variety.

She’s never actually had to kick anyone, but she said it’s nice to have the option.

“Sometimes your fans just get out of control, and they’re so happy and so excited that they grab your hand — and you’re at a bad angle when you’re bending over to shake hands,” she said. “They could just pull you off, and it would be really easy to do. So that’s the point where you have to look at them like, ‘Don’t even think about it.’ My fans are great, but every once in a while, I’m happy to have my boots on.”