DIY – How to make gothic boots

Halloween is just around the corner and my costume calls for something a little on the dark side. I’m going goth, so I’ll definitely need some chunky (and spikey) platform boots to go with my ensemble. Those trademark boots can run you upwards of $100.

Here’s how I was able to get the look for just $11.50 with a few great finds from the thrift store and Party City:

vinyl platform boots (falling apart but still wearable) – $3 @ community thrift store

spiked dog collar choker – on clearance for $2.50 @ Party City

black O-ring belt – $2 @ Goodwill

black studded belt – $2 @ Goodwill

Velcro – $2 @ Habitat ReStore

DIY goth boots

Materials

The final look of your boots will depend on what kinds of pieces you find for cheap, but here are some guidelines on what to look for when you go thrifting.

• Pair of black vinyl, pleather or leather boots, preferably with a chunky platform.
• At least 2 black leather, pleather, or vinyl belts with plenty of metal hardware on them. The more spikes, studs, and buckles, the better.
• Accessories with metal or metallic accents, such as bracelets or chokers that have spikes, studs, and buckles.
• Hot glue, Elmer’s glue, and Tacky glue (you will need all of these)

Tools

• Hot glue gun
• Sharp, heavy-duty scissors (sewing scissors work well)
• Rubber bands

How I did it

I cut apart the choker to separate the bands of spikes.

I heavily coated the back of each band with hot glue, Elmer’s glue, and Tacky glue. I applied one band around the platform of each boot. The hot glue helped bond the band immediately to keep it from shifting while the Elmer’s and Tacky glue were drying.

I wrapped the foot of each boot with rubber bands to hold the spiked bands in place while the glue dried overnight.

I hot glued the leftover pieces of the choker to the back of the heels.

(Here you can see the heavy wear and tear on these $3 thrift store boots!)

Next I measured the O-ring belt around the calf of each boot to get an idea of what length I would need for each boot.

I had enough belt to wrap around the top of each boot so I cut the belt into two pieces. I applied Velcro to the ends of each piece so that I could wrap it around the top of the boots. (I used Velcro rather than glue to attach these pieces because gluing would have covered the boot’s zippers, which I needed access to if I was ever going to take off the boots!)

Velcro shown on top side

Velcro shown on top and underside

I wrapped the O-ring belt pieces around the calf of each boot.

Here you can see that I kept the seams on the inside near the zipper to make them less visible. Another trick to hide the seams–On the part of the belt where you cut with scissors, color the cut edge with black Sharpie marker to help the edges blend into the rest of the boot.

The look so far:

For a final detail, I cut small pieces from the studded belt and hot glued to the front of each boot. (I used the remaining pieces of the belt to create other accessories for my costume.)

All done! Here’s the final look:

 

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Happy thrifting and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

 

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