Signature style! Mary J. Blige doesn’t shy away from experimenting when it comes to fashion. But there’s one accessory that the 51-year-old singer likes to keep constant: her knee-high boots.
From the early aughts up until present day, the “Family Affair” singer has made a point to incorporate fabulous footwear into her on stage performances and red carpet outfits. She’s teamed up with designers to create custom looks and rocked shoes straight off the runway.
Her decision to opt for boots over heels started at the onset of her career. In a 2018 interview with The Cut, Blige explained that her fashion choices weren’t just a reflection of her “tomboy” demeanor (she “hated” dresses and skirts), but also served as a tool for “survival” in the industry.
“I worked with a lot of men and grew up around a lot of men,” she said at the time. “I didn’t want them to look at me like that. I kind of sat like them, talked like them, even subconsciously, so they wouldn’t look at me like I’m a girl.”
While her original shoe style focused on shorter, flatter boots that hit just below the knee, she eventually evolved into wearing thigh-high boots with skinny heels.
Blige’s stylist, Misa Hylton touched on the singer’s evolution in a 2021 interview with NYLON. “Our creative process has always been very organic and authentic to whatever stage we were at in our lives,” she said. “In the beginning, there was a lot of focus on street style and hip hop wear: combat boots, baseball caps and jerseys.”
She continued: “Then as we both grew as young women, the styles continued to transform, but always keeping those hip hop elements like the hoop earrings and the combat boot turned into a thigh-high boot and so on.”
Most recently, the Queen of Hip Hop debuted a custom pair of Peter Dundas leather boots during her halftime performance at the 2022 Super Bowl. The shoes featured stunning floral silver appliques — and naturally came along with a matching hat and outfit. The whole look sent fans into a tizzy, with many taking to social media to share their obsession.
To see Blige’s fabulous footwear from the Super Bowl — and all of her other amazing fashion moments — keep scrolling. From her best BET Awards boot moments to her gilded gold shoes at the Met Gala, Us Weekly’s Stylish has rounded up her best shoe statements of all time!