Alexis Petridis: A step in the retro direction

Is there a historical cutoff point where clothes cease to be "retro" (with all the cool connotations of witty postmodernity that phrase ­entails) and turn into dressing up like someone from the past, complete with a load of naff Sealed Knot , out-of-work-actor-­parading-around-a-museum-in-a-codpiece-saying-"Prithee, young sir"-to-gangs-of-scary-schoolchildren baggage? If so, it probably lurks in the early 20th ­century: fashion from the 20s ­onwards still exerts an influence on how we look today; anything from before that counts as fancy dress. It's a question that's played on my mind ever since I discovered the traditional footwear makers William Lennon , a Derbyshire family firm that has been in business since 1899. Some of the stuff they make is so determinedly, dementedly of the past that you ­wonder if ­anyone actually buys it. Are there really any takers for ­hobnailed shepherd's boots, fully sprung for added comfort as you pursue a flock over a fell? Can Lennon's craftsmen keep up with demand for the range (yes, "range" as in more than one ­design) of tug-of-war boots? But despite the fact that it's a perfect replica of ­something designed ­almost 100 years ago, ­Lennon's World War 1 B5 boot feels nothing like a historical artefact. Not only is it a thing of huge ­aesthetic loveliness (not a phrase readily ­associated with the trenches), it's also, to use a ghastly phrase, ­surprisingly on-trend, given the current vogue for big boots: something from the era before retro that doesn't ­belong in the dressing-up box. • Alexis wears World War 1 B5 boots, £143.95, by William Lennon . All other clothes, Alexis's own. Photograph: David Newby.