Three years before Amy Winehouse famously refused to go to rehab (“No, no, no”), she was stirring up the British music charts with a bleeped out song title. Never one to keep quiet about touchy topics, Winehouse released “F*** Me Pumps,” a song which was an indictment against women who dress just for men, in hopes a wealthy one might take her home and whisk her away from the cares of having to seduce a man in order to be secure. The second single on her debut album Frank, “F*** Me Pumps” reached number 65 on the U.K. Singles Chart. She sang, in her signature soulful, gravelly voice, “When you walk in the bar, and you dressed like a star, rockin’ your F me pumps,” drawing the conclusion during the entire song that women who behave that way (dressing for men, going home with whomever she thinks might have a lot of money) are unfortunate, making it almost impossible to get out of that cycle. During the low-budget video for the song, Winehouse is seen wearing black leather peep-toe pumps, trimmed in white.
Winehouse’s untimely death in 2011–after releasing only two full-length albums–left a hole in music and in fashion, her signature black bouffant, retro style and cat-eye makeup. The end of the “F*** Me Pumps” video shows Winehouse kicking off her own shoes and walking away bare footed.