Chelsea boots are close-fitting, ankle-high boots with an elastic side panel. They often have a loop or tab of fabric on the back of the boot, enabling the boot to be pulled on. The boot dates back to the Victorian era, when it was worn by both men and women. Chelsea boots and some of their variants were considered an iconic element of the 1960s in Britain, particularly the

mod Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...

scene.

History

The design is credited to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

's shoemaker Joseph Sparkes Hall. The shoemaker, Joseph Sparkes Hall, claimed that "She (Queen Victoria) walks in them daily and thus gives the strongest proof of the value she attaches to the invention". In his advertising of the period, he refers to the boot as ''J. Sparkes Hall's Patent Elastic Ankle Boots''. The boot became popular for horse riding as well as walking.

Charles Goodyear Charles Goodyear (December 29, 1800 – July 1, 1860) was an American self-taught chemist and manufacturing engineer who developed vulcanized rubber, for which he received patent number 3633 from the United States Patent Office on June 15, 1844. ...

's development of

vulcanised rubber Vulcanization (British: Vulcanisation) is a range of processes for hardening rubbers. The term originally referred exclusively to the treatment of natural rubber with sulfur, which remains the most common practice. It has also grown to include ...

enabled the invention of the elastic gusset boot. The advantage of elasticised boots meant they could be easily removed and put on again. By the late 1840s, the fashion began to catch on. This became a prominent style in the West until the onset of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In the 1950s and 1960s, Chelsea boots became popular in the UK – and their association with the

King's Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents), is a major street stretching through Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

(a street in

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

and

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

in inner western London) set of

Swinging London The Swinging Sixties was a youth-driven cultural revolution that took place in the United Kingdom during the mid-to-late 1960s, emphasising modernity and fun-loving hedonism, with Swinging London as its centre. It saw a flourishing in art, mus ...

– worn by everyone from the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

Jean Shrimpton Jean Rosemary Shrimpton (born 7 November 1942) is an English model and actress. She was an icon of Swinging London and is considered to be one of the world's first supermodels. She appeared on numerous magazine covers including ''Vogue,'' ''Har ...

– is believed to explain how the name ''Chelsea'' became attached to the boot.

Variations and similar styles

Beatle boots

Theatrical and ballet shoe maker

Anello & Davide Anello & Davide (founded 1922) is a footwear company based in Covent Garden, London. It specialises in ballet shoes and theatrical footwear as well as making high quality fashion footwear for men and women. They are perhaps best known as the shoema ...

created a variant of the Chelsea boot in 1961 with Cuban heels and pointed toes for

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, after

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

saw some Chelsea boots in its shop window and commissioned four pairs with higher, Cuban heels – this style became known as

Beatle boots A Beatle boot or Baba boot is a style of boot that has been worn since the late 1950s but made popular by the English rock group the Beatles in the 1960s. The boots are a variant of the Chelsea boot: they are tight-fitting, Cuban-heeled, an ...

. Beatle boots, as were Chelsea boots, were frequently adopted by mods and worn with tailored suits.

Work boots

Variants used as work boots include a type of

riding boot A riding boot is a boot made to be used for horse riding. The classic boot comes high enough up the leg to prevent the leathers of the saddle from pinching the leg of the rider, has a sturdy toe to protect the rider's foot when on the ground and ...

called

Jodhpur boot The Jodhpur boot is an ankle boot or Chelsea boot designed as a riding boot with a rounded toe and a low heel. They originally fastened with a strap and buckle, but today the term also includes designs with straps that do not wrap entirely aroun ...

s, originating from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, as well as other designs, including

Australian work boots An Australian work boot (or generically elastic-sided boot) is a style of work shoe, typically constructed with a leather upper bound together with elastic sides and pull tabs on the front and back of the boot. The shoe lacks a tongue, and laces, ...

like those manufactured by

Blundstone Blundstone Footwear ( ) is an Australian footwear brand, based in Hobart, Tasmania, with most manufacturing being done overseas since 2007. The company's best-known product is its line of laceless, elastic-sided, ankle-length boots. The official ...

and other companies. Such work boots may have

steel toe This is a list of characters appearing in the animated series ''Kim Possible''. Overview Team Possible Kim Possible * Voiced by Christy Carlson Romano and Dakota Fanning (young) * Portrayed by Sadie Stanley Kimberly Ann "Kim" Possible is a ...

s. In

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

this kind of boot is known as a ''botina''. Often rugged and utilitarian in design, and similar to Australian work boots, they are commonly associated with caipiras or the rural population in general.

References

External links