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{{Short description|Close-fitting ankle boot with elastic panels}}File:Chelsea boot, black.jpg|thumb|Chelsea boots in black calf leather ]]Chelsea boots are close-fitting, ankle-high boots with elastic side panels. 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 fashion element of the '60s in Britain, particularly in the mod scene.

History

File:Chelsea boot, brown suede.jpg|thumb|Chelsea boots in brown suedesuedeThe design is credited to Queen Victoria's shoemaker Joseph Sparkes Hall.NEWS, staff, The perfect Chelsea boot,weblink 13 July 2014, Esquire, 27 November 2012,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140714171713weblink">weblink 14 July 2014, dead, Hall claimed that "She (Queen Victoria) walks in them daily and thus gives the strongest proof of the value she attaches to the invention".NEWS, staff, The Edit: Chelsea Boots,weblink 13 July 2014, 2/5, Mr Porter, 2 March 2011, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130628232837weblink">weblink June 28, 2013, In his advertising they are branded J. Sparkes Hall's Patent Elastic Ankle Boots.WEB, Nanjappa, Vikram, The Chelsea Boots Guide,weblink gentlemansgazette.com, Gentleman's Gazette, 13 July 2014, 13 September 2013, The boot became popular for horse riding as well as walking. The term "chelsea boot" emerged a few years before the beginning of the Victorian era, being the name used by London cobbler Thomas Cotton by 1831.NEWS, 2 Dec 1831, Gazette, November 29, en, 7, Liverpool Mercury, Lancashire,weblink subscription, 3 Jun 2023, NEWS, 3 Dec 1831, BANKRUPTS, en, 637, Cobbett's Weekly Political Register, London,weblink subscription, 3 Jun 2023, NEWS, 1 Dec 1831, TUESDAY's LONDON GAZETTE - BANKRUPTS, en, 3, The Cheltenham Chronicle and Gloucestershire Advertiser, Cheltenham,weblink subscription, 3 Jun 2023, NEWS, 10 Dec 1831, BANKRUPTS, Nov. 29, en, 2, The Newcastle Weekly Courant, Newcastle,weblink subscription, 3 Jun 2023, Charles Goodyear's development of vulcanised rubber enabled the invention of the elastic gusset boot. The advantage of elasticised boots meant they could be readily removed and put on. By the late 1840s they had become fashionable, and it remained a prominent style in the West until the onset of World War I.WEB,weblink The History of Boots, Kippen, Cameron, Department of Podiatry, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070812205218weblink">weblink 2007-08-12, dead, 2013-09-21, In the 1950s and 1960s, Chelsea boots enjoyed a resurgence in the UK – and their association with trendy King's Road (a street in Chelsea and Fulham in inner western London) social set of Swinging London – worn by everyone from the Rolling Stones to Jean Shrimpton – is when Chelsea became contemporary name of the boot.{{clear}}

Variations and similar styles

Beatle boots

(File:The Beatles i Hötorgscity 1963.jpg|thumb|right|The Beatles, seen here in 1963, helped to popularise Chelsea boots.)Theatrical and ballet shoe maker Anello & Davide created a variant of the Chelsea boot in 1961 with Cuban heels and pointed toes for the Beatles, after John Lennon and Paul McCartney saw some Chelsea boots in its shop window and commissioned four pairs with higher, Cuban heels – this style became known as Beatle boots.BOOK, Bramwell, Tony, Magical Mystery Tours: My Life with the Beatles, Robson, 2004, 34, 0-312-33043-X, Beatle boots, as were Chelsea boots, were frequently adopted by mods and worn with tailored suits.

Work boots

File:AustralianElasticSidedBoots.JPG|thumb|Australian work bootAustralian work bootVariants used as work boots include a type of riding boot called Jodhpur boots, originating from India, as well as other designs, including Australian work boots like those manufactured by Blundstone and other companies. Such work boots may have steel toes. In Brazil this kind of boot is known as a (wikt:botina#Portuguese|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.BOOK, Norogrando, Rafaela,weblink Moda, música & sentimento, 2019-01-08, Editora Estação Das Letras e Cores, 978-85-68552-43-8, pt-BR, BOOK,weblink Placar Magazine, March 1996, Editora Abril, 42, pt, WEB, 2013-07-19, Curiosidades do Campo: veja como as botas do homem do campo são fabricadas,weblink 2022-01-01, Canal Rural, pt-BR,

See also

• Side-gusset shoes
• Beatle boots & Winklepickers
• Riding boots, Jodhpur boots, & Australian work boots

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References

{{reflist}}Chelsea Boots: History, Styles, and How to Choose the Right Pair for You

External links

• Gentleman's Gazette article showing original Sparkes-Hall advert for boot
• Norfolk broads boat hire

{{Footwear}}