{{Short description|Close-fitting ankle boot with elastic panels}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}} [[File:Chelsea boot, black.jpg|thumb|Chelsea boot in black calf leather]]
'''Chelsea boots''' are close-fitting, ankle-length boots with elastic side panels, a low heel and a snug fit around the ankle. 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Genova |first=Aneta |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g9DWEAAAQBAJ&dq=chelsea+boots&pg=PA178 |title=Accessory Design |date=20 September 2011 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-62892-161-8 |language=en}}</ref>
Chelsea boots and some of their variants were considered an iconic fashion element of the 60s in Britain, particularly in the mod scene.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}
==History== [[File:Chelsea boot, brown suede.jpg|thumb|Chelsea boot in brown suede]]
The design is credited to Queen Victoria's shoemaker Joseph Sparkes Hall.<ref name="Esquire Nov2012">{{cite news |last1=staff |title=The perfect Chelsea boot |url=http://www.esquire.co.uk/style/shoes/207/object-of-desire-the-perfect-chelsea-boot/ |access-date=13 July 2014 |publisher=Esquire |date=27 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714171713/http://www.esquire.co.uk/style/shoes/207/object-of-desire-the-perfect-chelsea-boot/ |archive-date=14 July 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Hall claimed that "She (Queen Victoria) walks in them daily and thus gives the strongest proof of the value she attaches to the invention".<ref name="Mr Porter Mar2011">{{cite news|last1=staff |title=The Edit: Chelsea Boots |url=http://www.mrporter.com/journal/journal_issue2/5 |access-date=13 July 2014 |issue=2/5 |publisher=Mr Porter |date=2 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130628232837/http://www.mrporter.com/journal/journal_issue2/5 |archive-date=28 June 2013 }}</ref> In his advertising they are branded ''J. Sparkes Hall's Patent Elastic Ankle Boots''.<ref name="GG_Nanjappa">{{cite web |last1=Nanjappa |first1=Vikram |title=The Chelsea Boots Guide |url=http://www.gentlemansgazette.com/chelsea-boots-guide/ |website=gentlemansgazette.com |publisher=Gentleman's Gazette |access-date=13 July 2014 |ref=13 September 2013}}</ref> The boot became popular for horse riding as well as walking.<ref name="Mr Porter Mar2011" />
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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://podiatry.curtin.edu.au/boot.html |title=The History of Boots |last=Kippen |first=Cameron |website=Department of Podiatry |publisher=Curtin University |location=Perth, Western Australia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070812205218/http://podiatry.curtin.edu.au/boot.html |archive-date=2007-08-12 |url-status=dead |access-date=2013-09-21}}</ref>
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.<ref name="Mr Porter Mar2011" /><ref name="GG_Nanjappa" />
==Variations and similar styles== [[File:The Beatles i Hötorgscity 1963.jpg|thumb|right|The Beatles, seen here in 1963, helped to popularise Chelsea boots.]] ===Beatle boots=== {{Main|Beatle 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.<ref>{{cite book| last = Bramwell| first = Tony| title = Magical Mystery Tours: My Life with the Beatles | publisher = Robson | year = 2004 | page = 34 | isbn = 0-312-33043-X}}</ref>
Beatle boots, along with Chelsea boots, were frequently adopted by mods and rockers and worn with tailored suits.<ref name="GG_Nanjappa" />
===Work boots=== [[File:AustralianElasticSidedBoots.JPG|thumb|Australian work boots are a variation of the Chelsea boot.]]
Variants 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 R.M. Williams, Blundstone and other companies.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nanjappa |first=Vikram |date=30 October 2021 |title=The Jodhpur Boots Guide |url=https://nanjappavikram.medium.com/the-jodhpur-boots-guide-a0f7324687c6 |access-date=2024-08-28 |website=Medium |language=en}}</ref> Such work boots may have steel toes. In Brazil 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.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Norogrando|first=Rafaela|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VsqCDwAAQBAJ|title=Moda, música & sentimento|date=8 January 2019|publisher=Editora Estação Das Letras e Cores|isbn=978-85-68552-43-8|language=pt-BR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=|first=|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d_NI-tX_IYsC&pg=PA42|title=Placar Magazine|date=March 1996|publisher=Editora Abril|pages=42|language=pt}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=19 July 2013|title=Curiosidades do Campo: veja como as botas do homem do campo são fabricadas|url=https://www.canalrural.com.br/programas/informacao/jornal-da-pecuaria/curiosidades-campo-veja-como-botas-homem-campo-sao-fabricadas-22723/|access-date=2022-01-01|website=Canal Rural|language=pt-BR}}</ref>
==See also== *List of boots *List of shoe styles *Side-gusset shoes *Beatle boots and Winklepickers *Riding boots, Jodhpur boots, and Australian work boots
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== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.gentlemansgazette.com/chelsea-boots-guide/ Gentleman's Gazette article showing original Sparkes-Hall advert for boot]
{{Footwear}}
Category:1850s fashion Category:1950s fashion Category:1960s fashion Category:19th-century fashion Category:Boots Category:Leather clothing