All about boots!

My office is sending me somewhere.  To wherever that is I would not reveal yet until I have that ticket.  Besides, it's too early for me to divulge and it's not that sure yet.  : D


But I just can't hide my excitement!!!


Anyway,  I am here to write about some things I have researched about...boots.  I love experimenting on my footwear.  And I would really love to wear boots.  However, since we are in a tropical country, I don't think it is practical to wear such.  However, I still had some opportunities in wearing one! Ha ha. 

Anyway, as I have done my research I found out that there are many...as in many types of boots and it really amazed me!


1. Chelsea or Beatle -- are ankle high with a pointed toe and side gores of elastic popularized by the Beatles in the 1960’s.

2. Chukka – (also see Desert Boots) are ankle high, with two eyelets, usually suede, unlined, cushy crepe-rubber sole. Originally worn by polo players and derived from chukka, a period in polo games. First worn in the U.S. in 1924 by the Duke of Windsor who had visited India, played a little polo and picked up a few pairs of these boots.

3. Combat – the ones your mother wears were waterproof, lace up the front and have a thick rubber outsole, and designed for U.S. Armed forces, especially the infantry. This is currently making waves in fashion runways!

4. Cowboy – pointed toes for slipping into a stirrup, high heels for keeping you there. The origins of the Cowboy Boot were as riding boots for the marauding Mongol tribesmen. This is especially popularized by Taylor Swift!

5. Desert -- similar to Chukka boots but usually lined, and made with stitchdown construction, where the upper is not wrapped under your toes, but turned outward, like a flange and sewn directly to the outsole. Desert boots were introduced by Clarks in the 1950’s for the general public. They were modeled after the boots custom made in a Cairo bazaar for Montgomery’s Eighth Army, which were patterned after the "veldtschoen" worn by Boer farmers in South Africa.

And of course, fashion has found a way to innovate this in its favor:

Can you imagine walking the desert with this? Lolz!

6. Doc Martens – A German Doctor, Klaus Maertens, was recovering from a skiing accident in Seeshaupt, Bavaria. His injuries made walking uncomfortable and he couldn’t find comfortable shoes. Along with Herbert Funck, an engineer, in 1945 he devised a method of heat-sealing a shoe sole to the upper creating a cavity or air cushion. He started to produce the "air sole" in 1947 and sold the shoes in Europe. In 1959 the Doctor licensed production in the United Kingdom to R. Griggs & Co. of Northamptonshire, England. Northamptonshire, north of London in the East Midlands is the traditional center of England's leather trade and over the ages has produced some of the world's finest footwear. The first Dr. Martens (Griggs anglicized the name) were produced April 1, 1960.

7. Engineer or Motorcycle – 12 inch high, straight sided, with low heel and leather strap buckled across the instep. Motorcyclists of the fifties to protect their legs from the heat of the engine wore the boot.

8. Galoshes (also golosh, galoches or pattens) – a waterproof ankle-high boot worn over the shoe. Originally a wooden platform, which buckled on, elevating the foot from the filth of the street. They were popular from the 14^th to 17^th centuries. Galoshes consisted of wooden soles, with a leather top. The footwear was serviceable, hardwearing and provided protection from the wet ground. The term also describes an overshoe originally of leather and or fabric and now usually rubber.

Aren't these what we call rain boots?

9. Hiking – Provide support above the ankle with suede leather upper, padded collar and soft leather lining. Lace up front usually with a cushioned insole and padded quarter and tongue. They often have Vibram lug-type outsoles and heel. See the section on how to break these in.

10. Hip – rubber fishing boot extending to the hips with straps to fasten to belt. I'm sorry but I find this type funny.

11. Hessian –A high, tasseled boot introduced into England by Hessians in the 19th century.

12. Heuse -- high soft leather shoes that were forerunners of modern boots, they appeared towards the ninth century AD. O! I love love this!

13. Jockey – made of smooth dark leather with a cuff than turns down to reveal a lighter color lining.

14. Mukluk – reaching to lower calf, originally worn by Alaskan Eskimos and made of walrus hide or sealskin, moccasin construction, tanned with the hair left on. Would the “ugg” qualify here?

15. Riding – high boot to below the knee, for horseback riding, may have bootstraps at the top for ease of pulling on the boots.

16. Wellington – Named for the Duke of Wellington, British military hero who defeated Napoleon in the 1815 Battle of Waterloo. He eventually became Britain’s Prime Minister. The boot is to the knee with a seam below the ankle giving the appearance of a shoe to which the upper boot was attached, and seams down the sides to the ankle with strap and buckle at the top to keep water and shrubbery out. The boot is high in the front and cut away in back to let you bend your knee on horseback. Wellington’s originals were of soft leather, but in the late 1800’s Gates Rubber Company of Scotland started making the style in soft dark green rubber! They were successfully put to the test again during World War I along with the Burberry trench coat.

Any more types I haven't mentioned? Whew!

Source: www.askandyaboutclothes.com