The Chelsea is a fitted, flat ankle boot that features elastic sides instead of laces. And when it comes to shoes, there aren’t many out there with a history as interesting.
The victorian era
Sparkes-Hall who was Queen Victoria’s shoemaker is credited with the original design and got it patented in 1851. The Queen loved them and walked around in them every day. The Boot was popular with the more affluent members of society including those who rode horses.
The elastic soul
The original Chelsea boots designed by Sparkes-Hall looked distinctively different from the one sitting in your shoe closet now. But the feature that prevails, and the feature that essentially made the Chelsea boot, was the elasticised sides.
The money is in the name
But it wasn’t always called the “Chelsea boot”. It was known simply as: “elastic ankle boots”. The name only came much, much later in the mid 1950s.
The «Chelsea» boots are born
It was during the 50s when the artsy bunch including fashionista Mary Quant started favouring these boots again. They frequented King’s Road in West London and were dubbed the “Chelsea set” by the media. The name Chelsea became synonymous with their lifestyle and fashion style, with the latter including the elastic ankle boots.
The ‘Swinging Sixties’
Originally designed for royalty, now it was being worn by music royalty from The Rolling Stones to The Beatles. The ‘Swinging Sixties’ was well underway and The Chelsea Boot became one of the most iconic fashion items to have.
From the Queen of England to Star Wars
In 1977, the first Star Wars was released. Believe it or not, the shoe plays a bigger part than you probably may have realised. If you look closely enough, you’ll notice that the Stormtroopers are wearing Chelsea Boots. They are dyed white of course!
Chelsea Boots Today
With 1960’s fashion trending so heavily today, it’s no surprise that the Chelsea boot is enjoying a trend resurgence. They have been spotted on the runways of many major designers from Saint Laurent to Burberry Prorsum.
Made-to-Order Chelsea Boots
As any other style, our Chelsea Boots can be ordered as MTO (single pair) or BULK (small batches and ready-to-wear production). They can be designed with hundreds of materials including box calf, suede, hand painted patina and exotic skins like python or alligator.
