Chelsea Boots are tight-fitting, ankle-high boots that originated in the Victorian era

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

, and were originally associated with horse riding. The most notable feature of the Chelsea boot is its elastic siding, running from just above the welt to the top of the shoe. The design began as a type of riding boots known as paddock boots or jodhpur boot

Jodhpur boot

The jodhpur boot is an ankle 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 around the ankle and the elastic-sided design without a strap also known as...

s. Chelsea boots were considered an element of the 1960s mod scene, and they have recently become in fashion again amongst men as well as women. Similar boots are the heavier Australian work boots

Australian work boots

An Australian work 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, and often contains a steel toe cap for occupational health and safety reasons...

 which are popular in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

Charles Goodyear's development of vulcanised rubber enabled Sparkes-Hall, bootmaker to Queen Victoria, to invent the elastic gusset boot in 1837. The advantage of elasticated boots meant they could be easily removed and put on again, which appealed to busier and more demanding lifestyle of Victorian women. 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

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

.

The boots were featured in the first three Star Wars

Star Wars

Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...

 films, worn by the stormtroopers of the Empire. The stormtrooper boots were standard black Chelsea boots which were stained white.

See also

• Winklepicker
  Winklepicker
  Winklepickers are a style of shoe or boot worn from the 1950s onward by male and female British rock and roll fans...
  
  
• Beatle boots
  Beatle boots
  Beatle boots are a style of boot that have been worn since the 1960s. The boots are tight-fitting, Cuban-heeled, ankle-high boots with a sharp pointed toe, made popular by the English rock group The Beatles, for whom they were originally made. The style can feature either zipped or elastic sides...
  
  
• Riding boot
  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 has a distinct heel to prevent the foot from sliding...