Chelsea boot

Non-leather Chelsea boots.

Chelsea Boots (also known as dealer boots) are tight-fitting, ankle-high boots that originated in the Victorian era, 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 boots. 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 which are popular in Australia.

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.

The boots were featured in the first three Star Wars films, worn by the stormtroopers of the Empire. The stormtrooper boots were standard black Chelsea boots which were stained white.

Black, flat-soled Chelsea/dealer boots with steel-toes were issued to US Navy flight deck personnel as an alternative to the taller lace-up style flight deck boots. They are no longer issued but are still authorized to wear with the coveralls uniform.

See also

Australian work boots are similar to Chelsea boots.

• Winklepicker
• Beatle boots
• Riding boot