I’ve never owned a pair of desert boots. This is principally because I used to perceive them as trainer replacements for men in their thirties. You know, for when you just want to be comfortable, but it is harder to ignore a nagging wife than a casual girlfriend.
Don’t get me wrong, I think they are a stylish, classic design. And I am rapidly approaching the territory described above. For a long time I have been debating which colour to go for when I finally buy a pair.
The origins of desert boots can be traced back to 1949 when Nathan Clark created the Clarks Original version with pattern cutter Bill Tuxhill. He had been inspired by officers in the Eighth Army he met in Burma. They wore rough suede boots with crepe soles that they commissioned at the Old Bazaar in Cairo.
It is believed that the design is based on the Dutch voortrekker boot worn by the South African section of the Eighth Army in the Western Desert. The strong military connection to the boot is the reason for another of its lasting appeals: durability. The crepe sole may be flexible and light, but it is designed for miles of marching on uncertain terrain. The grip is excellent too.
It is highly probable that the initial designs were also based on chukka boots (or turf boots). These calfskin or suede boots for polo were popular after World War II and, although they are tighter at the ankle and have leather soles, the similarities are plain to see.
Surprisingly, Clark’s desert boot first had success in France and Italy, but it wasn’t long before the UK cottoned on. And only a year after the first designs of the two-piece upper, two-hole lace-up design, the boot was showcased at the Chicago Shoe Fair in 1950. (On a side note, does the Shoe Fair still exist? Anyone in Chicago out there?)
In the following years, the desert boot gained popular appeal. Bob Dylan wore them, The Beatles did too (before they rejigged the Chelsea boot and Steve McQueen sported a pair in The Great Escape.
But it wasn’t just music and movie icons that wore them. In 1967, Lord Shackleton, deputy leader of the House of Lords, popularised desert boots in Government after he returned from Aden with a pair he had commissioned.
Sixty years on and the desert boot is as popular as ever. I may not be 30 yet, but because of this article, I will definitely be getting a pair soon. Just two words did it for me: Bob Dylan.
