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Beatle boot

{{short description|Style of footwear}}

{{distinguish|The Beatles bootleg recordings}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}

{{Use British English|date=November 2010}}

File:Beatle boots.png

A Beatle boot or Cuban boot{{Cite web|title=::THE LOOK – adventures in rock and pop fashion:: » The Baba boot: 60s pop footwear of choice|url=https://rockpopfashion.com/blog/?p=1339|access-date=2022-01-28}} is a style of boot that has been worn since the late 1950s but made popular by the English rock group the Beatles in the 1960s. The boots are a variant of the Chelsea boot: they are tight-fitting, Cuban-heeled, ankle-high boots with a sharp pointed toe. The style can feature either elastic or zipped sides.{{cite book| last = Bassett McCleary| first = John| title = Hippie Dictionary: A Cultural Encyclopedia of the 1960s and 1970s| publisher = Ten Speed Press| year = 2004| page = 44| isbn = 1-58008-547-4}}

Beatle boots saw the reintroduction of high-heeled footwear for men.{{cite web|url=http://podiatry.curtin.edu.au/boot.html#beatle |title=Beatle Boots |access-date=2007-10-11 |last=Kippen |first=Cameron |work=The History of Boots |publisher=Department of Podiatry |quote=The Beatle Boot saw the reintroduction of heels for men. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010001055/http://podiatry.curtin.edu.au/boot.html |archive-date=10 October 2007 |url-status=dead }}

History

File:The Beatles i Hötorgscity 1963.jpg

Beatle boots are a direct descendant of the Chelsea boot, but have an even more pointed toe{{mdash}}compare the slightly earlier winklepickers{{mdash}}and a centre seam stitch running from ankle to toe, and the flamenco boot, from which its Cuban heel was derived. Beatle boots originated in 1958, but in October 1961 English musicians John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney saw Chelsea boots while in Hamburg, being worn by a London band, and then went to the London footwear company Anello & Davide to commission four pairs (with the addition of Cuban heels) for the Beatles, to complement their new suit image upon their return from Hamburg.{{cite book| last = Bramwell| first = Tony| title = Magical Mystery Tours: My Life with the Beatles| publisher = Robson| year = 2004| page = 34| isbn = 0-312-33043-X}}

Beatle boots were very popular with rock bands and artists during the late 1950s, but started to decline during the late 1960s. They were worn by subcultures such as Teddy Boys, beatniks, rockers and psyches etc. The boots saw a surge of popularity during the punk movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s but again started to decline throughout the 1990s.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}} During the late 2000s and early 2010s the boots have seen a steady surge in popularity.

Notable wearers

=Non-fictional=

{{div col|colwidth=15em}}

|url=http://www.popstarfeets.co.uk/2005/04/carl_barat.html

|title=Carl Barât

|access-date=2007-10-11

|last=Lawrence

|first=Helen

|date=18 April 2005

|publisher=Popstar Feets

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907095046/http://www.popstarfeets.co.uk/2005/04/carl_barat.html

|archive-date=2008-09-07

}}

|url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20070417/ai_n19013421

|title = Bob dylan

|access-date = 3 February 2008

|date = 17 April 2007

|work = The Independent

|page= 2

}} {{dead link|date=September 2010|bot=RjwilmsiBot|fix-attempted=yes}}

|url = http://exclaim.ca/Features/OnTheCover/gruesomes-back_from_grave

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121017213339/http://exclaim.ca/Features/OnTheCover/gruesomes-back_from_grave

|archive-date = 17 October 2012

|title = Back from the Grave

|access-date = 2007-12-29

|last = Lejtenyi

|first = Patrick

|date = June 2000

|publisher = Exclaim!

|quote = ...and the Beatle boots...

}}

|url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g1epc/is_bio/ai_2419201042

|title = The Rolling Stones

|access-date = 1 February 2008

|last = Bone

|first = Martyn

|work = St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture

|year=2002

}}

  • Alex Turner{{Cite web|last=Turner|first=Adam|date=28 January 2019|title=11 Best Chelsea boots for men 2019|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/shopping/esbest/fashion/shoes/best-chelsea-boots-for-men-a4048906.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190221235217/https://www.standard.co.uk/shopping/esbest/fashion/shoes/best-chelsea-boots-for-men-a4048906.html |archive-date=2019-02-21 |access-date=2021-02-10|website=Standard Evening|language=en}}
  • Richey Edwards
  • Andy Warhol{{cite web

|url = http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/life-and-style/warhols-foot-fetish/2007/11/19/1195321829121.html?page=2

|title = Warhol's foot fetish

|access-date = 29 December 2007

|date = 19 November 2007

|work = Brisbane Times

|agency = The Daily Telegraph

|page = 2

}}

  • Kanye West{{Cite web|last=Watamanuk|first=Tyler|title=The Future of the Chelsea Boot Has Arrived|url=https://www.gq.com/story/raf-simons-chelsea-boot-upgrade|access-date=2021-02-10|website=GQ|date=5 August 2020 |language=en-us}}

{{div col end}}

=Fictional=

|url= http://www.rockyhorrorcostumelist.info/anlriff.htm

|title= Riff Raff: Costume List}}

|url= http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/Austin_Powers_IMM.html

|title= Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery script|author= Myers, Mike|date= 17 July 1996|quote= We start on a pair of BEATLE BOOTS...}}

  • Ned Flanders, from The Simpsons{{cite web|url=http://www.simpsonsarchive.com/episodes/BABF01.txt|title="Treehouse of Horror X"|quote="I've resisted these for thirty-five years. Why did I wear them today?"}}
  • Sid from Hey Arnold!{{cite web |last1=Alexander |first1=Philip |title=20 Dark Secrets About Hey Arnold You Really Don't Want To Know |url=https://www.thegamer.com/dark-secrets-about-hey-arnold-you-really-dont-want-to-know/ |website=The Gamer |date=8 November 2017 |quote=#11 – 'Down And Out', One night Sid is ambushed by the same assailants, who end up stealing his beloved beatle boots.}}
  • Starfleet officers in Star Trek: The Original Series{{cite web|url=https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/costuming-tos-boots.238261/|title=Costuming TOS Boots|website= The Trek BBS|date=17 February 2014}}
  • Eddie Dean from Stephen King's The Dark Tower series.

See also

References

{{reflist|2}}

External links

  • [http://www.thehistorialist.com/2016/04/chelsea-bootbeatle-boot-origin-story.html Chelsea Boot/Beatle Boot: The Origin, The Story & The Legacy]
  • [https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/john-lennon-s-beatle-boot/FgEWPUlpJm2eZg John Lennon's Beatle Boot], at Google Arts & Culture

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Category:Boots

Category:1960s fashion

Category:1970s fashion

Boots

Category:High-heeled footwear

Category:Music and fashion