Cavalier boot
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{short description|Style of European boot}}
Cavalier boots are a style of boot that were popular in Europe between approximately 1500 and 1700. They are soft knee-high leather boots typically made of brown calfskin.{{cite web |url=http://www.highfiber.com/~bohemond/Bootshop/cavalier-page/cavalier.html |title=Cavalier Boots by Bohemond |website=www.highfiber.com |access-date=14 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060427173801/http://www.highfiber.com/~bohemond/Bootshop/cavalier-page/cavalier.html |archive-date=27 April 2006 |url-status=dead}}
Origins
Thigh high riding boots were first worn with buff coats by gentlemen and soldiers{{Cite web |url=http://www.livinghistory.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?p=303018&sid=6f77e09078cc9041aa425608642d60a0#p303018 |title=Painting of musketeers wearing cavalier boots |access-date=2011-05-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006040735/http://www.livinghistory.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?p=303018#p303018 |archive-date=2011-10-06 |url-status=dead }} during the mid-Tudor period. By the reign of Elizabeth I these had low heels to facilitate riding and were made of soft brown leather.
Jacobean period
By the reign of James I boots had replaced shoes as the most popular footwear among the upper classes, who often wore them indoors, even with spurs.[http://www.kipar.org/period-galleries/paintings/1660/lenain_trictrac.jpg French gentlemen wearing bucket top boots] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928073556/http://www.kipar.org/period-galleries/paintings/1660/lenain_trictrac.jpg |date=2011-09-28 }} By the 1620s they resembled the boots worn by the Three Musketeers, with a flared bucket-shaped top and high wooden heels similar to those on cowboy boots.
Military use
Boots of this type are stereotypically associated with the dashing Cavalier of the English Civil War but in reality many Roundheads, including the Earl of Essex, dressed identically to the Royalists.[http://www.ecwsa.org/offthecuffbeyoucavalierorroundheadquiz.html Cavalier or Roundhead?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726015040/http://www.ecwsa.org/offthecuffbeyoucavalierorroundheadquiz.html |date=2011-07-26 }} Cavalier boots remained in use among cavalry until the late 18th century when they were replaced with the Hessian boots popularised by Prussian king Frederick the Great.
Maritime use
Cavalier boots are often associated with pirates and highwaymen like Dick Turpin or Captain Blood.[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026174/ IMDB: Captain Blood] These tall boots were prized by helmsmen and naval officers as they provided excellent protection from rain and spray. Boots of this design, worn with a Sou'wester and oilskins, remained in use among fishermen well into the 20th century when they were replaced with rubber Wellington boots and waders.{{Citation needed|date=August 2017}}
Revival
Cavalier boots underwent a revival during the American Civil War when flamboyant cavalry officers like George Armstrong Custer and Jeb Stuart purchased thigh-high riding boots.[Wert, Jeffry D. (1996). Custer: The Controversial Life of George Armstrong Custer. New York: Simon & Schuster. {{ISBN|0-684-81043-3}}, p. 15.] Following the successful Pirates of the Caribbean films boots of this type have also become popular among young British women.
Gallery
File:Field Armor of King Henry VIII of England (reigned 1509–47) MET DT205963.jpg|This c.1544 suit of cuirassier armor belonging to Henry VIII includes a pair of low-heeled cavalier boots.
File:Charles I by Daniel Mytens.jpg|King Charles I wearing Cavalier boots
File:Wenceslas Hollar - Earl of Essex on foot (State 2) cropped.jpg|Bucket-topped boots, buff coat and cuirass worn by Roundhead commander Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, circa 1642
File:J._Gurney_&_Son_-_J.E.B._Stuart.jpg|Confederate cavalry officer Jeb Stuart, well known for his flamboyant costumes
File:Olivia Evita seated on a chair.jpg|Young woman wearing a pair of "pirate boots," 2008