A Brief History of the Rain Boot

April showers, indeed! Here in southern Florida, rain boots have become standard attire these days and from the looks of my weather app, for many other places too. It&#;s hard to believe that there was once a time when rain boots didn&#;t exist, when people walked out in wet, muddy weather in their regular shoes. It wasn&#;t even that long ago! Herein, a brief history of the practical, yet ever-stylish, rain boot.

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Rain boots first made their debut on the feet of Arthur Wellesley in Britain in the early 19th century. Also known as the Duke of Wellington, the military man (like many others of his day) used to wear Hessian boots. Hessian boots, standard issue in the military, were made out of leather, had a semi-pointed toe, reached up to the knee and had a tassel on the top. (Think Mr. Darcy in &#;Pride and Prejudice&#;). Thinking he could improve on them, Wellesley commissioned his personal shoemaker to make a variation just for him. He asked him to do away with the trim around the calf, shorten the heel and cut the boot closer around the leg. The result, known as Wellingtons, quickly took hold among the British aristocracy, and the name wellies endures to this day.

The original Wellington boots were fashioned out of leather, but in the mid-19th century, a man named Hiram Hutchinson bought the patent for vulcanization of natural rubber for footwear from Charles Goodyear (who was using the process to make tires) and began manufacturing rubber Wellingtons. The introduction of the rubber Wellington was met with much approval, especially among farmers, who could now work all day and still have clean, dry feet.

The Wellington became even more popular after World War I and World War II. Soldiers often spent long hours in flooded European trenches, and the rubber boots allowed their feet to stay warm and dry. By the end of World War II, men, women, and children were all wearing the rain boot. Hunter Boot, the company commissioned to make boots for the British Army in both wars, continues to sell their signature boots today.

Rain boots are still called wellies in England, but around the world are referred to as billy boots, gummies, gumboots and, of course, rain boots. In South Africa, where they are called gumboots, miners wore rain boots and used them to help them communicate with each other when talking wasn&#;t permitted. The miners even created gumboot dances (whose variations have become popular entertainment today) to keep themselves from getting bored.

The lower cost of Wellington&#;s manufacturing process made it the standard footwear for a variety of professions &#; often reinforced with a steel toe to prevent injury. Used in factories, meat packing plants, farms, clean rooms for delicate electronics, even fast-food environments, rubber boots are just practical &#; and stylish.

Whereas most rain boots could only be found in a few colors (olive green, yellow, black) 50 years ago, they are manufactured in all colors (and patterns) of the rainbow today. And even though they&#;re quite practical for muddy, rainy spring weather, rain boots can also be a colorful fashion statement &#; the bright side of an otherwise gloomy day.

Type of waterproof boot

"Gumboots" and "Gumboot" redirect here. For the Paul Simon song, see Graceland (album)

A Wellington boot, often shortened to welly,[1] and also known as a gumboot, rubber boot, or rain boot,[2][3] is a type of waterproof boot made of rubber.

Originally a type of leather boot adapted from Hessian boots, a style of military riding boot, Wellington boots were worn and popularised by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. They became a staple of practical foot wear for the British aristocracy and middle class in the early 19th century. The name was subsequently given to waterproof rubber boots and they are no longer associated with a particular class. They are now commonly used for a range of agricultural and outdoors pursuits.

Names

The term Wellington boot comes from Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, who instructed his shoemaker to create the boot by modifying the design of the Hessian boot.[1] The terms gumboot and rubber boot are both derived from the rubber modern Wellington boots are made from, with the term "gum" coming from gum rubber.[4]

The terms Wellington boot and gumboot are most commonly used in British English, with the term being occasionally used in American English. Instead, the terms rubber boot and rain boot are more commonly used in American English.[2][3] Further, in American English, the term Wellington boot is sometimes used to specifically refer to Wellington boots with a more fashionable design.[2]

History

Origins

The Duke of Wellington instructed his shoemaker, Hoby of St. James's Street, London, to modify the 18th-century Hessian boot. The resulting new boot was fabricated in soft calfskin leather, had the trim removed and was cut to fit more closely around the leg. The heels were low cut, stacked around an inch (2.5 centimetres), and the boot stopped at mid-calf. It was suitably hard-wearing for riding, yet smart enough for informal evening wear. The boot was dubbed the Wellington and the name has stuck in English ever since. In the portrait by James Lonsdale, the Duke can be seen wearing the more formal Hessian style boots, which are tasselled.[5]

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Wellington's utilitarian new boots quickly caught on with patriotic British gentlemen eager to emulate their war hero.[6] Considered fashionable and foppish in the best circles and worn by dandies, such as Beau Brummell, they remained the main fashion for men through the s. In the s they were more commonly made in the calf-high version, and in the s they were both superseded by the ankle boot, except for riding. Wellington is one of the two British Prime Ministers to have given his name to an item of clothing, the other being Sir Anthony Eden (see Anthony Eden hat) whilst Sir Winston Churchill gave his name to a cigar, and William Gladstone (four times prime minister between and ) gave his to the Gladstone Bag, the classic doctor's portmanteau.

World War I

Production of the Wellington boot was dramatically boosted with the advent of World War I and a requirement for footwear suitable for the conditions in Europe's flooded and muddy trenches. The North British Rubber Company (now Hunter Boot Ltd) was asked by the War Office to construct a boot suitable for such conditions. The mills ran day and night to produce immense quantities of these trench boots. In total, 1,185,036 pairs were made to meet the British Army's demands.[citation needed]

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World War II

In World War II, Hunter Boot was again requested to supply vast quantities of Wellington and thigh boots. 80% of production was of war materials, from (rubber) ground sheets to life belts and gas masks. In the Netherlands, the British forces were working in flooded conditions which demanded Wellingtons and thigh boots in vast supplies.

By the end of the war in , the Wellington had become popular among men, women and children for wet weather wear. The boot had developed to become far roomier with a thick sole and rounded toe. Also, with the rationing of that time, labourers began to use them for daily work.

The lower cost and ease of rubber "Wellington" boot manufacture, and being entirely waterproof, lent itself immediately to being the preferred protective material to leather in all forms of industry. Increased attention to occupational health and safety requirements led to the steel toe or steel-capped Wellington: a protective (commonly internal) toe-capping to protect the foot from crush and puncture injuries. Although traditionally made of steel, the reinforcement may be a composite or a plastic material such as thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). Such steel-toe Wellingtons are nearly indispensable in an enormous range of industry and are often mandatory wear to meet local occupational health and safety legislation or insurance requirements.

In July , the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Commission published its Report on the Supply of Certain Rubber Footwear,[7] which covered rubber boots of all kinds including wellingtons and overboots. This 107-page official publication addressed contemporary concerns about unfair pricing of rubber footwear manufactured in the UK or imported from overseas. The appendices include lists of rubber footwear manufacturers and price-lists of each company's range of wellington boots available in the mid-s.

Green Wellington boots, introduced by Hunter Boot Ltd in , gradually became a shorthand for "country life" in the UK.[8] In , sales of their boots skyrocketed after Lady Diana Spencer (future Princess Diana) was pictured wearing a pair on the Balmoral estate during her courtship with Prince Charles.[8][9]

Construction

Wellington boots were at first made of leather. However, in Hiram Hutchinson met Charles Goodyear, who had just invented the sulfur vulcanisation process for natural rubber. Hutchinson bought the patent to manufacture footwear and moved to France to establish À l'Aigle ("At the Eagle") in , to honour his home country. Today the company is simply called Aigle. In a country where 95% of the population were working on fields with wooden clogs as they had been for generations, the introduction of the wholly waterproof, Wellington-type rubber boot became an instant success: farmers would be able to come back home with clean, dry feet.

Design

Wellington boots in contemporary usage are waterproof and are most often made from rubber or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a halogenated polymer. They are usually worn when walking on wet or muddy ground, or to protect the wearer from heavy showers and puddles. They are generally just below knee-high although shorter boots are available.

Use

Before its entry into the mobile business, rubber boots were among the best-known products of Nokia.[10][11]

Both the Finnish Defence Forces and the Swedish Armed Forces issue rubber boots to all soldiers for use in wet conditions and during the winter with felt liners.[12]

Cultural impact

Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher was Wellington's colleague at the Battle of Waterloo and there is speculation that some early emigrants to Australia, remembering the battle, may have confused a different design the Blucher shoe developed by Blucher. The Australian poet Henry Lawson wrote a poem to a pair of Blucher Boots in .[13]

See also

References

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