A pair of Beatle boot replicas

A Beatle boot or Baba boot [1] 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.[2]

Beatle boots saw the reintroduction of high-heeled footwear for men.[3]

History

The Beatles, seen here in 1963

Beatle boots are a direct descendant of the Chelsea boot, but have an even more pointed toe—compare the slightly earlier winklepickers—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 whilst 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.[4]

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. During the late 2000s and early 2010s the boots have seen a steady surge in popularity.

Notable wearers

Non-fictional

Fictional

See also

References

  1. ↑ "::THE LOOK – adventures in rock and pop fashion:: » The Baba boot: 60s pop footwear of choice". Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  2. ↑ Bassett McCleary, John (2004). Hippie Dictionary: A Cultural Encyclopedia of the 1960s and 1970s. Ten Speed Press. p. 44. ISBN 1-58008-547-4.
  3. ↑ Kippen, Cameron. "Beatle Boots". The History of Boots. Department of Podiatry. Archived from the original on 10 October 2007. Retrieved 11 October 2007. The Beatle Boot saw the reintroduction of heels for men.
  4. ↑ Bramwell, Tony (2004). Magical Mystery Tours: My Life with the Beatles. Robson. p. 34. ISBN 0-312-33043-X.
  5. ↑ Lawrence, Helen (18 April 2005). "Carl Barât". Popstar Feets. Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2007.
  6. ↑ "Bob dylan". The Independent. 17 April 2007. p. 2. Retrieved 3 February 2008.
  7. ↑ Lejtenyi, Patrick (June 2000). "Back from the Grave". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2007. ...and the Beatle boots...
  8. ↑ Bone, Martyn (2002). "The Rolling Stones". St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture. Retrieved 1 February 2008.
  9. ↑ Turner, Adam (28 January 2019). "11 Best Chelsea boots for men 2019". Standard Evening. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  10. ↑ "Warhol's foot fetish". Brisbane Times. The Daily Telegraph. 19 November 2007. p. 2. Retrieved 29 December 2007.
  11. ↑ Watamanuk, Tyler (5 August 2020). "The Future of the Chelsea Boot Has Arrived". GQ. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  12. ↑ "Riff Raff: Costume List".
  13. ↑ Myers, Mike (17 July 1996). "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery script". We start on a pair of BEATLE BOOTS...
  14. ↑ ""Treehouse of Horror X"". I've resisted these for thirty-five years. Why did I wear them today?
  15. ↑ Alexander, Philip (8 November 2017). "20 Dark Secrets About Hey Arnold You Really Don't Want To Know". The Gamer. #11 - 'Down And Out', One night Sid is ambushed by the same assailants, who end up stealing his beloved beatle boots.
  16. ↑ "Costuming TOS Boots". The Trek BBS. 17 February 2014.
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