Chukka boots (/ˈtʃʌkə/[1]) are ankle-high leatherboots with suede or leather uppers, leather, wooden or rubber soles, andopen lacing, with two or three pairs ofeyelets.[2] The namechukka possibly comes from the game ofpolo, where a chukka is a period of play.[3]
Generally, "chukka boot" refers to a form of desert boots originally worn byBritish soldiers in theWestern Desert Campaign ofWorld War II.[3][4]
Chukkas are usually made fromcalfskin orsuede,[2] although they can be made from other materials.[5] The style first became popular in the late 1940s through the 1960s ascasual wear.[3][6][7] In the 21st century, chukkas persist as a popular menswear shoe, particularly in theUnited Kingdom. They can be worn with bothsuits and more casual wear likejeans.[8][9]
According to shoe historianJune Swann, the essential chukka boot is ankle-high, open-laced, and unlined, with two to four pairs of eyelets, thin leather soles, calfskin suede uppers in two parts (each from a single piece of leather; quarters sewn on top ofvamp), and rounded toes.[10]
Adesert boot is a chukka boot withcrepe rubber soles and, typically, suede uppers. Desert boots were popularized in the 1950s by UK shoe companyC. & J. Clark.[11]
Desert boots were officially introduced to the world with the debut of the Clarks' Desert Boot at the 1949 Chicago Shoe Fair. After feature coverage inEsquire magazine, their popularity took off. According to Clarks, inspiration came from "the crepe-soled, rough suede boots made in Cairo'sKhan el-Khalili bazaar for BritishEighth Army officers."
These boots were based on the South Africanveldskoen which became a popular footwear item in Southern Africa due to their robust and simple design. Often being bought by soldiers for use in the various bush wars of the region, they have become popular across the world as "desert boots".[12]
The year was 1941, and the soldier, well he wasn't just any infantryman, he was Nathan Clark, and he'd been sent to war with two missions. First and foremost to protect his country, and, secondly, to discover some new shoe designs forhis family's company. As a member of the Eighth Army, Clark had been deployed to Burma, and it was here that he noticed that the officers in his formation were wearing these strange, sand colored chukkas during their downtime. Clark investigated the shoes and learned that they had originally been commissioned to Cairo cobblers by South African soldiers whose old-military issue boots had failed them out on the desert terrain. They wanted something that was both lightweight and grippy which led to creation of a boot with a suede upper on a crepe sole.
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