WORDS
Charlie Thomas
Chukkas have always been boots to travel in. Smart but not stuffy, comfortable and lightweight, they are extraordinarily versatile and easy to wear. Like many style classics, they have origins in the British military, who would wear similar styles when stationed in India in World War II. Officers favoured mid-length leather boots when playing polo, which gave the shoe its name. A “chukka”, after all, is the term for a period of play in the sport. The chukka’s development coincided with the desert boot, which came to light in North Africa. British officers of the Western Desert campaign were thought to have found the style in a Cairo bazaar, choosing it for its comfort and durable suede uppers.
Both styles are similar, but differ most drastically with their soles. Desert boots have crepe soles, while today’s chukka typically comes with smarter welted leather or rubber bottoms. Both remain among the best choices for those on the move. Style hero and perpetual adventurer Steve McQueen wore them in the late ’50s and ’60s, while Daniel Craig’s James Bond wore variations of the chukka in all five of his films, in climates as varied as Haiti, Tangier, Matera and London.
While the desert boot is particularly comfortable, if you want ultimate versatility, and a shoe you can wear anywhere and with everything from Savile Row tailoring to jeans and a T-shirt, the chukka is the way to go. The best example we’ve found? It has to be Edward Green’s Lanark model. Made with a beautifully textured waxed suede, a sculpted last and a Dainite rubber sole, it’s designed to get better the more you wear it. ‘All of our shoes are made from materials which allow them to gain character as they age — that’s what Edward Green is known for,’ says Euan Denholm, EG’s head of brand & business development. ‘Many of our shoes will be elegant dress shoes made from fine antiqued European calf leather, but the Lanark and other waxed suede styles are built to be robust and practical, lending themselves to a more casual workwear style. The waxed suede leather readily scratches and changes tone according to the amount of oil you work in, rather like a well-loved Barbour jacket.’
It is this durability alongside the materials and craftsmanship that sets a pair of Edward Greens apart. Each shoe has been meticulously handmade in the brand’s Northampton factory since its founding in 1890. Only the best French and Italian leathers are selected, before being hand-cut and sewn all under the same roof. This is of course the case with the Lanark. ‘The details are just what you would expect from a pair of Edward Greens: well-considered,’ says Denholm. ‘The linings are cut from a handsome French veg-tanned burgundy calf, one often selected by the world’s most illustrious luxury houses for their handbags. While the soles are made up the road from Northampton by Dainite.’
Edward Green is renowned for its smarter dress shoes, which have been worn by everyone from the Duke of Windsor to Ernest Hemingway. But its boots really show off the brand’s craftsmanship and fastidious attention to detail. Smart and elegant yet rugged enough to dress down, the Lanark is the chukka boot at its best. For travels near or far, it might be the only pair of shoes you need.
