America and the Welly
The full Wellington boots were issued and worn by the army officers sometime in the 19th century. These boots were worn during occasions of war and peace. The lace up shoes were the recommended shoes even though they were kind of very old fashioned for the foot soldiers and the enlisted men. However every one preferred the full Wellington boots over all the other kinds of footwear. It was not only fashionable to have these boots, they went beyond the American soldiers to capture markets all over America. The Wellington boots seemed to have arrived. People wore it with a flourish.
During the Civil War, supplies were required on a war footing. The Quarter Master Corp got their supplies from many civilian contractors at different prices. A special kind of wool cloth made from mill sweepings was regularly spun into cloth to make blankets and coats but the disadvantage of this material is that it frayed and looked tattered, when exposed to wet weather. The word shoddy thus came into existence. Using shoddy materials was never comforting to the user and research had to go into bringing out better stuff.
The army boots did not escape the wrong intent of the unscrupulous suppliers, they supplied about half a million pairs of boots which were ordered. At the end of the Civil War these boots were supplied to forward areas, and the forts where they had to see rough usage. These boots simply could not take the beating of the desert and the harsh climate of the American west, they simply gave up and fell to pieces. This demoralized the wearers and they decided to do something on their own for their comfort.
This defective footwear was a setback to the American soldier. He went to the civilian shoemaker to get a strong pair and replace the impractical pair of shoes which were issued by the army. Realizing the mistake in issuing substandard boots, the army quickly decided to take on research and development in this very important field. The Quartermaster Corp suddenly got busy doing an intense study on the design, structure and material to be used in bringing about a radical change in the boots to be supplied to the army. They tried out different leathers, sole and height proportions and finally they came to a happy conclusion that the Oak tanned Spanish leather was the most suitable. This leather did a perfect job and the early cowboy boots came into existence. The leather used was heavily waxed on the flesh side making it the most appropriate. The design and material used was so effective that an ultimate answer was found in the boot industry. The American boots became a standard and one did not have to search for something better.
The frontier horsemen and cattle wranglers in 1870 wore the variation of the standard American boots. The Coffeyville pattern as it was called had high Cuban heels which were scooped giving it a good featured look. The front of the boot was often grafted, though it was actually a full Wellington. Despite the variations and changes made, the cattle herders and range riders in fact wore the grand old full Wellington boots.
The cowboy boot developed a very distinctive style in 1880. The customization of the American boot started undergoing a metamorphosis - the attractive high heels and visible stitches on the leather became stylishly visible. By 1900 the new style emerged, four piece and cut which became the popular design of that era. The full Wellington had problems with manufacture their results were not standard and it suited the budget of the wealthier folk.
If styles did not change over the years, it would have got a very bored look - this was true of the boots too. As the boot manufacturing industry set about to turn out different colors and styles to suit the taste of all its customers. The grand Wellington now came in an array of colors like blue, red and a shade like the turquoise blue, which was unheard of. Suddenly the new trend and style became very acceptable.
The play on the changes of the size of heels and shine varied, sometimes these were absent, they were revived with more embellishments and each region seemed to have captured a certain trend. The Texan boots definitely had something new and those who had a deep interest in the manufacture of boots had lots to learn from it.
The full Wellington is the pride of the English, however the American has put its wild west stamp on the traditional Welly - the hallmark of good old reliable boots.
