Thursday, August 16, 2012

Why Chelsea boots aren't THAT original (& even my Dad's got a pair)

To be honest, my Dad's probably always had a pair. Or two. And so has my Mum. And my sister. And at least half of my family's friends. I used to have a pair when I lived at home. That might sound totally crazy to you, because Chelsea boots came to Topshop a year ago? Maybe two? And my parents definitely don't shop there, nor would they ever want to enter that shop (partially because the only one in Czech Republic is 2.5 hours drive away from where we live). So how the hell has my family always been obsessed with Chelsea boots when they were basically non-existant 2+ years ago? Look at the picture below - what do you see - is that a Chelsea boot?



Topshop is one of the 'flag' stores, where you can buy the 'dream' Chelsea boots for anything from £40 to £150+ per pair, which I find pretty damn steep! Don't get me wrong, I think Chelsea boots are one of the best shoe inventions, finally an ankle boot which doesn't look like a granny shoe (talkin about you brogues!) which I can walk in for a decent amount of time without murdering my feet. That's why I've got cheap dupes from places like H&M, Internacionale, Select and that sort. They are good, I have to say pretty good for the price (around £20), but they do tend to fall apart after one season. The other day I was browsing through some equestrian stores online and realized one thing I should have realized at least a year ago! Why do I have such an inclination to Chelsea boots? Because I'm a horse girl, and because every friggin horse girl surely realized it by now - these super duper fancy Topshop shoesies woesies are nothing else, than, wait for it - riding jodhpur ankle boots! Yeh, not even lying - look at the proof below.  



And what is it that drives me insane? That if you go and buy jodhpur boots from an equestrian shop, you can bet on an excellent quality (people ride horses in them, they just cannot fall apart after a walk in the city centre), they are usually waterproof (yeh, my Select dupes turned out to become less waterproof than you'd have guessed, just after a few days of wearing them - read unstuck glue), sometimes they even have fleece or fur inserts to keep you warm and what's the most striking part - they are about half price compared to the Topshop Chelsea boots. See the first pair in the picture above? That's £36 for a fur lining waterproof artificial leather pair of riding boots (aka Chelsea boots). I have to admire Topshop for the brilliant idea of taking the inspiration from the ol' riding jodhpur boots and bringing them into spotlight of today's fashion, but c'mon - for that price when it's not even the real this

Are you a fan of Chelsea boots?