A Beatle boot or Cuban boot 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.
Beatle boots saw the reintroduction of high-heeled footwear for men.
History
Beatle boots are a direct descendant of the
Chelsea boot, but have an even more pointed toecompare the slightly earlier
a centre seam stitch running from ankle to toe, and the
Flamenco shoe, 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 while 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.
Tony Bramwell (2026). 031233043X, Robson. 031233043X
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 , , rockers and Psychedelia 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 saw a steady surge in popularity.
Notable wearers
Non-fictional
Fictional
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Riff Raff from the 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show
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Austin Powers, from the Austin Powers series
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Ned Flanders, from The Simpsons
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Sid from Hey Arnold!
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Starfleet officers in
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Eddie Dean from Stephen King's The Dark Tower series.
See also
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Pointed shoes
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Chelsea boots
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List of shoe styles
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1960s in fashion
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Music and fashion
External links