Monkey Boots

Monkey boots are a specific style of lace-to-toe boot that became popular amongst mod and skinhead subcultures in the United Kingdom^[1][2] and American workers.^[3]

A pair of Flame Panda monkey boots in the lace-to-toe work boot style.

Monkey boot style that became popular in the UK in the 60s and 70s. While the yellow lacing isn't present, note the tractor-tread soles and distinctive stitching.

Variations of monkey boots exist across the world. The two most popular and well-known variations are the style of monkey boot popular in the United Kingdom in the 60’s and 70’s,^[4] and the style of monkey boot designed by workwear companies in the US such as Endicott-Johnson,^[5] Red Wing,^[6] and Thorogood.^[7]

The monkey boots popular in the UK are known for their unique “tractor-tread” outsoles, yellow laces, and typically brown, black, or oxblood leather,^[8] while the monkey boots produced by American work boot companies are known for their distinctive lace-to-toe construction designed for a more secure fit.^[9][10]

Origins

The exact origins of the monkey boot are unknown, but some of the earliest iterations are from Czechoslovakia during the 1940s and 50s.^[2][11]

Postwar, monkey boots were exported to different parts of Europe, where they became especially popular in the UK during the 60’s and 70's.^[12][13]

Subcultural significance in the UK

In the 1960’s and 70’s, monkey boots became popular in the UK amongst skinhead and mod subcultures. Monkey boots were often thought to be cheaper than Doc Martens, another popular boot within similar subcultures, and were worn as a fashion statement against conformity by mods and skinheads alike. Many mods and skinheads considered monkey boots to be a part of their fashion uniform, and wore them with pride.^[14][1] As the two subcultures gained mainstream attention, music groups such as The Who wore monkey boots to signify their allegiance with their respective subculture.^[15]

While they were still worn in the 80’s and 90's,^[16][17] as the mod and skinhead subcultures shifted and faded, monkey boots became less popular, though they are still sold and worn today throughout the UK.^[8][18]

Perceptions based on gender and age

In the UK, monkey boots were sometimes seen by mods and skinheads as shoes worn by women and children.^[19] While female skinheads and mods tended to wear more androgynous clothing, including boots, monkey boots became associated with women in certain mod and skinhead groups.^[13] Girls and women continued to wear monkey boots to signify their belonging to the mod and skinhead subcultures.^[12][20]

American work boot style

Meanwhile, in America, another style of monkey boot was developed. In the 1940s, Red Wing, a popular work boot company, developed their work boot Style 2996–the Lineman. The boot, with its lace-to-toe design, was constructed for workers climbing electrical poles, so that they were more secure and stable.^[6]

In the 1950s, Throrogood, an offshoot of the Weinbrenner Shoe Company, produced style #633, another lace-to-toe work boot. Known as a roofer boot or bruiser, Thorogood constructed style #633 boots for roofers, carpenters, and other workers who benefited from the security of the lace-to-toe design.^[7][10] Sears and Endicott-Johnson also produced their own lace-to-toe worker boots in the 1940s and through the 1960s.^[21][22]

While none of the US work boots at the time they were made were called monkey boots, the name has since become attached to the specific lace-to-toe style.^[23]

 

Flame Panda monkey boots from above in the lace-to-toe work boot style.

Modern day

Both variations of monkey boot are worn today, whether by modern mods and skinheads, workers, or workwear fashion enthusiasts.^[24]

References

1. Brown, Chris. Booted and Suited: The Real Story of the 1970s - It Ain’t No Boogie Wonderland. John Blake, 2009.
2. "Grafter Original Wine Leather Monkey Boot Men's Size 11 US Vintage Czechia". eBay. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
3. "1949 Sears Midseason Spring Catalogue". Trade Catalogues and the American Home. 1949 – via Adam Mattew.
4. Hatherley, Owen (2015). "Clean Living under Difficult Circumstances: Modernist Pop and Modernist Architecture—A Short History of a Misunderstanding". British Design: Tradition and Modernity After 1948: 155–172. doi:10.5040/9781474256209.ch-013. ISBN 978-1-4742-5620-9.
5. Workwear, Vintage. "George F. Johnson & The Endicott-Johnson Shoe Company". Retrieved 2024-04-10.
6. London, Red Wing. "The History of the Lineman Boot". Red Wing London. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
7. "Thorogood Work Boots Safety and Non-Safety | American Made. Union Made | Lifetime Union Member Discounts | Free Shipping and Exchanges". www.theunionbootpro.com. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
8. "Classic Iconic Original Grafters Monkey Boots with Tractor Tyre style sole unit". Mayors Sports and Menswear. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
9. Strickland, Matt. "1940's Endicott Johnson Lace to Toe Work Boots". Retrieved 2024-04-10.
10. "Archival Repost: Thorogood Boots (and catalog scans) – Archival Clothing blog". 2020-01-16. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
11. "Do the monkey: Eastern Bloc boots for East End kids". Creases Like Knives. 2017-12-26. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
12. Back, Les (2000). "Voices of Hate, Sounds of Hybridity: Black Music and the Complexities of Racism". Black Music Research Journal. 20 (2): 127–149. doi:10.2307/779464. ISSN 0276-3605. JSTOR 779464.
13. "Cool Places", Routledge, 2005-08-18, pp. 11–42, doi:10.4324/9780203975596-7, ISBN 978-0-203-97559-6, retrieved 2024-04-10 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
14. "'Put on your boots and Harrington!': The ordinariness of 1970s UK punk dress | Intellect". intellectdiscover.com. doi:10.1386/punk.7.2.181_1. hdl:2299/20522. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
15. "Won't Get Fooled Again". The Who. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
16. "June 1989". www.thrashermagazine.com. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
17. LLC, SPIN Media (April 1990). SPIN. SPIN Media LLC (published 1990). pp. Classifieds.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
18. Unboxing my Solovair Monkey Boots - Go Ask Ellice. Retrieved 2024-04-10 – via www.youtube.com.
19. Knight, Nick (1982). Skinhead. London ; New York: Omnibus. ISBN 978-0-7119-0052-3.
20. Suterwalla, Shehnaz (2012). "Cut, Layer, Break, Fold: Fashioning Gendered Difference, 1970s to the Present". Women's Studies Quarterly. 41 (1/2): 267–284. ISSN 0732-1562. JSTOR 23611790.
21. "Sears 1949 Midseason Spring Catalogue". Trade Catalogues and the American Home – via Adam Matthew.
22. Strickland, Matt. "1940's Endicott Johnson Lace to Toe Work Boots". Retrieved 2024-04-10.
23. What are Monkey Boots?. Retrieved 2024-04-10 – via www.youtube.com.
24. "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-04-10.