Engineer boot

Knee-high, low-heel Engineer Boots

Wesco crotch-high Engineer Boots

Engineer boots are one of many styles of leather boots; this type of footwear is often worn by motorcycle riders. The boots are most often made of heavy weight black leather, have a rounded or squarish toe and range in height from short (10") to extra high (38"). The most typical height is between 10 and 18 inches.

Engineer boots are designed to protect the wearer from injury to the foot and leg: for motorcycle riders, in the case of an accident while riding and to prevent burns of the rider's legs and feet from the heat of the motorcycle parts while riding. For other wearers: this style also provides similar protection for the leg and foot. They may include a built-in steel toe cap and metal shank in the sole, and often are double layered with leather for stiffness. Engineer boots typically have an adjustable leather strap across the ankle as well as an adjustable leather strap at the top of the shaft to adjust the fit. Multiple straps at the top of the shaft are also not uncommon. Soles and heels are usually made of hard rubber and may either be relatively flat or may have lugs for increased traction. The straight solid shaft with few seams could be readily waterproofed for those working in wet environments or around concrete pouring operations. Additionally lack of protruding fittings, nails or laces prevented snagging injury when working around belt drive and line shaft machinery as well as motorcycle drive belts. This was the main reason for this style being adopted by the motorcycle sub-culture.

During the depression era, Chippewa Shoe Manufacturing Company,^[1] of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, developed a pair of boots with stovepipe leg and was fashioned over their "English Riding Boot" last. In the 1960s, Sears carried the Sears branded Chippewa Engineers and showed them as worn by land surveyors, a possibility as of how the name came about.^[2] Another major manufacturer of Engineer Boots is West Coast Shoe Company based in Portland, Oregon. They began manufacturing the engineer boot in 1939. A large portion of their sales began with the shipbuilders in Portland, Oregon, building ships for World War II.

In Popular Culture

Billy Joel refers to the popularity of the Engineer Boot in '50s and '60s Greaser culture in his song "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" with the line "I remember those days hanging out/At the village green/Engineer boots, leather jackets/And tight blue jeans"

References

Footwear

Men's dress shoes	Blucher Brogues Brothel creepers Derby Monks Oxfords Slip-ons (Loafers) Spectator shoes (Co-respondent shoes) Venetian-style shoes Winklepickers Wholecuts

Women's dress shoes	Ballet flats Court shoes High-heeled footwear Mary Janes Mojari Mules Peep-toe shoes Saddle shoes Slingbacks Slip-ons (Loafers) Venetian-style shoes Winklepickers

Other shoes	Driving moccasins Flip-flops Galoshes Platform shoes Sandals Slides Slippers Veldskoens

Wooden footwear	Bakya British clogs Cantabrian albarcas Clogs Getas Klompen Namaksin Padukas Pattens Sabot Träskor

Military footwear	Ammunition boots Bunny boots Combat boots Jackboots Jump boots Jungle boots Ranger boots Tanker boots Trench boots

Sport-related footwear	Athletic shoes Ballet shoes Boat shoes Climbing shoes Cross country running shoes Cycling shoes Football boots Hiking boots Ice skates Inline skates Jika-tabi Kung fu shoe Minimalist shoes Motorcycle boots Mountaineering boots Racing flats Riding boots Roller shoes Roller skates Safari boots Skate shoes Ski boots Swimfins Water shoes Wrestling shoes

Fashion boots	Chelsea boots (Beatle boots) Chukka boots Go-go boots Knee-high boots Over-the-knee boots Platform boots Thigh-high boots Ugg boots

Work boots	Australian work boots Cowboy boots Engineer boots Hip boots Rigger boots Steel-toe boots Waders

Other boots	Jodhpur boots Wellington boots

Traditional footwear	Abacas Abarkas Avarcas Balghas Bast shoes Clogs Espadrilles Galesh Giveh Haferlschuh Hnyat-phanats Huarache (shoe) Hwas Jorabs Moccasins Mojaris Mukluks Opanaks Peshawari chappals Snowshoes Valenkis Warajis Kolhapuri chappals

Historical footwear	Areni-1 shoes Buskins Caligae Chopines Crakow (Poulaine) Hessians Pampooties Sabatons

Shoe construction	Bespoke shoes Blake construction Goodyear welt

Lists	List of shoe styles

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, January 11, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.