Brown leather chukka boots with selvedge jeans, the Gordon Rush Austin in espresso

The Journal · The Field Guide · Episode 01

Everything You Wanted to Know About the Chukka Boot (But Were Afraid to Ask)

Where the chukka boot came from, why it is not a desert boot (it’s complicated), and how to wear chukka boots now, with jeans, chinos, flannel and suits, without anyone asking questions.

The Gordon Rush Editors · 3 minute read

If a man owns one boot, it should be a chukka. Ankle-high, two or three eyelets, nothing extra: it sits between a dress shoe and a sneaker, and it has been in style for the better part of a century.

A man in a black crewneck and black jeans on coastal rocks, wearing black leather chukka boots
The Austin in black, with black denim and a black crewneck.
1920sThe polo player’s boot leaves the field
1940sCrepe-soled suede in the North African desert
1949The desert boot reaches America
1960sCampus, beatniks and mods
TodayThe most useful boot a man can own

What is a chukka boot?

An ankle-high boot with open lacing through two or three pairs of eyelets, cut from as few pieces of leather or suede as a boot can be. Two eyelets is the classic, casual count; three, as on the Austin, holds the foot better and looks a little more tailored.

Black leather chukka boot with three eyelets and a leather sole, side view
Three eyelets, a leather sole, nothing extra: the Austin in black.

Why is it called a chukka boot?

From polo, where a match is divided into periods called chukkas. Players pulled the short boot on off the field, and by the 1920s it had become everyday wear.

American and English polo teams in action in 1913, the game that gave the chukka boot its name
Polo, 1913. The game that gave the chukka its name.

Chukka vs. desert boot: what’s the difference?

Every desert boot is a chukka, but not every chukka is a desert boot. The desert boot is one version: unlined suede, two eyelets and a crepe sole, born in North Africa during the Second World War. A leather chukka on a leather sole, like our Austin, is the dressier branch of the family.

Illustration: suede desert boots with crepe soles in North Africa in the 1940s
Illustration. North Africa, early 1940s. Created for the Gordon Rush Journal in the style of the period; not an archive photograph.

How did it become a classic?

Through the young. American college men wore it with chinos and an oxford shirt; the mods in London wore it with narrow pants. Every generation since has found it again.

Illustration: the 1960s campus look with suede chukka boots and short chinos
Illustration. The campus look, early 1960s. Created for the Gordon Rush Journal in the style of the period; not an archive photograph.

Somewhere between a dress shoe and a sneaker, and better than both for most of the week.

How to wear chukka boots: six looks

Keep the pant straight and the hem short, resting on the boot. Brown with indigo, black with black, and flannel when you want to dress it up.

A man in a gray crewneck and black jeans wearing black leather chukka bootsA man in a navy jacket and dark jeans wearing brown leather chukka boots
The weekend. Black jeans and a gray crewneck; dark denim and a navy jacket.
Dark denimStraight leg, one narrow turn-up.
ChinosThe campus original. Short, clean hem.
FlannelGray, charcoal or olive. The dressiest way.
CorduroyA fall classic with brown leather.
Black chukka boots with black jeans on stone stepsBrown chukka boots with dark indigo jeans on a wood floor
Denim. Black on black; espresso with indigo.

Can you wear chukka boots with a suit?

Yes, with the right one. Smooth leather on a leather sole works with flannel, tweed and corduroy suits. Leave it at home for fine worsted and black tie.

Black leather chukka boots with charcoal flannel pants and a camel overcoatBrown leather chukka boots with olive flannel pants and a charcoal overcoat
Tailoring. Charcoal flannel and a camel coat; olive flannel and charcoal.

What socks go with chukka boots?

Match the sock to the pants with tailoring. With denim, a textured wool in charcoal or oatmeal.

Black leather chukka boot with gray flannel pants and a charcoal sock, seated
Seated, the sock shows. Charcoal with gray flannel keeps the line.

Leather or suede? Black or brown?

Leather first: it dresses up, handles rain and polishes back to new. Brown before black: dark brown works with navy, gray, olive and every shade of denim.

Brown leather chukka boots worn with black jeans, the Gordon Rush Austin in espresso
The Austin in espresso.

Chukka boots vs. Chelsea boots

A Chelsea has elastic sides and no laces, and reads a notch dressier. A chukka laces, adjusts to your foot and does more days of the week.

How should they fit, and how do you care for them?

Firm at the heel, room for your toes. Cedar shoe trees, a day off between wears, cream polish every month or two, and a good cobbler when the sole wears through.

The toe of a black leather chukka boot with a stitched leather welt, close-up
The stitched leather welt on the Austin, up close.

Are chukka boots still in style?

They have been for a century, because they don’t depend on a trend. That is the test, and the chukka passes it.

Shop the episode

The Gordon Rush chukka: the Austin

Austin
Austin Black $290
Austin
Austin Espresso $290

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