U
ntil recently my experience with wellies was fairly typical – standard uniform throughout childhood for squelching around
muddy countryside and streams, practical in adulthood for walking, snow and extreme wet weather. Then gradually, by stealth almost, wellies became branded, sought after – a fashion choice. Wellington boots started appearing in shoe shops; migrating from their normal habitat of country stores, they popped up next to leather shoes and boots in smart boutiques and department stores: they became more expensive and desirable for metropolitans as well as
country types. Of course the heritage brands have long existed
and reassuringly dominate this surge in popularity, but the combination of festival chic (witness Kate Moss in teeny shorts and wellies) and the value and desirability of the countryside seems to have lifted the Wellington boot into a must have accessory rather than just a scruffy extension to most of our garden or outdoor kit. I wear wellies a great deal at home, sometimes
at work (not a farm, but based on one) and of course out and about.
I don’t hunt, shoot, fish or
hit Glasto, but do walk and sometimes even frolic in mud with dogs, friends and family, so I was looking to upgrade my standard, well worn black pair. So when the opportunity to road test and review Aigle wellies came up, my editor’s hand was bitten clean off. I had been wearing Aigle clothing for some time
– well made, flattering gilets and fleeces – so was delighted to team these up with dashing new wellies. But, as the road test was prompted by the launch of Aigle & Liberty’s collaboration: Summer Rain, I was lucky enough to try both the Aigle/Liberty Chanteliboot and a classic pair of Aigle Benyl M Wellingtons. The Summer Rain collection of boots and outdoor clothing harnesses the iconic Liberty
purple and floral print with Aigle design and construction. My Chanteliboots are a very pretty, feminine Liberty printed pair of shorter wellies: purple soled and branded with a floral designed white background. The Benyl Ms on the other hand are a standard full length pair of classic Aigle boots in a lovely chocolatey brown, with an adjustable buckle, in Aigle’s words: “a stylish boot that is great looking and a practical walking boot.” It also has a new self-cleaning sole with reinforced ribbing for extra grip that is resistant to abrasion. The Liberty collaboration reflects Aigle’s
position as a leading outdoor brand and the oldest Wellington boot manufacturers in France – since 1853 (compared to Le Chameau’s whippersnapping 1927) - but most significantly their artisan background and continuing commitment to domestic manufacture as well as design. For Aigle: “...a boot is a promise than can
be summed up in a few words: perfectly waterproof, versatile and easy to put on. Keeping this promise requires complex know-how, a savant mixture of tradition and high technology. Lastly, there are all of the elements that we can't explain: the special techniques, the rare ingredients, the specific tools that are used in this French industrial production that manufactures 4000 pairs of boots per day.” When the boots arrived I was immediately
struck by the quality of product and packaging, emphasising the heritage of the brand. Both pairs were smartly boxed, but the Chanteliboots also had a lovely purple Liberty cloth rucksack which underlined the metropolitan edge to the design collaboration. For me, wellies live in the utility room clad in substantial mud, so this bag will probably be used for other things, but it was a stylish touch. Both pairs are ultra comfortable, generously
sized (needing big shooting socks ideally) and beautifully made. Friends and family immediately noticed them posing in the corner of rooms, little people gravitating towards the pretty Liberty boots whilst grownups almost universally looked enviously upon the tall chocolate brown Benyls - even my husband was jealous. A great friend with a menagerie of horses, dogs, cats and chickens stroked the Benyls covetously as her old faithful Aigles were on their last legs.
I am always struck by
Chanteliboot Print
just how branded we have all become, although heartened by the fact that this is often rooted in how things are made. As with food, more and more we are looking to make informed choices on how we spend our hard earned cash. Aigle ticks all those boxes.
Chanteliboot Print
• Trade - £34 • RRP - £80
Benyl
• Trade - £35 • RRP - £75
Benyl The ironic thing about the wearing of the boots
is that although the Chanteliboots are much more overtly metropolitan, I found that they lived by the door for dashes into the garden or quick walks, easily sliponable and comfy, they look so pretty that they sit in the house waiting to transport me across our muddy garden into the orchard beyond. Whereas the brown Benyls are my choice to wear for big walks and trips out into the village or to the shops. The Benyl wellingtons were flattering and easy to slip on even with skirts, the colour spot on and easily smart enough to pop into town too, not to mention quicker to don than the zipped and buckled leather Belstaffs. I really felt that they were an extension of my footwear rather than just gum boots (as my grandfather would call them), as well as being super comfortable and grippy across fields. These are not the cheapest boots, but neither
are they excessively expensive, especially in view of European manufacturing costs. They are stylish but not gimmicky or flippant - I really love them and although it does feel madly indulgent to have two pairs of such glamorous wellies, know that they will be worn and worn.
www.aigle.com
MAY 2011 • FOOTWEAR TODAY
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