I’ve been meaning to make this post since “!” first brought up the issue. Yeah I put Clarks Desert Boots on the map. I think.
Clarks Originals have been a staple of Jamaican style for generations. The Clarks Originals Desert Boot was created in 1950’s by Nathan Clark who fashioned them off crepe-soled, rough suede boots which officers in the British Eighth Army were in the habit of getting made in the bazaars in Cairo, Egypt. It’s funny because around the world Clarks are regarded as the pinnacle in hand-made casual British shoes. The first day I bought a pair of Clarks my mother scolded me. Labeling them, and I quote, anti-establishery (not a word, I know but point made). In the 60’s and 70’s Clarks were what the gangsters/hippies wore. In the “The Master Has Come Back” by Damian Marley there is a line that goes:
“We learn from the old school when strictly thugs used to run it…
…Police ah lock up man fi dem shoes. That simply means the station full up a bear Clarks boots and Bally
From England weh’ spankin’ new”
In my native languge I know, but you get it. As you can see my mother had a point. No matter though, for generations, before, and after my own i’m sure, the young people with a little anti-establishment bred in them have embraced Clarks to an almost cult like status, riding waves of trends in and out the spotlight, from Steve Mcqueen, Bob Marley, Wu-Tang, Jack Spade, to $800 dollar high fashion iterations. Fortunately you can get them here and here at a more anti-establishery price.
By: Mikhail Budhai – Style
1 Response to “Desert Boots Cont’d”