When you hear the term wholecut, the first that comes to mind is definitely Oxford. Is there wholecut Chelsea? The answer is Yes. why is wholecut Oxford sought after and recognized, but wholecut Chelsea is rarely talked about?
Because of aesthetics.
Speaking of Oxford shoes, what comes to mind?
Cap toe.
So when wholecut Oxford first appeared, it was visually subversive and a huge impact.
Originally, it could only be seen in French shoes such as Berluti, then it was introduced to the mid-range and even entry-level and was very popular.
Oxford shoes can also be very trendy.
Why isn’t wholecut Chelsea popular? Aesthetics? Isn’t it pretty?
The answer is that Chelsea IS wholecut in most people’s eyes…
I take a random Chelsea out, isn’t it wholecut? At least in the eyes of the vast majority of people.
So what does a real wholecut Chelsea look like?
Notice underneath the elastic band there is no seam, this is a real wholecut Chelsea.
Such a slight difference, for the vast majority of people, even shoe lovers, did not produce much progress in aesthetics.
In recent years, due to the arms race, the number of real wholecut Chelsea on the market has increased, and most of them are Spanish brands. There’s one quality player I’ve talked about a lot, R.M. Williams from Australia, whose reputation can be said to be based on Chelsea boots.
The benefit of wholecut, of course, is a cleaner design, and Chelsea boots themselves are already very simple. However, that seam, in addition to functionality, is actually aesthetically interesting to play around.
45 degree placement of Carlos Santos
Badia’s inverted L-shaped double line
Finally, there is ultimate wholecut Chelsea which is the real real and the full shoe has no seam at all. I only see one pair from Italian shoemaker Antonio Meccariello. It is indeed a masterpiece.
