Apothecary Fox: DESIGN THERAPY: Hunter Boots

Hunter Wellington Boots are a Great British institution (although until recently, American owned). Probably best known by the British upper middle classes (those of the Hunting and Shooting parties at crumbling Country Estates) in the UK, these boots have undergone a revival in recent years, after becoming the boot of choice for discerning fashionistas at music festivals and the like (cue Madonna in Tweed hat, Barbour Jacket and Hunters, dropping into her "local").

Well, fashion comes and goes, but Hunter have been around since 1856, and now operates with Royal Warrants issued by Queen Elizabeth II (in 1986) and The Duke of Edinburgh (in 1977). They have a serious pedigree, and I am glad to say have remained a Scottish-based company, still head-quartered in Edinburgh, although no longer American owned. For more company info go here.

The Hunter Story: "In 1856 Mr Henry Lee Norris, an American entrepreneur, landed on Scottish soil in search of a home for his boot making company. Having acquired a block of buildings in Edinburgh, known as the Castle Silk Mills, the North British Rubber Company (which much later became known as Hunter Boot Ltd.) was registered as a limited liability company in September 1856.
Production of wellington boots were dramatically boosted with the advent of World War I when the company was asked by the War Office to construct a sturdy boot suitable for the conditions in flooded trenches. The mills ran day and night to produce immense quantities of these trench boots. In total, 1,185,036 pairs were made to cope with the Army's demands. The fashionable boot was now a functional necessity.
For WWII they were once again called upon to supply vast quantities of wellingtons and thigh boots. 80% of production was for war materials - from ground sheets to life belts and gas masks. After WWII boot making had to move to a larger factory in Heathhall Dumfries, where the company has been based since, to deal with the rise in demand."-via Hunter

Hunter's most recognisable and iconic welly is the Original Green Wellington, made in 1955. It was an orthopedic boot, designed for ultimate comfort and support. In Britain we refer to the "Green Welly Brigade" with reference to this being the boot of choice for the Landed Gentry (posh people who have country estates in Scotland, but live in the city). In truth, this is still a working boot worn by farmers more than the fashion-conscious.