Figure 1.--Canadian boys in 1957 often folded down the top of their wellies which was considered the 'cool' way to wear them (left image). Boys in the early 2000s wear their wellies up at full height. Wearing the rugged black rubber boots with 'cool' clothes is also fashionable in 2002. This shows the change in attitude over the years. The 2002 image shows standard rubber wellington boots with inside cotton linings that boys wear when it is rainny or muddy. There is also a padded type for winter wear that is popular in Canada. Images courtesy of James Alcock.

Black and red rubber boots have also been extremely popular among Canadian boys, and remain so today. Every Canadian boy has worn a pair of rubber boots, like his British counterpart. The standard rubber wellington boot had inside cotton linings. They were great when it was rainny or muddy. During the 1950s and 1960s, it was considered tough and cool to fold the tops down. The lower they were folded, the more cool a boy was. Today, rubber boots remain popular in Canada, more so than in the U.S., however, it is now more common for Canadian boys to wear their rubber boots up at full length. Canadian boys wear rubber boots in the mud and water in the spring, at camps in the summer and generally on rainy days. They also wear lined winter boots during the harsh cold winters. Canadians usually have a blend of the British and American influence, this is evident with the boots and the popularity of going barefoot in the summer."

Terminology

Canadians traditionally call wellies 'Billy Boots'. We are not sure why.

Popularity

Every Canadian boy has worn a pair of rubber boots, like his British counterpart. The standard rubber wellington boot had inside cotton linings.

Chronology

A Canadian reader has provided us some detailed information on the evolution of wellington boots in Canada over time. There have been some major changes in recent years. "I have some new information for the HBC page on Canadian Wellington Boots. First of all, the picture with the two boys - one from the 1950s on the left and one from the 1990s on the right is not very good as the picture on the left is not clear and the one on the right is now outdated. I have put together a new photo with four styles - an old one from the 1960s and three different ones from 2009. Wellington boots are no longer all black or even solid colors.

Style

We note various styles of Wellies being sold in Canada. Some are rather like English full-length wellies. We also note a more fashionable slightly shorter style that seems very popular and fashionable for primary-age children to wear. Some have more pronounced soles in contrasting colors--usually red with balck wellies. Until 2008, Canadian boys' rubber boots were predominantly the traditional black boots with red soles and a newer variation of black boots with green soles. Since 2008, Rallye Footwear Ltd. has produced new styles of boys' rubber boots in Canada in camouflage design, pirates' skull and crossbones design and space characters design, giving the boots a whole new stylish look. These have caught on and the camouflage design has become particularly popular since 2008. This has given the traditional Canadian Wellington boot a new 'cool' look which is popular with modern young Canadian boys. [Aycock]

Utility

They were great when it was rainny or muddy. They also wear lined winter boots during the harsh cold winters.

Colors

A Canadian reader tells us, "Black and red rubber boots have also been extremely popular among Canadian boys, and remain so today. Even though black and red rubber wellington boots are, and have always been very popular, in Canada, new black and green rubber boots came out in Canada in the 1990's, which are also very popular. This was introduced to give the traditional Canadian wellies a new look, which proved to be very successful. Multi-coloured wellingtons in yellow, red and blue are mostly worn by small Canadian boys, up to about 6 years of age. Older boys in Canada prefer the traditional black rubber boots. Today, Canadian black rubber wellington boots now come in a choice of red soles or green soles, offering more choice. Both are very popular with young Canadian boys. Padded rubber boots for the winter come in all black or all green.

Usage

During the 1950s and 1960s, it was considered tough and cool to fold the tops down. The lower they were folded, the more cool a boy was. Today, rubber boots remain popular in Canada, more so than in the U.S., however, it is now more common for Canadian boys to wear their rubber boots up at full length (figure 1). Wearing the rugged black rubber boots with 'cool' clothes is quite fashionable in 2002 they are not hust worn with old clothes for mucking about which use to be the case.

Influences

A Canadian readertells, "Canadians usually have a blend of the British and American influence, this is evident with the boots and the popularity of going barefoot in the summer. Black rubber Wellington boots with a red sole are very popular in Canada with young boys and remain so today. This is probably the British influence over the years. [Alcock]

Manufacturers

Canadian-made rubber wellington boots have dominated the market in Canada since the 1980's. Both synthetic and natuaral rubber boots are produced in Canada. The most important manufacturer of these boots in Canada is Genfoot Inc. (Montreal, Quebec) and Baffin Inc. (Hamilton, Ontario). Both companies have been manufacturing synthetic rubber wellington boots since the 1980s and the Acton Rubber Company in Acton Vale, Quebec has been making natural rubber wellington boots since 1928. The boy in the picture is wearing natural rubber wellington boots made by Acton. Canadian made rubber boots have dominated the market since the 1980's, before that they were manufactured in Far Eastern countries, such as Taiwan and Korea, and imported into Canada. Uniroyal imported the most popular rubber boot in Canada at that time. In 1990, Rallye Footwear Ltd. in Montreal, Quebec, started producing boys' rubber boots and has become the biggest supplier to major Canadian stores, supplying black with red sole boots to Zellers and black with green sole boots to Walmart (Canada) - the two biggest retail stores in Canada. These have become the most commonly-seen rubber boots worn by Canadian in 2009. [Alcock]

Sources

Alcock, James. E-mail, July 24 and August 28, 2002, February 14, 2003, and December 30, 2009..

Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web chronological pages:
[The 1900s] [The 1910s] [The 1920s] [The 1930s] [The 1940s] [The 1950s] [The 1960s] [The 1970s] [The 1980s] [The 1990s] [The 2000s]

Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web style pages:
[Skelton suits] [Tunics] [Eton suits] [Kilts] [Sailor suits] [Knicker suits] [Short pants suit] [Long pants suits]

Created: August 26, 2002
Last updated: 7:32 AM 1/13/2010