Lodger Footwear is going out on a limb and calling this Chukka a Desert boot even though Clarks officially claimed rightful ownership of the title – after all they have been making the Desert boot for just over 60 years now. From a similar pedigree to that of Clarks from the UK, the process of Lodger’s footwear is the kind of stuff footwear fiends dream of. Each piece for the uppers is hand cut by an experienced clicker, simple tools still heated by an open flame are used for the soles, and each pair is hand assembled. Normally known for Brogues and Oxford’s, being Lodger’s first go at a boot, they went as far as consulting a military historian on the origins of the style (the Desert was worn by British forces in the Western Desert Campaign of World War II). The result is a beautifully clean two piece pattern; made a bit more shapely than many of the others out there, but a bit closer to what they thought the originals would have looked like. Available here.
