The Welly Boot - The Latest Footwear Sensation

Originally dating back to the early 1800's the 'welly>' hasn't been a fashion items for most of its' life. However, recent stylish designs, together with some prominent celebrities wearing wellies has meant the boot is more popular than ever.

In 1815 in the UK, the Duke of Wellington instructed his shoemaker to create a new design of boot. The Wellington boot as we now know it was originally made out of leather. However, thanks to the vulcanization process that had just been developed by Charles Goodyear, the first boots manufactured from natural rubber were released in 1852. Charles Goodyear further developed his technique to manufacture car tyres.

For generations, the 'Wellington' or 'Welly Boot' as it is more often known was the chosen footwear for farmers, and very unlikely to be seen adorning the pages of fashion magazines.

This has all changed over the last few years, with wellies now available in many stylish and colourful designs and even now with heels.

Sales of welly boots were boosted dramatically in 2007 when Dame Shirley Bassey wore a pair of jewel-encrusted wellingtons while performing at the Glastonebury festival

Ever since,Since then, demand for welly boots has soared, with more traditional brands like Hunter seeing a substantial increase in turnover over the last few years. Despite being forced into administration in 2006, sales since then have increased dramatically with figures for 2007 being 85% higher than they were the year before.

A more recent arrival to the fashion wellies market are WedgeWelly. Their patented wedge is incorporated into a range of stylish-print wellies which have been a huge hit on the festival circuit this year. Awareness of the brand also sky-rocketed after they were featured on the BBC's "Dragons' Den" programme and also received investment from one of the "Dragons'".

Although a mainly seasonal fashion statement, welly boots look sure to stay on-trend into the foreseeable future.

Carl Fraser is Managing Director of Totally Commerce Ltd, owners of http://www.TotallyShoes.co.uk - Retailers of leading brand footwear in the UK.

Totally Commerce Ltd also operate several other websites in different business areas.