Chanel Boots: Combat, Chelsea and Pearl Pairs, Pre-Owned and One at a Time

Chanel Boots: Combat, Chelsea and Pearl Pairs, Pre-Owned and One at a Time

A look at Chanel boots, from lace up combat pairs to Chelsea, moto and pearl heeled styles. Every pair is pre-owned, so this edit explains the house codes behind them and how to check a single size.

In 1957 Coco Chanel introduced a beige slingback with a black toe. SCMP reports that the beige made legs look longer and the dark tip made feet look smaller, and Harper's Bazaar UK adds that it was made with the shoemaker Massaro. Hold onto that black tip, because it is the reason so many Chanel boots wear a contrast cap toe today.

 

Karl Lagerfeld is the other half of the story. Vogue says he was named creative director in 1983, spent 36 years at the helm and worked there until his death on February 19, 2019. Chanel's own release lists the two-tone shoes among the house codes he reinvented, and SCMP says he reimagined the 1957 design as boots among other shoes. So when I say Chanel boots, I mean a small piece of that lineage, stretched over a tougher shape.

 

Now the practical bit. Every pair in this edit is pre-owned, sold secondhand, and each listing is one pair in one size. That is exactly why there are thirty-two pairs here, from Rebag, The Luxury Closet and Farfetch Renew: secondhand Chanel boots turn up one pair at a time, and you take what has appeared. Check the size at the end of each name before you fall for anything.

 

The first grid is the lace up and combat group, which is where I would start. The CC lace up combat boots in quilted suede are the most straightforward, and the chain CC cap toe lace up combat boots in quilted leather add a bit of hardware without getting fussy. The CC cap toe combat boots in quilted suede with leather bring back that two-tone idea. The CC pocket combat boots in tweed and patent are the most playful of the lot, and the suede calfskin combat boots are the quiet one. Then the patent gold CC ankle booties, which are the dressiest and sit apart from the rest. The newer pairs in this grid add a sock high combat boot in black leather and a tweed and suede combat boot from The Luxury Closet, plus a lace up knee high boot from the 2000s on Farfetch Renew.

 

Wear any of these with straight jeans and let the boot be the loudest thing on you.

A collage of pre-owned Chanel combat boots, Chelsea boots, moto boots and pearl and crystal heeled ankle boots, and a mood photo of a woman in a black blazer and skirt sitting on a café chair in tall black rubber boots.
Seventeen pre-owned Chanel boots, from combat to pearl heeled.

Lace Up and Combat Boots

Ankle, Chelsea and Moto Boots

The second grid is where the boots get softer in shape. Ankle, Chelsea and Moto Boots are the pairs I would pull on without thinking about an outfit, because the silhouette does half the work.

 

Start with the Chelseas, which are my favorite part of this edit. The cap toe Chelsea boots in suede with leather are the calm option, and the two CC turnlock cap toe Chelsea boots in leather are the same idea with the turnlock added, one in US 8.5 and one in US 7. Having two of the same style in different sizes is a good reminder that you really are shopping by size here, so read the end of the name first. Newer in this grid are the Chelsea boots with metallic heel trim from Rebag, the cap toe ankle boots in burgundy and black leather and the cap toe zip pair in off white and black from The Luxury Closet, and the CC interlocking ankle boots from Farfetch Renew.

 

The moto side is the CC logo moto boots in leather, and they are the pair I would wear with a slip dress to take the sweetness out of it. For ankle boots, there are the CC cap toe ankle boots in leather, the CC cap toe ankle boots in suede and shearling, the embellished CC short boots in suede with leather, and the logo cap toe short ankle boots in leather with velvet. They suit a trench, a pair of tailored trousers or a short skirt with bare legs.

 

Here is a small test worth doing. Women's European sizes are based on foot length in centimeters, and a European 38 fits a foot about 24 cm long, while a 39 fits about 24.5 to 25 cm. Measure your own foot against that before you commit to a pair that exists in only one size. A common rule of thumb is to subtract 31 from a French size to get the US women's size, so 38 is about a US 7.5.

 

Pair a Chelsea with cropped jeans so the cap toe shows.

Ankle, Chelsea and Moto Boots

Pearls, Crystals and a Bow

The last grid is the most dressed up, eight pairs that run from ankle boots to over the knee. The pearl and crystal pairs are not for every day, and I do not think they should be.

 

The cap toe pearl embellished heeled ankle boots in leather with grosgrain are the one I keep going back to. Pearl on a boot sounds like too much on paper, but the cap toe keeps it grounded. The bow cap toe Mary Jane boots in crystal embellished mesh are the most unexpected pair in the edit, a Mary Jane strap meeting a boot shape, and they ask for a plain black dress or a simple trench so nothing competes. The quilted lamb ankle boots are the quietest of those three, and the quilting is a nod to Chanel's diamond matelassé, which according to The National drew on the jackets worn by stable boys around racecourses. Around those three sit plain black and metallic knee length boots and a grey suede over the knee pair from The Luxury Closet, a CC turn lock ankle boot from Farfetch Renew and a cone heel ankle boot from Rebag.

 

What I would skip: pairing the pearl and crystal boots with a lot of other shine. Let them be the one decorated thing, and keep the rest of the outfit matte. I would also skip any pair in a size you are guessing at, since each of these is a single piece and not something you can reorder in another size.

 

If you are choosing between a combat pair from the first grid and one of these, ask yourself where you will actually be wearing them. The first group handles a normal Tuesday, and this group handles an evening out. Try the heel on a hard floor at home first, walk the length of a room, and see whether the pair still feels like you or like a costume. If it does, the pearls and crystals are doing their job.

Heeled, Knee High and Pearl Boots

Choosing Your One Pair

Choosing a single pair of pre-owned Chanel boots is easier if you work backward from your own closet. Ask which coat you wear most, and which trousers or skirts you would put with the boots. If it is jeans and a trench, go for a combat or Chelsea. If it is dresses, the pearl or bow pair.

 

Then check the size, measure your foot and read the listing the way you would read a note from a friend, as a description of one specific piece. Do not assume a condition the shop has not described.

 

Once they arrive, look after them. Popular Mechanics advises cleaning and conditioning leather shoes and boots about once a month, and recommends cedar shoe trees to keep a shoe's shape and soak up sweat or rain. Put the trees in when you take them off, and they will keep their line.

 

Chanel boots are rarely a quick find, and I like that. You wait for the right pair in your size, and then you wear them for a long time.

 

If you are hunting for the jacket to wear with them, I put together a run of vintage Chanel jackets, most of them from the Lagerfeld years.

If your feet prefer something lighter than a boot, I gathered pre owned Chanel flats, from ballet flats to Mary Janes and slingbacks.