Chanel Rain Boots: How a Countryside Walk Ended Up on the Runway

At the Fall 2022 show, Virginie Viard sent out rubber rain boots in calf and thigh lengths, in shades of olive and black, and PopSugar called them next season's It shoes. They came from Gabrielle Chanel's countryside walks, which is a very Chanel way to turn a muddy field into a product. Chanel rain boots have been a small, rubbery cult ever since.

The house has always had a soft spot for clothes you can actually move in. In 1913 Gabrielle Chanel opened a boutique in Deauville selling casual clothing for leisure and sport, and Viard wrote that she devoted that Fall 2022 collection to tweed as a tribute to Gabrielle's walks along the River Tweed. Rain boots are the same instinct, just waterproof.

A quick test before you buy any pair: pull on the socks you would really wear with them, then try the boots on at the end of the day. Rubber does not stretch, so the shaft and the calf have to agree from the start.

Everything from here until the next photo collage is genuine Chanel, and every pair is pre-owned. The black and white pair is mid-calf rubber with a cream cap toe and a cream CHANEL band at the top. The camellia boots are glossy black rubber on a cream block heel, with one white and one black rubber camellia on each shaft. The rare camouflage pair is knee-length brown rubber with an interlocking CC and a flat sole, and the neutral pair from The RealReal is blush rubber with a cream cap toe and a CC on the side. Tip: each of these is a single pre-owned pair, so check the size before you fall for the style.

Most of the secondhand Chanel rain boots out there are tall, and most carry the interlocking CC somewhere on the shaft. Viard's Fall 2022 boots came in calf and thigh lengths, and the knee-high versions are the ones resale sites have the most of. These come from Vestiaire Collective and The RealReal, and every listing was live when I checked.

The black pairs are the easy ones. The 2022 and 2018 knee-highs from The RealReal are the plain black versions, the lug-sole pair has a chunkier tread for real mud, and the cap-toe pairs with white or cream toes look the most like the runway. If you want color, the pink wellingtons, the yellow and camel CC pairs and the 2024 green knee-highs are the brightest boots in the edit. The khaki, olive and beige pairs sit in between and go with a waxed jacket.

The quilted 2008 pair is the vintage one, with a padded shaft that looks like a Chanel bag in rubber. The metallic grey gradient pair is the strangest, and I mean that kindly.

Tip: resale photos are taken by sellers, so zoom in on the toe cap and the sole edge for scuffs, and check whether the listing mentions the original box or dust bags. What I would skip: a tall pair if your calves sit between sizes, since rubber has no give.

Shorter pairs are the ones I would wear most, because they go under straight jeans and over cropped trousers without a fight. The camellia is the detail to look for here. The navy pair with a cream sole, the two grey pairs, the red pair and the black patent-finish pair all have rubber camellias on the shaft, and the black and white RealReal pair carries them too.

The 2026 Cruise pair and the 2019 pair are black mid-calf boots with the interlocking CC, and the vintage 2009 pair is plain black rubber. The 2023 ankle boots are the shortest black option. For something lighter, the vintage cream camellia pair and the 2018 neutral ankle boots with a side zip are the soft-colored ones, and the turquoise cap-toe ankle boots are the brightest.

The silver grey pair with a Chanel band and the black lug-sole pair are the heavier ones, built for real weather.

Tip: with a mid-calf boot, check the shaft circumference in the listing against your calf, then add a sock. What I would skip: tucking wide trousers into them. Let a cropped hem sit just above the top instead.

These are not Chanel, and I would rather say so plainly. If the right Chanel pair is not out there in your size, these are good company. Moncler's Ginette is glossed black rubber with a tonal logo appliqué and a chunky lug sole, and the Kickstream is brown rubber with a nylon drawstring cuff. Jimmy Choo's Biker Rain boots are matte black with two buckle straps, and Ancient Greek Sandals' Omvria is translucent PVC in a clean, minimal shape.

Bottega Veneta's Puddle is matte rubber on a chunky sole and its Fireman has a woven texture, Burberry's Marsh Stamp has a Check cuff, and Hunter's Refined Short is the plainest, most useful one of the group.

Tip: wear ankle boots with cropped jeans or a skirt that clears the top, so rain runs off and not into them. What I would skip: tucking wide trousers into any of them.

Also not Chanel, but these are the tall and mid-calf pairs I would reach for when the weather turns properly bad. Burberry's rain boots are tall matte black rubber with a Check pull tab and a side buckle, which gives them a riding-boot shape. Loewe's Storm boots are translucent rubber with the name embossed up the shaft. Moncler's quilted Ginette has a nylon shaft over black rubber, and Off-White's Reboot has FOR RAINY DAYS printed vertically on matte black.

Burberry's Cavalier is a riding shape in rubber, Bottega Veneta's tall Puddle is one smooth matte column, and Hunter's Nissa and Original Play Tall are the classic wellington for a wet commute.

Tip: a tall boot looks best with a hem that skims the top, such as a midi skirt or a long trench, so the line stays clean.

Start with the real thing, and be honest with yourself when it is time to move on. If a pair of Chanel rain boots fits you, the camellia boots or the black and white ones are the ones I keep coming back to. If none do, pick the other designer pair that suits the weather where you live, and wear it without apology. Rain boots get worn on the worst days of the year, so pick the pair you will actually reach for when the sky turns gray. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Hunter Croc Boots and Dresses With Boots, Four Fall Pairings.