With the recent festival-fuelled trend for cheap and colourful wellies and the subsequent market explosion to meet demand, it is a quiet relief to find the true country user firmly backing the quality corner and sticking resolutely to their Le Chameau boots.

Lord Mandelson has become the recent owner of a pair of Vierzonord boots, Le Chameau’s most popular neoprene lined model. He joins the ranks of the true country experts, who have been wearing Le Chameau boots since they were first introduced to the UK. Over the last few years, the ‘in the know’ status inferred from being seen in a pair of Le Chameau boots has reached the consciousness of royals like Prince William and country-savvy celebrities such as Madonna, Guy Richie, Jamie Oliver, Jeremy Clarkson, Stella McCartney and Elizabeth Hurley, who have all been ‘spotted’ wearing their Le Chameau boots while out and about in the country. These people have ignored the fad for brightly coloured ‘town’ wellies, realising that to be taken seriously in the country, you need to be wearing a pair of handmade, natural rubber boots that prove quality is worth investing in.

Le Chameau have been making premium quality, natural rubber boots at their factory in northern France since 1927 and the name Le Chameau has become as renown for tradition and quality in the UK as it has at home in France. The Le Chameau brand became dominant in the UK shooting market during the 1990s when GMK Ltd, the UK’s leading distributor to the shooting sports market, took on the UK distribution. GMK introduced Le Chameau’s leather and neoprene lined models to a consumer already looking for something better than what was on offer. The true UK country user, who lives and works on the land, knows they need a boot that can withstand the cold, wet conditions of British winters while offering comfort and style. Le Chameau stepped into the gap, offering boots handmade from luxurious, supple rubber, which were combined with soft leather or premium neoprene linings and technically advanced soles.

Over fifteen years later and Le Chameau is an established name, popular not only among the shooting fraternity, but with any true country user. As the cold and rain settle in this autumn, those venturing outdoors into the country for work or pleasure will be relying on their trusty Le Chameau wellingtons to keep them comfortably warm and dry.

Karl Waktare, Managing Director of LLC Ltd, the sister company of GMK Ltd and now the UK distributor of Le Chameau, comments that “while the cheap, brightly coloured festival boots that grace the high street are great for the overall image and popularity of wellies, it is a comforting to know that among those for whom country living is more than just a weekend away, Le Chameau is still the boot brand of choice.” Recent additions to the rubber range demonstrate that Le Chameau is still committed to producing quality products that embrace technical advancements while not compromising on style.

Renowned French boot-maker, Le Chameau, is celebrating 80 years production of their premium quality natural rubber boots.

Le Chameau began in Cherbourg in 1927 when agricultural engineer Claude Chamot produced his first natural rubber boot. As users discovered the distinct advantages natural rubber has over other materials, Chamot's hand-made boots quickly became popular. Over the last eighty years, the processes initiated by Claude Chamot have been refined and developed to create the finest natural product available for protection against the wet.

In 1995, Lafuma SA of France bought the Le Chameau brand. With their expertise in the manufacture of outdoor products, Lafuma SA expanded the Le Chameau brand into other product areas. Retaining the principals of traditional manufacture and excellence which it is renowned for, the Le Chameau brand ventured into the manufacture of leather footwear and country clothing.

Today two factories in France still operate, employing traditional craftsmanship with modern materials to produce the Le Chameau natural rubber boots. Recognised for its excellence in materials, design and manufacture, the Le Chameau brand is popular with country users and shooting sports enthusiasts, who recognise that the products are crafted with them in mind.

Natural rubber footwear
Le Chameau combines traditional craftsmanship with technical innovation to create their extensive footwear range. Its takes nine months of intense training to become a Chameau boot-maker and acquire the unique skills which have been passed down through generations, from master to apprentice, so that the wearer has the assurance of a boot hand-made with the same care and craftsmanship that they were 80 years ago.

Leather footwear
Le Chameau uses only the finest quality leather in the creation of their popular range of stylish, hardwearing and comfortable shoes and walking boots. All products in the range feature hardwearing soles for greater longevity. To ensure they are water-proof and breathable, most of the walking boots feature an extremely high quality Gore-Tex lining.

Clothing
The Le Chameau clothing range embodies all of the qualities found in the footwear ranges. Created in 2000 with the marriage of the Le Chameau name and the respected Charles Dubourg brand, Le Chameau clothes are incredibly hardwearing, ensuring they can withstand cold and wet weather, but remain stylish and comfortable too, as you would expect from a premium brand.

Renowned French boot-maker, Le Chameau, is celebrating 80 years production of their premium quality natural rubber boots. To celebrate their 80th Anniversary, Le Chameau has produced a limited edition 'Anniversary Boot'.

The Anniversary Boot is similar to the brand's flagship Chasseur boot. Fully lined in very soft full-grain leather and with a full-length zip, it as easy and comfortable to slip on as your favourite shoe. The Anniversary Boot also boasts the technically advanced Le Chameau dual density sole, but it is the extra features which set it apart from all other Le Chameau boots. Its look of classic supremacy is evident in the darker green colour of the luxury rubber, which is teamed with a complimentary dark brown sole. The Anniversary Boot features a unique Le Chameau badge; a stylish bronze oval which is exclusive to the design. This elegant boot is finished with an attractive dark brown leather trim with stylishly contrasting light brown stitching. It takes skilled craftsmanship to attach leather to rubber, and the luxurious trim features in three areas on the boot; to the top of it, on the buckle, and around the distinctive Le Chameau badge.

Only 500 of these boots have been made worldwide, and each is individually numbered. The boots come beautifully presented in exclusive red presentation box, each boot stored carefully in a luxury branded Le Chameau dust bag. They also come with a complementary Le Chameau Wellington boot bag, full size boot spray and official certificate.

The Anniversary Boot has an RRP of 300.00 and will be sold in the UK through the following exclusive stockists:-

Barnack Country Clothes, Stamford, Lincolnshire Bestboots Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire Brocklehursts of Bakewell, Bakewell, Derbyshire Cedarstone, Droitwich, Worcestershire Chandlers (Farm Equipment), Grantham, Lincolnshire Chris Potter Country Sports Ltd, Tunbridge Wells, Kent Cotswald Country Living Ltd, Cirencester, Gloucestershire High Flyers, Ipswitch, Suffolk John Norris of Penrith, Cumbria K.W.G. Ltd, Ashford, Kent Phillip Morris & Son, Hereford, Herefordshire Ray Wards Gunsmiths London Ltd, Knightsbridge, London Smyths Country Sports, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, Ireland The Barn Shop, Royston, Hertfordshire Thornhills Betchon Ltd, Holmes Chapel, Cheshire West Country Guns, Taunton, Somerset Wiltshire Rod & Gun, Swindon, Wiltshire