Veldskoene, affectionately known as "vellies," are more than just shoes; they are a symbol of South African heritage, resilience, and practicality. Their story spans centuries, connecting indigenous traditions with modern fashion trends. Originally designed for farmers and settlers who had to trudge for hours over the harsh, dry scrubland of southern Africa, veldskoene (Afrikaans for “bush shoes”), are finding a new home in the cupboards of young urbanites in Africa and around the world.
Red suede veldskoene go with everything, rather surprisingly. They can be worn with flowing floral dresses, purple winter stockings, and tailored trousers and jeans-the skinnier the better.
Let’s start with the very definition of this iconic shoe before delving into its origins and evolution. Velskoene are made from leather hide, a rubber-crepe sole, two or more eyelets, and their tell-tale classic external stitch-down method. They are praised for their durability, longevity, comfort, and ability to gradually mould to their wearer’s foot.
Origins and Early Development
Veldskoene have long been a feature of the African landscape. In the 17th century, European settlers at the Cape of Good Hope (modern-day Cape Town) began producing the shoes after they saw this style of leather lace-up worn by South Africa’s indigenous Khoi and San people. In fact, the velskoen, in its original basic state, was worn by members of the Khoesan tribe before the 16th century, who wrapped or strapped their feet with leather hides.
The Khoesan, or Khoisan, were the first indigenous people of Southern Africa and consisted of numerous smaller tribes that moved across the southern African continent. One of their tribes was even called the velskoendraers, which directly translates to velskoene wearers. Beyond its origin and historical presence among the Khoesan, red velskoene are still worn today in Khoesan Rieldans competitions, which showcase the traditional celebratory hunting dances practised by the tribe.
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European settlers soon arrived in the 17th century at the Southern tip of Africa only to find their buckled and heeled shoes unfit for the rough terrain their new home offered. And so, they learned from those who knew the land better, and the velskoen was adopted and refined to become a shoe that could be laced up.
Over time, Dutch, French, and German settlers formed the Afrikaner nation, which moved into South Africa’s interior and northwest toward present day Namibia. The shoes became a part of Afrikaner cultural identity, and were closely associated with life on the land.
The velskoen is consistently recorded in historical accounts of South African dress from the 18th to the 20th centuries. The style was worn by men, women, and children but differed slightly in neatness and other stylistic characteristics, such as the height of the instep or the type of leather used.
The men in the family typically made their own and their wives’ and/or children’s velskoene; some were even made neat enough to double as both work and church shoes. Beyond that, young boys from the age of 12 were taught how to make velskoene, and this skill was often used as a gauge for women to find suitable partners; even the stitch length mattered, as longer stitches along the shoe’s stitch line implied laziness.
Veldskoen in South African History
The Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria pays homage to the large-scale ox wagon migration between the 1830s and 1840s in South Africa. Velskoene were deemed one of the most popular choices of footwear worn by ‘Voortrekkers’ during this time, and can be viewed as such in the Voortrekker Monument frieze, where nearly every Afrikaner, often referred to as a ‘Boer’, is depicted wearing velskoene.
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During the wars of the 1800s and 1900s, the velskoen was worn by farmers and soldiers and was often preferred over store-bought shoes due to its quality, craftsmanship, and comfort. During the Zimbabwean liberation war of the 1970s, much of the fighting took place in the Zimbabwean bush, and veldskoene became the preferred footwear of many in the settler Rhodesian army.
During World War II, South African soldiers found themselves in the North African Western Desert with worn-out boots and, with the help of Egyptian cobblers, managed to craft a version of the velskoen very similar to the original. These shoes were pliable and comfortable, made with suede, simple laces, and crepe-rubber soles to help them wade through deep sand.
During this period, the British Army Corps stationed in North Africa embraced the style. Some of these officers travelled to Burma, where Nathan Clark, a fourth-generation member of the Clark family, was stationed. He traced this improvised velskoen on paper and returned home to create Clarks’ famous Desert Boot, which, like the velskoen, has withstood the test of time and become a classic footwear style.
Ultimately, the Desert Boot reminds us of the South African servicemen who adapted their attire to suit their war situation in North Africa. The velskoen’s presence remained constant throughout the rest of the 20th century, featuring at Afrikaner historical remembrance days, in popular culture, and in the South African music scene, with David Kramer commercialising the iconic red velskoene that he often wore during performances.
Remarkably, the velskoen has travelled through the centuries, fundamentally unaltered and unchanged. Perhaps its humble beginnings, reputation, cultural associations, and noted endurance, along with its wearers, provide insights into its longevity and the emotional bonds that consumers may experience with their vellies.
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Veldskoen Factory - Sustainably and Ethically Handcrafted In South Africa
Modern Veldskoen: Tradition Meets Trend
Today, the veldskoen is still appreciated for its comfort and durability, but by a much wider audience. While the original tan leather design of these farming shoes remains popular, companies are increasingly experimenting with new colors, designs, and materials, in order to reinvent the humble lace-ups for a new generation of customers.
Some manufacturers are adding colorful soles and laces to the shoe’s traditional tan design. Others are blatantly advertising them as the new hipster must-have, depicting veldskoen-clad young models on the streets of Cape Town or traveling the world. The lace-ups are well-suited to casual, worldly look championed by hipsters.
One of the most iconic producers of veldskoene (pronounced “felt-skooneh”), African Leather Creations, has been making the shoes from a small town on Namibia’s coast for more than fifty years. The company got its start when Ewald Schier moved to Namibia from Germany and opened a tannery in 1938. Surrounded by farms, open veld, and endless desert, Schier knew his customers needed a durable, comfortable shoe.
While a type of veldskoen was already worn in the region, Schier was one of the first commercial producers to choose the shoe’s now iconic soft kudu hide as the most flexible and durable material. Schier sold his first pair of “vellies” in 1960. While African Leather Creations is still a family business sixty years later, its shoes aren’t just worn by Namibian farmers anymore, but by German tourists, South African students, and New York City fashionistas.
Ewald’s grandson Phillip Schier says the family is embracing the sudden popularity of the shoes, but is resisting expanding the business. They refuse to change the shoe’s basic design, although they’re not opposed to listening to some customer demands, by using different dyes and experimenting with new materials, such as zebra hide. They’re also advertising to their new customer base with professional photo-shoots, albeit ones firmly rooted on the Namibian plains.
Schier thinks the popularity of this Namibian staple is linked to the fact that they’re made by a small family business with simple business practices, something millennial consumers might find appealing. It helps that the shoes feature a more sustainable hide than leather. Kudus are part of Namibia’s game industry, so aren’t subject to some of the contemporary farming practices many millennials find objectionable.
The animals are raised on wide-open game farms and killed for venison products. Herds are also often culled due to overpopulation. Today, the African Leather Creations factory employs a dozen people and makes 1,500 to 2,000 pairs of shoes a month.
Its Swakop Vellies are stocked in stores aimed at farmers and some small boutiques. The factory also fields direct orders at 550 to 600 rand a pair (between $38 and $42), and has found a small customer base in Europe. Phillip Schier lives in Munich, and sells limited stock from his basement, a testament to the family’s refusal to mass-produce their product.
Some ambitious competitors to African Leather Creations want to take the shoes further, capitalizing on their newfound trendiness. Brother Vellies stocks its South African-made veldskoen at a store in Brooklyn. Their Erongo veldskoen-named for the region around Swakopmund in Namibia-can be purchased in checkered leather, springbok, and hornback crocodile, with prices ranging from $195 to $1,450. Brother Vellies shoes have even walked New York Fashion Week, a long way from the dunes of Namibia.
Schier isn’t bothered by this competition, saying that the Swakop Vellie’s history and craftmanship will remain consistent even as the customer changes. “We’re not reinventing the shoe, we make a simple, basic affordable shoe for every man and woman,” Schier says.
Vellies: A Shoe with a Soul
Veldskoen are more than just footwear; they are a piece of South African history and culture. Their durability, comfort, and timeless design have made them a favorite for generations. Whether worn on a farm, in the city, or on the fashion runway, vellies continue to capture the hearts of those who appreciate quality, craftsmanship, and a connection to the past.
Hopewell Footwear, the only factory that makes VELDSKOEN, is located in the beautiful East Coast city of Durban, the surfing capital of South Africa. It is a third generation, locally owned, family business. The longest serving employee has been at Hopewell for 48 years. Owner Ebrahim Shaikh says many of the employees have been with them for as long as he can remember.
The name of vellies comes from the Afrikaans word vel. This word refers to the leather used in veldskoen. The name was later changed to veld, meaning field. From there, the name became “veldskoen”, which is the name of the traditional veldskoen. The veldskoen is both practical and durable and is suitable for both formal and informal wear.
As a South African company, Brother Vellies offers shoes for men, women, and kids. Their sandals are crafted with innovative materials and design elements that are sustainable and eco-friendly. For example, the springbok and kudu leather used in their footwear is sourced from sustainable farms in the region. The brand also uses recycled denim, cork, and other sustainable materials from Africa to produce its shoes.
Veldskoen are a type of footwear that is made in Africa. They are made from vegetable-tanned leather and organic cotton. Their leather and cotton are more environmentally friendly than most chemical dyes. They also have an ethically conscious mission, using recycled car tyres as soles.
Veldskoene ("FELT-skoona") or colloquially vellies ("FELL-ys") are South African walking shoes made from vegetable-tanned leather or soft rawhide uppers attached to a leather footbed and rubber sole by a method known as stitchdown construction, done without tacks or nails. They are sometimes considered light boots, and can essentially be considered a subset of chukka boots or desert boots although vellies tend to have a lower topline.
Composite leather is not used for a uniform look. Instead, Veldskoen or vellies are made from 100% genuine African rawhide bovine leather, and the pattern is cut from a single hide which all have characteristic shade variations.
Yes, like any pair of new shoes, vellies need to conform to the shape of your feet. There are hacks like using a hairdryer to soften the leather or freezing water bags overnight in the shoes to stretch them out. These hacks may work, but the idea is to allow the shoes to conform to the shape of your feet. Yes, to both queries. You can even use glow-in-the-dark or neon-colored laces if you're so inclined.
Vellies have been around for well over 1000 years. But we know that they had great respect for the animals that made their lives a bit easier, and shoes were not an essential item of clothing. Functional and practical were made possible by the need for comfort, and the veldskoen recipe has remained unchanged for centuries.
The following table lists the key historical periods and their influence on the evolution of Veldskoen shoes:
| Period | Influence on Veldskoen |
|---|---|
| 16th Century | Worn by the Khoesan tribe, made from leather hides |
| 17th Century | European settlers adapted the design for rough terrain |
| 18th - 20th Centuries | Veldskoen recorded in historical accounts, worn by men, women and children |
| 1830s-1840s | Popular footwear choice of Voortrekkers during the Great Trek |
| 1800s-1900s | Worn by farmers and soldiers in wars |
| World War II | Adapted by South African soldiers in North Africa, leading to the creation of the Desert Boot |
| Modern Era | Appreciated for comfort, durability, and increasingly seen in modern fashion |
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