Clarks Originals Wallabees & Desert Boots

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Clarks Originals is where the Desert Boot, the Wallabee and the Desert Trek live — three shapes that have barely changed since they were drawn. Wallabees make up most of the range here, in suede,

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About Clarks Originals shoes

Clarks has been making shoes in Street, Somerset since 1825, when Cyrus and James Clark started out with slippers cut from sheepskin offcuts. The Originals line was set up in 1994 to hold the archive designs, and the three that matter are all here. What links them is the crepe sole — natural plantation rubber, which is soft underfoot, grips well, wears down slowly and can be replaced by a decent cobbler rather than binning the shoe.

Clarks Originals Wallabee shoes and boots

The Wallabee came out of a German moccasin design that Clarks adapted in the late 1960s, originally made under contract in Ireland. Its construction is the reason it fits the way it does: a moccasin last, wrapped rather than built up, which gives a wider and more relaxed fit than most shoes. It runs from the low shoe through the boot, plus the GTX with a waterproof lining and the Scout Lo, a lower and slimmer take on the same shape.

Worth knowing if you are new to them — a Wallabee and a Desert Boot are not built on the same last, so your size in one is not automatically your size in the other.

Clarks Desert Boots, Desert Treks and Nomads

The Desert Boot was Nathan Clark's idea, taken from crepe-soled suede boots he saw officers wearing in Burma who had had them made in a Cairo bazaar. It launched in 1950: two panels of suede, two eyelets, unlined, on crepe. The Desert Trek came later, designed by Lance Clark in 1972, and is the one with the seam running down the centre of the vamp — a moccasin idea applied to a lace-up shoe. The Nomad sits between the two, and the Trek Hike is the rugged-soled version for wetter ground.

Browse all footwear at Yards Store, or try a pair on at our Manchester store.

Clarks Originals FAQs

No. They are built on different lasts. The Wallabee uses a moccasin construction with a wider, more relaxed fit, while the Desert Boot sits on a traditional chukka last and laces closer to the foot. Your size in one is not a reliable guide to your size in the other.
Crepe is natural plantation rubber. It is soft and springy underfoot, grips well and wears down slowly, but it picks up dirt and darkens with use — that is normal rather than damage. It can be replaced; most good cobblers offer crepe resoling, which is part of why a well-kept pair lasts years.
The Desert Boot is an ankle boot: two panels of suede, two eyelets, unlined, launched in 1950. The Desert Trek is a lower shoe designed by Lance Clark in 1972, recognisable by the seam running down the centre of the vamp. Both sit on crepe.
Brush them dry with a suede brush and use a suede cleaner or eraser on marks. Never put them in a washing machine, and let wet pairs dry naturally away from direct heat. Leather pairs can be wiped with a damp cloth and treated occasionally with a leather cream.