Yesterday was an amazing night of football. In the FIFA world cup Holland stood against Australia aka the Socceroos. While I’m still in the football atmosphere I thought it would be fun to write a short article about the evolution of soccer boots.

The first soccer boot was created in 1525 by a Englishman called Cornelius Johnson. He was the King Henry VIII personal shoe maker. Because they were mentioned on the Great Wardrobe, a shopping list of the day. They cost 4 shillings, the equivalent of €125 by current exchange rates.

In the 1800’s football was gaining popularity throughout Britain. Soccer boots were mostly steel nosed and heavy leather working boots with tags or metal studs hammered into them to increase ground grip and stability.

In 1924 two brothers formed the Gebruder Dassler Schuhfabrik in which they produced football boots. Later on these brothers had a falling out and they both created their own brands. Adolf Dassler founded Adidas. Rudolf Dassler created Puma. These two brands are off course among the biggest brands such as Nike. Puma started producing the Puma Atom football boot. This boot featured interchangeable studs made of rubber or plastic.
Nowadays football boots are produced as light as possible. This gives athletes the cutting edge in speed and stability on the playing field. But As the debate rages with regards the lack of protection given by modern football boots, and the repercussion in terms of player injuries, there seems little to suggest that the major manufacturers are going to give up their quest for the lightest football boot for a more protective one.

Coaches on the other hand have to look sharp and authorative when on the field. When looking for examples we found Niko Kovač, coach of the national footbalteam of Croatia. And looks like he is taking care of them too! Want to know how? Check our video tutorial on mirror shining.

That’s why I’m glad to announce we don’t offer any white socks! Today we received our very own assortment of Pantherella socks. And we are quite  excited about that, so should you! You can check them out by clicking here: (EU / UK).

Pantherella
Pantherella’s story begins in a small factory in Leicester. Here in 1937 a entrepreneur called Louis Goldschmidt starts to produce socks which are light but also very durable. In 1990 the esteemed brand Burberry buy’s Pantherella, and quality standards are raised again.

Quality
Today Pantherella is a global brand which never lost it’s typical British look and feel. Pantherella is still growing and is available at luxury retailer such as: Mr. Porter, Harrods and Rochester London.

Materials
The ShoeCare-Shop offers socks made from “Cotton Lisle” and “Merino Wool”. Next we explain the different qualities which these materials offer.

Cotton Lisle
You must be thinking: Well that all sounds very nice. But what do these materials have to offer me? I’ll tell you.
Cotton Lisle is an Egyptian cotton which is mercerized to create a strong, bright and soft yarn. This treatment was invented by John Mercer in 1844 and is still used today by Pantherella to create beautiful socks with vivid and shiny tones. The ShoeCare-Shop offers many different Pantherella socks made from Cotton Lisle. You can grab a pair by clicking here (EU / UK).

Merino Wool
Merino sheep are thanks to their excellent wool quality one of the most famous sheep in the world. Merino sheep have many skin folds, and because of that they produce a high quality wool which is very dense and soft. Merino sheep grow ten times more hair per square centimeter than any other sheep. One Merino sheep produces five kilo’s of wool every year. From our assortment we fell in love with one particular sock made from Merino wool. It has a lovely argyle pattern which makes it a really fashionable item suitable for casual or business wear. You can get them by clicking here (EU / UK).