In vellies we trust Which shoes are you wearing as you walk into 2022? Sophia van Taak makes the case for velskoens.
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ntil fairly recently, if you wore vellies, you were either a farmer or David Kramer. Some dictionaries still describe the velskoen as “a home-made shoe; a farmer’s shoe (with a low heel)”. It was a workhorse, not much more. Side story: People on farms are resourceful. Gustav Nortjé*, who
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ILLUSTRATION NICOLENE LOUW
farms in the Baviaanskloof, told me in the old days, their rugby players wore boots made from baboon hide. It might sound absurd today, but for those pragmatic farmers, it made perfect sense. The players needed durable boots and baboons were a pest. Two birds, one stone. But back to velskoens. They’re trendy now. Fashionable, even. Something you could previously only buy at a co-op is now available everywhere. There are Freestyle vellies; Kalahari Vellies; Sapmok; Plaasmeisie; Grondpad Vellies; Bummel;
Boggom; and Katu Vellies, famous for their DKW model, which stands for Dans, Kerk & Werk. More and more people are catching on to the value and comfort of this South African icon. I wonder how many pairs are walking around the country right now? More than the number of K-Way down jackets? More than the number of people who have been vaccinated? Siya Kolisi loves his olive-green Freedom of Movement vellies, and Prince Harry has even been spotted
