Men have been wearing boots for at least 3,000 years, so we’re going to hold our hands up here. What follows does not include calfskin ankle boots designed by Inca warriors or mankind’s original winter men’s boots, which were made by Inuit tribes and decorated with seal intestines. Sorry about that. What it does include, however, are classic 20th-century designs that do what the best boots for men have always done: they work.

Fashion rarely gets more functional than this. Whether you’re talking military stompers, steel-capped workers or rootin’-tootin’ cowboy boots, they’re all built for purpose. The fact that they look good is, in most cases, a happy coincidence.

These days, you might not work on the docks, and your feet probably only need protection from deceptively deep puddles. But if you want to look rugged and stylish at the same time, in footwear that will last longer than almost anything else in your wardrobe, these are the best boots for men to wear on their feet from great, tried and true brands.

The 15 Best Boots for Men

1. Grenson Triple Welt Fred Boot

Traditional Northamptonshire shoemaker Grenson is more than qualified to offer the smart, functional footwear when you need to look suited and booted. The firm, founded in 1866, was among the first to adopt the famous Goodyear welting technique, but its triple welt boot proves that it’s still innovating more than 150 years later.

Launched in 2014, the triple welt gives the brand’s classic brogue boot an even chunkier sole, adding width and height to a design that was already hard-wearing and watertight. Designed to last you winter after winter, the sole of these winter boots will wear as slowly as the dapper brogue details date.

For meetings in the city, the pebble-grain leather pairs expertly with flecked wool trousers, but don’t mistake them for a strict Monday-to-Friday option. “These boots will always give a rakish look when teamed with denim jeans,” says says Mr Porter shoes buyer David Morris.