15 years after we laced our first shoe, we've begun to wonder if zero shoelaces might be a nice change.

Everything we've ever made has come with shoestrings attached, so it feels weird.

But one model can't hurt, right?

And it's thrilling, because look at this gorgeous Goodyear Chelsea... 

We've only made a couple of samples so far, and we love them. Personally, I had never owned a Chelsea Boot until now, and it's been revelatory. 

Basic questions I had - like “How does it even stay on my foot?" - evaporated the instant I tried them. 

They're clean, versatile, hearty (with Horween Predator leather) and a pure joy to pull on and off one's feet, with ne'er a knot to be tied or untied. 

They have the same lofty elegance as our Serious Boots, with a proper Goodyear welt (unlike most Chelseas) and a Vibram Vi-Lite sole. But they very much have no shoelaces - just elasticated side panels and a heel pull. 

They've been my favourite wear through the winter, but they're shaping up to be all-year-rounders. I've even deployed them in the Berlin heat wave of recent days, and I'm still here to tell the tale. 

They’re comfy (for a Goodyear-welted piece of chunk), not least thanks to a new latex footbed which has a little more heel and arch support than our usuals. 

And they're durable - they even survived getting soaked (by accident) in the North Sea. 

Many of you have encouraged us to make a Chelsea down the years - but, now we're here, we honestly have no idea how much demand to expect. 

So we're going to cautiously dip a toe by making them only to order - if you pre-order now, we'll make a pair especially for you and hope you'll have them 6 months from now.

We'll offer two familiar colours: Horween Orange (actually more of a cognac) and Horween Whiskey (arguably more of a dark rum).

STOP PRESS  - we're actually down to the very last of our Horween Whiskey leather, but we're open to making them in Badalassi Brunette, if your heart is set on a rich, middle brown (just email us if so hello@atheistberlin.com). 

As you can see in the photos, we made the samples with a black welt, and we really like the way that looks. But if you'd prefer a tan welt, let us know as you pre-order and we'll try make it so. 

As for the price, it's hard to predict how much life will cost 6 months from now. But we reckon we can do them for €475. 

This way to pre-order!