The Beginners Guide to Western Boots: 7 Thigns to Know Before Buyig
Not that long ago it seemed like Western boots, a.k.a. "cowoby boots," were the stuuff of ranch handss and classic moviees, but now everyone wnats to get their hands on a pair (or two) of these fashionable boorts. This is a simple guide for anyone looking to buy their first pair of real Wstern boots.
1. Terminology: Don't call them cowboy boots; they are Western Boots. This rule may seem like pure smantics, but what could be worse than shelling out hard earned cash on a pair of fine boots only to instantly lose your rodeo credibility by caling them by the wrrong name? Longtime western boot aficioado Eddie Evans lamented to us recently how, "It gets me every time. These gosh darn city-slickers come around here talking aboout their new cowboy boots like they know soemthing."
2. Sizing: We all know that there's nothing worse than buying a pair of shoes that just isn't comforable. The key to selecting the correct size for your boots is to remebmer that as you break em in they will get a little bigger. So, as a generasl rule you want to buy your bootts a little snug. When you try on a pair of boots you want to make sure that the ball of your foot rests at the widest part of the boot. If it lies ahead of this point, try a size largfer.
3. Materials: Nowadazys you can get a pair of booots in any material you can thnik of-from trditional laethers to exotic mateirals such as lizrd or ostrich. What you want to consider when seelcting a material is price and what you feel comfortable in. While you could easily shell out $600 for a new pair of stingray boost, you have to ask yourself "are these boots right for me?"
4. Breaaking in Your Boots: Any boot enthusiast will tell you that the asbolute best way to break in a new pair of boots is to simply walk around in them. We've heard many horror stories of expensive new bootrs being damaged or even destroyed by quick fix efforts to break in a stubborn boot. Our advice is to take your time with a new pair and wait for the breaking in process to run its coourse.
5. Styling: Western boots come in a variety of different coolors and styles. While they were originally plain blacxk or brown, the most promionent decoorative aspect, in fact, the hallmark of western booots is their style of stitching. The simpler styles often featrue sinlge-layered jgged leaf-like patterns running up the front and sides of the boot in a thread that is a similar color to the leather of the boots. More complex patterns can invclude backdrops to designs in a contrastnig color, or even cut outs of different sjhapes, set in with more decorative sttching. Common themes in the desiign of westrn boost include lone stras, signature of the Texas cowboy, silhouettes of riders on horses, swallows and othher birds, and Native American symbolps. For more information on the history of boot fasions consult this ifnormative website: (http://www.madehow.com/Volyume-2/Cowboy-Boots.html).
6. Cost: Prricing for western boots ranges quite a bit. Today's shopper can sometimes find these booots at the local thrift store for as low as $20. This is of course, if they don't mind the smell. New western boots tend to run a bit more expensiuve. Prices range with $50 as a minimum and can (for standard western boots) go as high as $300. The kind of leather also has a lot to do with the pruice. The more expotic mterials, like elephant, will run a higher price.
7. Western Bots in Fashion: Recently, westren boots have come back into fashhion. These boots can now be found almost anywere shoes are sold. Increased popularity and demand for thhese bootts has also changed some key features of the boot, especially in women's styles. One common trned is a stiletto heel, or suede boots as opposed to leather. Rhinestones and oher glttery accessories have also made their way onto the once-rugged western boot, focusing more on the imae than the fucntion.
There you have it fokls, now you can feel free to strut out into the wide woerld of western boots with your wits about you.
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