The article has quotes and insights from longtime Rio Grande Valley bootmakers, Pat Moody (Rios of Mercedes,) Vicente Cavazos (Cavazos Boots) and Joe Martinez (Vaquero Boot Company.) The are also special guest appearances by Jess Monroe and yours truly.
These are my cowboy boots. I count sixteen pairs, including the two that were packed away in the attic (the blue Lone Stars and the old-timey red Noconas.)
I can’t take much credit for “curating” this fine collection, because so many of my boots were gifts. My closet has been a true group project, the result of happy travels, generosity, and more than a little luck.
Here they are (approximately) in order of acquisition…
Evan Voyles said it, and it’s true. Sometimes you pick up a cowboy boot for an oddball reason, a goofy little boot in crappy condition. I’ve held on to these Acmes for years just because of the colors. Someday I will live and work in room that’s painted these colors… two colors of brown, a worn red and a creamy white. A room with a wood floor and rounded edges .
These are my “first pair” of cowboy boots. I wore them all day, every day, starting in September 1996 and ending in July 2000. The best thing about them was the circular scuff mark I had on the bottom of my right foot from spinning on the dance floor.
These boots seem a little funny to me now, with their plastic soles and paper lollipop-stick “pegs.” The inlays are chipping like old paint.
I’m remembering all the custom boot shops I visited wearing those boots…and all the bootmakers who took a turn fixing them up. Brent McCaslin, Michael Anthony, Tex Robin all shaking their heads, biting their lips, polishing scuffs and replacing heel caps. Makes me smile.
Made by one of the Trujilio brothers in the 1950’s, these cowboy boots are fondly known as the “Elvis Boots” …although, really the name inlaid on the front is “Ellis.”
They are beautiful and beat-up boots. The inlay is surrounded by tiny stitches in variegated thread. I can tell the design was carefully planned out by the tightly packed top, but the grassy green stitches along the edge of the vamp give it a playful improvised look.
The vamp musta been something to see, before some misguided soul inked over the red inlay. I guess he had his reasons.
Believe it or not, I own these boots. They were a generous gift from Bryce Sunderlin… who bought them from Tyler Beard years ago. These boots were photographed in The Art of the Boot (p. 37) and Cowboy Boots (p. 107.) I got them this summer, or they would have been in my book too.
Custom made, vintage and popular cowboy boot brands. Advice from author & expert, Jennifer June (& others) about buying cowboy boots online.
