Mercedes, TX is a place full of history and full of cowboy boots. This article published by The Monitor (no registration required)…covers bootshops big and small.
Also, includes the customary name-droppin’ of well-known celebrity clients.
This weekend is 16th annual High Noon Auction. This event has evolved into the country’s largest and most recognizable show and sale of Western Americana antique, fine art & memorabilia. This is no fleamarket…we are talking here about tablecloths and track lighting.
Even if you can’t make it to Phoenix by Saturday, you don’t have to miss any of the excitement. Here are the cowboy boots up for bid …and you can now bid live & online through your eBay account!
Photo courtesy of High Noon, also a larger image of the Rios cowboy boots.
“California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger… showed off the cowboy boots he planned to send to Texas Gov. Rick Perry after USC lost the Rose Bowl.
The boots, complete with California state seal and the governor’s name, are made of hornback crocodile, according to the governor’s office. State law says it is illegal to import with an intent to sell products made of crocodile, polar bear and 22 other animals.
But the boots were custom-made for Schwarzenegger by a Texas boot-maker—and thereby likely avoids the “intent to sell” aspect of the law.”
(Gary Delsohn of The Bee’s Capitol Bureau contributed to this report. Distributed by Scripps-McClatchy Western Service, http://www.shns.com.)
Personally, I’d wager the Governor Schwarzenegger’s boots were made by Tres Outlaws. FYI— Governor Perry put up a pair of Justins. (Click here for the Donor List)
Arizona Republic reporter, Yvonne Wingett, explores the history and future of family bootmaking traditions on both sides of the Mexico/US border. This article profiles David Espinoza’s shop in Phoenix, Arizona.*
If you would like to order a pair of custom cowboy boots from Mr. Espinoza… he can be reached at (602) 263-8164.
* There is a short e-mail registration required to view this article.
(Photo credit: Carlos Chavez / The Arizona Republic)
Every year I look forward to Jim Arndt’s Cowboy Boot Calendar. My copy goes up on a nail next to the kitchen sink. It’s a New Year’s tradition.
The calendar’s big pages (12″ x 12″) lets you see count-the-stitches-details on every pair …this year there are seven new pairs, six vintage ones.
I’m impressed by a pair of vintage Noconas (See “November.”) Even though I’m not crazy about the white collar, I like the large strong inlay pattern—I especially like the three rows of stitching that surrounds each shape. (Click here for another view.) Two rows of yellow stitches, outlined again by a row of white.
The boot design is sturdy, straight forward and well-balanced. The stitching keeps the pattern from looking sparse. It softens the edges without making the boot look wimpy. It’s great.
I think inlay loses some of its punch …as soon as you need your reading glasses.
NOTE (7 Jan 2006): Guess has remade this cowboy boot… with a few different colors to choose from.
