Palace Boot Shop will be closing it’s doors in July 2005 (at least for a year or two.) This Houston Chronicle article has some great photos of this downtown custom bootmaker…just click on the “play” button. (No username or password needed.)
Tips on visiting a custom bootshop
1. Always make an appointment! Many bootmakers have their shops at home. Business hours vary greatly…for good and for bad.
2. Ask if there are photos or cowboy boots in the shop for you to see. When bootmakers know you’re coming sometimes they can hold on to a finished pair for a little while before shipping them out. I’ve been places where the only boots in the shop were the ones on the bootmaker’s feet.
3. Don’t do too much drinkin’ or dancin’ the night before your visit. If your feet are unusually swollen it will interfere with your measurements. (This can go for long airplane rides as well.) Most people like afternoon appointments because it’s often a “happy medium” for boot fit.
4. Bring your checkbook. Relatively few bootmakers take credit cards. Most often when you buy a pair of custom cowboy boots you’ll be asked to pay half the amount at the time of the order, and the rest when your boots are finished.
5. Wear clean socks. Pick a pair similar to the ones you are planning on wearing with your boots. Your foot measurements will be taken with your pant legs pulled up and your socks on.
6. Put the bootmaker’s phone number on your cell phone’s speed dial …some boot shops are really “off the beaten path.”
7. Be honest with the bootmaker and respectful of their time. In one-person shops all bootmaking stops when you walk in the door. If you are just stopping by to say “howdy” and look at their work…make it a short visit. Bootmakers will gladly take your measurements if you’re a serious customer, but staying two hours, getting fitting and planning out a pair of boot that you never order …just isn’t cool.
PHOTO: After 15 years of bootmaking, Brian Thomas has just opened his shop in Abilene, Texas. Better act fast before his waitlist gets too long! Contact Mr. Thomas at B17CREWDOG@aol.com (…or phone 325-672-2344.)
Updated Websites— California Bootmakers
Here are the websites of two California bootmakers.
Each makes custom cowboy boots, but also has expanded their businesses to include other custom items. Valerie Coe has introduced a line of home accessories. Murga Boot Company gives a western flair to motorcycle seats and custom guitars. Rock on!
Adding character to your cowboy boots
WARNING!! This posting is not for the faint-o-heart. It may leave some of you custom boot owners feelin’ …well, a little queasy.
Few things are cooler than a pair of well worn cowboy boots…but what about folks who need to look cool by Saturday night?
Not to worry. You’ve got plenty of options.
- Go find a vintage cowboy boots with a well worn look you already know and love.
- Buy a brand new pair that fits you right…then put your boots on the feet of a seven year old, give ’em a box of chalk and tell ’em to go draw on the sidewalk. Anyone feelin’ queasy yet? …there’s more.
- If you want to take matters into your own hands, you can rub a piece of sandpaper along the boots “bumpers”…this includes the top of your boot toes, the boot leather right above the heel, and along the outside of your boot near your little toe. Sometimes you’ll find wear marks on the top and inside of your foot (the vamp) if your foot’s in a stirrup…or the back of your boot heel if your foot rests on a gas pedal.
Be creative! …try dance floors, car repair…tell your barista she can keep the lid. It’s alright to run your car over your boot tops, but not the foot of your boot. Almost always you’ll end up crushing the toe box.
Socks and sweaty feet
Stay away from hi-tech socks when wearing cowboy boots. Just pick a plain ol’ sock any top height you like, preferably one with toe seams that don’t rub you the wrong way. But don’t get too fancy…if God had wanted your feet to be “dry, cool and comfortable” all the time he wouldn’t invented things like the great outdoors…or Texas.
There are approximately 250,000 sweat glands on each of your feet…and sweat can be hard on cowboy boots. If your feet sweat too much and too often, the salty perspiration will eventually rot the leather and your boots will fall apart. You’ll know you have “sweated-out” your favorite pair, when you see the leather near the ball of your foot start cracking. This is the spot on the vamp leather which both flexes and takes the pressure of your foot when you walk.
Normally I’m a big fan of technology, but I think “wicking fibers” Coolmax® are bad news for cowboy boots. The sweat’s gotta go somewhere, right? These new socks wick the sweat off your foot, into the sock…then the next place it goes is right into that ostrich or cow “skin” you are wearing.
There are some things you can do to make your boots last longer. Avoid wearing the same pair of boots two days in a row. Trade-off between a couple pairs. This allows your boots to slowly dry out and your boots will last longer. (Yeah…I know this is common sense, wear your boots half as much and they’ll last twice as long…but the thing is they really last more like three times as long.)
And…if your boots are REALLY sweaty when you take ‘m off…you can try stuffing them with newspaper. This will help absorb the moisture (as well as any smells.) Avoid using drugstore sprays; they can leave residue on the lining leather and further reduce any breathability of your boots.
