Tag Archives: collecting
My Cowboy Boots, All of Them
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…
Vintage Acmes
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 .
Elvis
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.
True West Magazine
This month’s True West magazine has a great article, “Can’t Kick the Boot Addiction,” written by Johnny D. Boggs. Look for it on your newsstands or order your copy online.
Is there a cure? Johnny’s article offers insights and advice on the widespread “problem” of cowboy boot addiction, with revealing quotes from Jim Arndt and yours truly.
How many pairs do you own? (Use the comments section below to fess up.)
