The Boots of the Cowboys
Manolo says, here is the article from Times of the New York about the increasing popularity of the boots of the Cowboys.
Western boots worn out of season represent “a really strong trend, one that still is gaining momentum,” said Michael Atmore, the editorial director of Footwear News, a trade weekly. And to judge by the number of boot makers who have added Western models to their lineups, Mr. Atmore said, “a lot of companies are banking on the look for spring, summer and fall.”
It is something of a paradox that the Western boot, a classic emblem of Americana, derived much of its latest currency from the streets of London, where style-setting neo-bohemians like Kate Moss and Sienna Miller were snapped earlier this year wearing boots with flounced tunics or peasant skirts. Stateside, early adopters, flaunting boots as counterweight to the summer’s wispy skirts, led to a spike in sales.
The clamor for summer boots prompted the Frye Company to raid its archives and reissue discontinued looks like the Daisy Duke, its onetime signature Western style. The company, which is privately owned, does not release sales figures but forecast that its boot business would more than double this year. Jim McCormick, the president of the company, said that a substantial portion of that growth “is reliant on brisk sales of boots in the traditionally slow months from February through August.”
As often as not, the most prized boots are vintage models.
Of the course, this it is not the news to the Manolo. He has long said that every super fantastic girl needs the pair of the boots of the cowboy, and he has always recommended the most traditional of these boots, something like these handsome boots of the Lucchese below, because these traditional boots have always, and will always, weather the fickle winds of fashion.
These boots they will be worn for many years to come.
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Comments
feetman78 19 years ago
Season for cowboy boots? If you think there is a “season” then you are not someone who needs to wear these.
deja pseu 19 years ago
Having grown up with horses, and having spent a good deal of her childhood wearing the boots of the cowboy, the Deja has a difficult time thinking of them as a fashion statement. Still, she will attest to the comfort and durability…a classic pair of Tony Lama’s will last for years and retain the good looks.
deja pseu 19 years ago
Oh, and the Deja would also agree with the Manolo that if one is going to purchase the boots of the cowboy, to stick with the simple and the classic. The boots of the fuschia-and-turquoise variety make one look like an escapee from the Opry of the Grand Ole, and would cause snickers of derision from the other attendees at the Rodeo.
VeddyVeddyBadAng 19 years ago
Are cowboy boots normally over $500? AYYYYYYY!
Lori 19 years ago
It’s ironic that I rarely see anyone in cowboy boots here in the Denver area, and yet they’re wearing them in London. Even my father doesn’t wear his anymore–and he’s the real deal having grown up on a homestead in Wyoming. The top pair shown looks just like what he used to wear.
Christie 19 years ago
Love the boots, hate how the girls in LA are wearing them…
JayKay 19 years ago
I agree with feetman78:
There is a “season” for wearing cowboy boots?
Who knew?!? ;)
Ambrose 19 years ago
They are a peculiar look on the streets of New York in July. I’m seeing a lot of the beautiful girls in the light sundresses wearing the boots of the cowboy. I’m not so sure it works.
The boots of the cowboy are indisputably hot with the jeans of blue in the fall.
Your Granny 19 years ago
I must respectfully disagree with deja pseu – since Tona Lama was aquired by Justin Boots the quality is gone.
Fortunately, the good women of Ariat have stepped in to provide boots that offer both quality around the barn and proper fit with no loss to style.
Additionally, isn’t this a “fashion” that comes around with every cycle of John Travolta’s career?
B 19 years ago
Deja, how right you are. I too grew up in boots. After moving to the east coast ten years ago I would have been ridiculed if I wore boots then. Now if I dug out my old boots I’d be accused of riding a fashion trend. *sigh*
Tia Nieve 19 years ago
The Tia Nieve is pleased that the Manolo has raised the topic of the boots of the cowboy. The Tia received the classic, simple yet superfantastic black boots of the cowboy as a Christmas gift from the Tio, and they have languished, unworn, in the closet of the Tia, for she is uncertain what to wear with them.
The Tia begs for advice from the superfantastic ladies and the Manolo how to show of her boots of the cowboy. Should the Tia buy the ubiquitous “boho chic” broomstick skirt for her boots? Are the boots of the cowboy in the black color suitable only for the autumn and winter months? What pants are best for the boots of the cowboy?
The Tia would be grateful for suggestions, for she does not want to appear ungrateful to the Tio for his superfantastic gift.
Tia Nieve 19 years ago
P.S. to the Granny — the Tia’s superfantastic boots are indeed the boots of the Ariat. The Tia is pleased that the Tio chose wisely.
lexa 19 years ago
Nope. No. No way.
africankelli 19 years ago
Oy, the photos of the girls that went with that article were TERRIBLE. I simply cannot get behind the Mary Kate homeless boho look. Cowboy boots should never be worn with “rolled shorts” and plastic bangles. Good grief.
Get a pedicure and a cute pair of flip flops. That’s right. I said it. Flip Flops!
jrochest 19 years ago
Oh bloody h*ll, a quandary.
I am a city mouse, who has gotten a job in a country mouse town. Undaunted by the fact that in my new home “fashion statement” means co-ordinating one’s hair scrunchy with the applique on one’s sweatshirt, I march about in suits, dresses and fabulous shoes. And of course, I would normally follow trends, malgre the snickers of the unenlightened.
But should I turn up in *cowboy boots* the snickers would escalate to guffaws, and I fear I would be stoned for my termidity.
I don’t like cowboy boots, either. I didn’t like them back in the early 80s when this trend had its unfortunate birth, and I don’t like them now. Fryes, now — a nice pair of well-broken in Fryes are not only funkily elegant but amazingly comfortable. But again, they are working country boots, and I am manifestly NOT a working country girl.
I hope this trend is smothered in its cradle, which will save me worry.
Rob-O 19 years ago
I remember many years ago when I would occasionally see someone wearing cowboy boots with only one spur.
La BellaDonna 19 years ago
La BellaDonna, she encourages the Tia to wear her boots and rejoice in them. La BellaDonna has the numerous … the very, very numerous … pairs of boots, which she wears 90% of the time. Today La BellaDonna wears her sleeveless V-necked black bias-cut Italian linen sheath, the wide-brimmed degagee black sunhat with the big rose hatpin, and her knee-length black leather boots. (With the black tights, which, not being of the evil control-top, are more comfortable than trousers.)
In fact, La BellaDonna just picked up today the delicate fine Indian cotton tiered skirts, and she would wear the black boots of the cowboy with the cranberry, the black or the white skirt. As she does not have the black boots of the cowboy, she will wear today’s boots – or mayhap her golden/orange (whatever that colour is) boots of the cowboy.
If the Tia is not of the age to wear the miniskirt with the boots (Aaaayyyyy!), and the Tia cannot find the boho skirt that pleases, the long straight denim skirt with perhaps the walking slit, this will look lovely with her boots, spanning the seasons. The long straight button skirt of the sage or the pale chino will also work well. And the Tia can make the tres chic statement in the white tank and low-calf white half-circle skirt, with her black hat, black boots and black and silver belt.
The ubiquitous jeans, they can of course also be worn with the boots – the classic blue denim, or the black denim jean with the motorcycle jacket in the autumn.
As the weather gets cold, the Tia can wear her boots with the full ankle-length skirt of the black velvet, with a fitted jacket, perhaps of the black and white tweed (or leather!)
… And if the Tia wears the seven/seven and a half in her pretty black boots, she might not want to wear them in Philadelphia where La BellaDonna will see her in them, because La BellaDonna suddenly wants the Tia’s boots very badly ….
(And if the Tia wishes, La BellaDonna will style her a year-round wardrobe just to go with her boots.)
And to the B, wear your boots if you love them. La BellaDonna, she says, “Do not care what the people think! So often, they don’t.”
Kourtney 19 years ago
Not sure about London, but here in “the Heart of the New West” (which is what I’ve heard Calgary called, lately…), cowboy boots are in style, even when it’s not Stampede.
And really, really really, I recommend the Alberta Boot Company – they will custom make whatever you want, in whatever leather, and whatever shaft height you desire, all in little Canadian dollars. I have a pair of tall boots in a chestnut with tan cutouts on the shaft, and they are beyond comfortable. The tall shaft is hard to find, and, having grown up on a farm, I have the firm opinion that short skirts are only appropriate with tall boots.
And as a note to any & all: Please, please, if you wear jeans with cowboy boots – make sure they are BOOTCUT, not FLARES, and they are LONG, LONG, LONG. Short pants & cowboy boots is like… is like… short dress pants, & no socks on men, or maybe like the socks & the sandals. A crime most heinous.
http://www.albertaboot.com/
deja pseu 19 years ago
The Deja must confess to The Granny that her only pair of Tony Lama boots were purchased over 30 years ago, and are currently languishing in storage. So sad when products that once were of high and reliable quality go downhill.
Tia Nieve 19 years ago
The Tia is most appreciative of LaBellaDonna’s suggestions. The Tia is of an age where the miniskirts are not suitable, but “the long straight denim skirt with perhaps the walking slit” — this is a costume that suits the Tia’s style.
The Tia has seen the delicate tiered Indian skirts in the understated colors on sale in the boutiques of Los Angeles, and she will take LaBellaDonna’s advice here as well.
The Tia she loves the Philadelphia, and since the boots of the Tia are the 6 and a half, she would be delighted to visit LaBellaDonna and wear her pretty black boots of the cowboy with a clear conscience.
Zippy 19 years ago
The Zip spent a few younger years on a working ranch where one wore ones boots
over ones jeans most of the day. There were nasty ‘critters’ like scorpions and rattlesnakes roaming about.
When we dressed for an occasion, the fancy footwear was inside the dress pants.
To this day I prefer to wear ‘city’ shoes to fine dinners.
Liz II 19 years ago
Pshaw, shows what the NYT knows about fashion! Cowboy boots have been uber-fashionable over here (London) for the last two years but they’re rapidly losing cachet. It’s funny (to me, at least) that it’s taken the NYT this long to notice, and now that they have, the trend is dying!
(I’ve never liked cowboy boots, though I can accept that they are durable and comfortable and practical, I personally think they’re ugly.)
Inkadinkadoo 19 years ago
Synchronicity is alive and well in my life – I was drooling over the Lucchese chocolate cashmere suede boots only this morning and here they are featured.
Is this a sign? I should spend more than I spend on a RT trip ticket to Italy for one pair of shoes? They have my size (out of two available)?
Hmmmmm.
debutaunt 19 years ago
They make a much different statement when worn here in Texas. Like you are a redneck. Or a wannabe. Soooo not as cute here. The only ones I really like are the ones found in a resale shop. Broken in and really retro.
La BellaDonna 19 years ago
Hmmm. La BellaDonna, she would have thought that the boot of the cowboy, worn in Texas, would say not, “I am worn by the redneck,” but “I am the suitable footgear for the sometimes dry and dusty, sometimes suprisingly muddy, often difficult terrain, and I will keep your feets from slipping out of the stirrups, should you be riding.” The suitable footgear for the environment – unlike, say, the hiking flip-flop.
*And La BellaDonna will be happy to take the Tia and her dainty feets shopping, should she come to Philadelphia!
The Charlotte Allen 19 years ago
But does every super fantastic girl really need a pair of cowboy boots?
Worn with blue-jeans (the classic kind, not the wide-bottoms or rolls): fantastic, especially when you’re on the ranch, riding Western, and so forth. Worn with other kinds of pants: “Hey, here I am at the Texas Boots ‘n’ Black Tie Ball!” Worn with shorts: “I’m a cocktail waitress in Oklahoma City.” Worn with cowgirl clothes at a Western-theme costume party: Just great. Worn with miniskirts, sundresses, etc.: Beats miniskirts with Uggs, and will look fine on the young and gorgeous for its fifteen minutes of fashion. Worn with long peasant and pencil-slim skirts a la Tia: fantastic on some women, not so fantastic on others, such as me. Maybe it’s my great height, broad shoulders, and long waist, but I need to look sleek at all times, especially in the boots department. Cowboy boots, even the chocolate suede Lucchese variety, are extremely rugged-looking and bottom-heavy. On some women, their virile look makes a nice contrast to her femininity. On me, they’d make me look like Ma Kettle clomping around in huge clodhoppers.
So, while I know that Western is huge this fall, and it would be fun to own a pair of cowboy boots down the line (the tan, outdoorsy Luccheses because I’d never wear them except with Jeans), I think I can look semi-super fantastic without them. And the great thing about Manolo’s blog is that all the links stay up forever!
debutaunt 19 years ago
Funny. I’ve lived in Texas for 25 years and have never ridden a horse once. But I have coveted many a pair of Christian Louboutin or Prada.
Anyone like the lovely LaBellaDonna must come to shop at the Galleria or River Oaks. So far from the ranch, yet so close to shoe perfection.
farm girl 19 years ago
The biggest rage (at least for women, cowboys tend to not care so much) in the northwest rodeo circut for cowboy boots is the Fatboy by Ariat. Though this western girl thinks it is quite comical that the shoes she wears for work and such are a major fashion trend. If they aren’t dirty they are just a pair of boots.
Jessica 19 years ago
I have no excuse to wear the cowboy boots. None. None at all. However, the link provided by the Kourtney, opening up the possibility of the lovely cowboy boots with the careful foot measurements and the pricing in the Canadian dollars, is causing the drool on the keyboard.
Joey 19 years ago
Joey says, there is no SEASON for wearing cowboy boots, and if you want a pair of hick heels, don’t buy them for $500. But, I am tempted for those dark brown suede-looking boots below.
Fashionista 19 years ago
Dear Manolo,
I have got the Anna Suit nude colored slouchy cowboy boots and was wondering what should I wear with them? Jean skirts look too western, prairie skirts are not my style…what is something chic that I can pair them with to show them off?
Anna 19 years ago
Just wear it with long jeans and put it in the boot with any kind of top you want
Billy Beck 19 years ago
Cowboy boots have *never* gone out of my style since I was four years old. I’m known worldwide for wearing Nike Cortez sneakers in mis-matched swoosh colors, but it’s my cowboy boots that illuminate my soul. My favorite pair are from Tony Lama: elephant hide in basic black, sixteen years on the road this summer. Been through three motorcycle crashes and not a nick on ’em. Rain or shine, summmer/winter, they always hang: lookin’ great, comfortable as my best friend, and bomb-proof.
“Fashion”? (snicker)
BTW: my next pair will be from Olathe Boots. Google ’em up.
Christine 18 years ago
I have 6 pairs of the Cole Haan Morgen cowboy boots from Fall 2005. I just love them. They are comfortable and stylish. I can walk all over the city in them–they are the perfect heel height. I have them in black, camel suede and black with green. I wish I had them in dark brown. I wear them with my True Religion and Lucky jeans, and vintage cashmere sweaters. I haven’t found a 2006 boot that I like better so for now, I’ll just keep wearing them! My 6 year old daughter also has a pair of Cole Haan Morgen cowboy boots and likes wearing them when I wear mine!