Question:
I received a little bit of a refund this year on my taxes and thought I'd
buy myself a new pair of boots. I typically go toward "work" boot styles,
but today, while shopping, I took a good look at what are traditionally
called "cowboy" boots. I find it hard to believe that drovers in the old
west could afford anything fancy, with tooled leather and the such, let
alone the exotic types of animal hides these things are made of now.
I always thought the pointed toe started out to make the boot go into the
stirrup easier, and the heel was to prevent the foot from sliding on through
the stirrup when bearing down on it. Aside from that, how authentic is
today's modern cowboy boot to what would have been found in say 1870-1880?
Answer:
I think you would see an evolution of style that has taken eliments of severa
ideas and cultures. Boots have been made for horsemen whose horse had
sturrips.The Spanish influence via Mexico and
the cavalry boots of a multitude of European cultures.
There are two popular styles of cowboy boots: Walking boots and riding boots.
The riding boots have the eliments you mentioned, pointed toe,
high heel. Walking boots are a compremize between
comfort, style and comfort. And you can also ride in them.
Rodeo cowboys seem to favor riding boots for safety.
High back saddle making and belts have been made for over two-hundred years.
For todays boots as well as Gene Autry's shirts we can thank mexico and its
people.
I was born and spent my childhood in El Paso, Texas. That was long enough
ago that Tony Lama was a person, not a boot, and he just happened to be a
boot maker too. My first pair of "cowboy" boots, with high heels
and pointed toes, came from his hands. At that time he had a small storefront
shop on the south side of downtown El Paso. I was probably eight years old,
because I remember how painful it was to break my feet into the high
arch of those boots. You didn't break the boot in to your foot, just the
opposite. You wore your boots for about an hour at a time until
your foot was accustomed to wearing them longer.
We could also buy much cheaper boots in Juarez, Mexico - just a
short walk across the Rio Grande from Lama's shop. But they were,
at that time, all made from untanned leather (we called it "green" l
eather) and would stink to high heavens after being worn on sweaty feet
for any length of time.
