Jim Arndt - How to Be a Cowboy

In sun and shade,

be sure by your friends.

Never swing a mean loop.

Never do dirt to man nor animal.

Texas Bix Bender

Cattle drives to rock and roll. Dusty boots to couture. The evolution of the cowboy boot from fundamental to fashionable corresponds to the settling of the American West, the birth of Hollywoods silent films starring cowboy Tom Mix, and Roy Rogers and Gene Autry riding across the 1950s television screen.

Rear View

Since the mid-19th century, the American cowboy, the Mexican vaquero, Texas Rangers, and cavalry soldiers have worn high-topped boots as protective gear. Boots were originally strictly utilitarian, and todays museums display well-worn, plain cowboy boots. Because these boots needed repair or replacement as cowboys worked the trail, boot makers opened shops along the cattle drive trails. Over time, cowboys suggested customizations for a better personal fit and later requested designs in stitching and inlays. Even after the last big cattle drives out of Texas ended, cowboys and their boots remained a part of Americans image of the West.

When Buffalo Bill opened the era of the stage cowboy in his western extravaganzas in the United States (1883) and Europe, he outfitted his performers in dazzling fringed and beaded costumes, and the bright-colored, fancy boots they wore enhanced their garb as well as enabled them to perform rodeo feats such as bull riding and cattle roping.

Easterners were awed and yearned for the look, attitude, and lifestyle of the West. Even city slickers like New Yorks Teddy Roosevelt went west (and still do) to experience rodeos, dude ranches, and the aura of towns like Santa Fe and Jackson Hole. Their desire to head back East with their own western gear gave birth to a new industry in western wear that continues to grow.

Boot makers became creative and artistic. Cowboy boots in both tall top and shorty styles became flashier and more ornamental, with new stitch patterns, inlays, overlays, initials, wing tips, collars, mule ears, and outrageous patterns and colors. To show off their flashy designs, boot wearers frequently tuck their pants inside their boots.

In addition to recalling the legends of the West, cowboy boots reflect the personalities of those who wear them today. The ultimate in cowboy footwear today is a pair of custom boots measured and made by hand to fit the customers form and taste. It is true that boot aficionados push boot makers to be more creative. And its also true that boot makers push the envelope themselves to design new works for arts sake. Whatever the case, the cowboy boots pictured on the following pages are works of artsome by todays most dedicated, artistic boot makers and others from vintage collections.

Its bad luck to step into your left boot first.