Okay, I admit, I had been drooling over images I had seen of their boots. The price, though, was beyond what I was willing to pay. The boots are great quality, hand-made to custom sizing and all that, but even considering all those outstanding aspects, my inner-self kept saying, "really, you want a pair of boots that cost even more than custom Wescos?"
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
My partner understands... really understands me well. He heard me talk about these boots and I showed him some of the photos from their Facebook page from time to time.
Knowing that I've sacrificed a lot of my time and attention for him, working to get him well and past this horrible illness he has been dealing with... my wonderful, caring, thoughtful partner got me a gift.
They arrived the other day. These custom boots are 16 inches (40.6cm) tall, have a full quill black ostrich foot, and dark blue shafts with yellow stitching. Smooth leather soles with a 2.5 inch (6.35cm) cowboy heel complete them.
I haven't taken them off. Well, I have ... when I go to bed ... or when I ride my Harley ... but otherwise, these puppies have been worn and enjoyed, very much.
How lucky I am to be in love with my best friend, who knows my inner "boot soul" so well. More photos of these boots are here on my website.
Life is short: wear boots and be your own legend!
You think I make this stuff up, but here's proof that even in the cowboy boot-wearing capital of the United States, there remains people who obsess about whether or not they can wear cowboy boots. In Texas of all places! Sheesh!
Question entered into a search engine, and wound up on my website: "Can a gay man wear jeans and boots?"
I cannot help but to laugh sometimes at what people search for on the internet, and they get directed to this blog or my website. Here are some of the latest...
Someone sent me an email recently that said:First, let me say I love your reviews and videos on the various boots. Keep up the good work! I wanted to get your opinion on Chippewa's harness boots.
I was in a store today and almost bought a pair, but couldn't decide between the black or the bison.
The quality seemed to be good, but I notice on the box that they are now a division of Justin boots. Do you think they are still a good choice, or would Wesco be better in the long run?
I understand his concern. Within the last decade, we have seen some major boot brands leave the United States and source bootmaking by whatever methods and companies can do it cheaper, while simultaneously increasing the profit margin for the label owner.
Here is what I said in my reply...
Every now and then, I look at internet searches that bring visitors to my website. Here are some of the more recent and amusing searches. Some I can answer, some I cannot, and one -- I haven't a clue. Here goes:
I received the following message via the hotboots website:how many pairs of boots do u onw, i own about 7, i wonder if u can send me some pics of ur favs to my email?
How did I respond?
Someone from France sent an email message to me the other day complimenting me on my website, and then explained that he saw a pair of python (snake) cowboy boots in a store one time, and fell in love with them. He was unhappy about the price -- over €300 -- so he wanted to know if I could recommend a source of the boots that was less expensive.
My answer?
I have admired and have worn Lucchese boots for decades. They are comfortable and very well-made.
Let me share a little bit about what I have learned about Lucchese boots from my own experience, and share some happiness with a new pair of Lucchese Classic handmade boots.
Fridays are known where I work as "casual Friday." Most guys wear jeans, polo shirts, and sneakers. I take advantage of the unwritten rule that it is okay to wear jeans to work on Fridays, but along with the jeans, I decided to wear my Lucchese Classic "blue jeans" cowboy boots to work. I work in a professional office. Most other men wear drab, dull, dress shoes on most days, and sneakers on Fridays. Not me--always booted.
These boots, though, are noticeable because of their predominant blue color, with white inlays and black overlays. Not that I would care if anyone said anything, but I conducted an experiment.
Men are sometimes concerned with fashion considerations, such as the color of boots to wear with certain colors of clothing, particularly for office wear.
In my opinion, such color-matching considerations do not matter when a guy is wearing denim jeans since boots and jeans go well together in any combination. However, the color-matching concerns could be an issue, albeit more of a personal one, with dress clothes.
Another search that landed a visitor to my "Cowboy Boots Tutorial" on my website. The searcher asks, "can I wear dress shoes with a cowboy hat?"
... and the searcher is from McKinney, Texas?
Really? ... the state with the most cowboy boot-wearing men in the U.S.? Really?
I received an email recently where someone asked me some questions about wearing boots with certain clothing choices. In that message, he also said,
I have recently acquired yellow Tony Lama boots and a pair of orange Dan Post boots. I plan on wearing them with jeans over the boots, but do not know what type of shirt to wear and not look like a Mexican.
Really? Honestly, this caught me by surprise. Does a certain combination of jeans over colorful boots and a certain kind or color of shirt make one "look like a Mexican?"
Was Santa good to you and brought you a new pair of boots? Perhaps you're not accustomed to wearing boots that often, and want to know how to break them in? Take some simple tips from a guy who has been wearing boots for well over 40 years as his exclusive form of footwear....
Someone entered a question into a search engine which landed on my website. The question was, "how comfortable are snakeskin boots?"
And the answer is...
This kind of stuff makes me nuts sometimes, but when someone uses a search engine to look for an answer to, "are cowboy boots in style 2011 for men?" and lands visitors to this blog... I just have to comment.
Those who have studied my cowboy boot collection or my motorcycle boot collection have noticed that I rate each pair of boots for their comfort (C), look/appearance (L), and for cowboy boots, how they sound (S).
Recently, I received an email about my "C" -- comfort -- rating. The question was:
I wanted to know about the C rating you have. When a boot has a low C rating, what makes them hard to wear for long periods? What gets uncomfortable about the boot? Is it they are too stiff? Too hard on the bottom of your feet? The insides are too rough (unfinished leather)? Just curious about your rating system as I am looking for comfortable boots that can be worn for a while without the torture!
My response:
Occasionally, I receive questions from visitors to my website or this blog.
A recent question was, "do any of the cowboy boots that you own rub your legs and cause sores or blisters?"
My answer to that question was...
Sorry, fellas ... not what you think. This time I am writing about something that a friend brought to my attention -- the marketing of a line of products (boots, hats, and cologne) for men that has been named, "Boot Daddy."
Oh...my...gosh. My first thoughts?
Yes, another lovely internet search landed a visitor to this blog, with the query: "why would a gay man wear cowboy boots?"
Man, I have blogged about this a lot, but in this post I will avoid jumping to conclusions about implied stereotypes and answer it seriously.
Why would a gay man wear cowboy boots?
