Cowgirl Boots

THINGS are turning pretty Texan around here!  I finally took the bull by the horns and bought Fiona some cowboy boots- just in time to go to the Rodeo.

My star of Texas

So….our niece Meghan is visiting us right now, and due to my earlier boot scouting,  I knew exactly where to take her to look for some boots of her own.

Cavender's on Burnet Road, Austin, Texas.

Can you already see that our visit was successful?

Let’s back up a bit, though y’all.

First of all, when you open those big wooden doors, you can tell you are in the right place because you are met by both the amazing scent of leather and -if you are lucky-some friendly salesmen cowboys.  At Cavenders, you can find anything you would ever want to totally outfit yourself as a cowboy or cowgirl.  Mosey on through the big section of western shirts, Wrangler dresses, sequined jeans, cowboy hats, sparkly belts, enormous belt buckles and finally you get to the rows and rows and ROWS of boots.

I should have taken a wide shot of all of the boots, but we were too interested in just finding the perfect boots for Meghan, so after getting excited about a few pairs we saw right away, we then walked up and down every row to make comparisons.  There are all sorts of different colors and styles (and price ranges) so it was fun just to look at all the variety.

I decided that if I could get any boots in the store, (without worrying about price) the ones I would pick are these:

Old Gringo Chocolate Bonnie Volcano Goat

This isn’t usually the kind of thing I would go for, but I just figure that if I were to get boots, I would want them to be interesting, plus –with a name like Chocolate Bonnie Volcano Goat, how can you go wrong? If you are interested in these boots, and have $470 to spare,  (h-h-h-h-hold your Horses!) you can purchase them here at Cavenders online.

Although there were many unusual boots that we both liked, what Meghan really wanted was a plain traditional brown boot that would have some interesting detail on it. We finally narrowed it down to three: a slouchy boot with crackled dark leather, a round toe with a dark sole and square toe with lighter stitching detail.

The next step for Meghan was to decide which one she wanted and also to call her mom to make sure that this was an OK purchase to make. These boots were not $500, but they weren’t cheap either!  So it was a big decision.

To help us out, we called over one of the workers, a real cowboy named Sidney, although Meghan and I both swear that he first said his name was Chris.  A mysterious salesman Cowboy! Even better. I got off on the wrong foot though, however, by telling him that we were looking for some cowboy boots for my niece.

“Cowgirl, boots, you mean,” he drawled.

“Oh, yes, of course,” I said. “CowGIRL boots is what we want.”

He gave us some input on the differences between the boots, discussing mainly the leather and the sole.  The one Meghan ended up liking the most has a shank that is designed more for comfort, somewhat like a tennis shoe, opposed to the more traditional leather-soled steel shank which is not as flexible.

Oh, her boot also boasts a special rubber outsole which is highly resistant to manure and acidic waste, so I am putting that in here just so that her parents know that if they need someone to shovel manure, Meghan is now your gal!

We took some pictures and send them to her mom, and while we were waiting to get approval, I talked with Chris/Sidney a little bit more.  I wanted to figure out whether he was a real cowboy, or if his getup was just something that all the workers at Cavenders wore.  I asked him about the most expensive pair of boots that he owned.

He said that he had some boots custom-made for around a thousand dollars. “Alligator leather boots, with some real ugly ridges,” he said, drawing his finger along the top of the boots he was wearing. “And then I had my brand put on them too.”

His brand? Upon further questioning, it turns out that he has a cattle brand, registered with the county, which he calls “Z bar.” He drew a Z in the air and then underlined it with his finger. Z bar.  His last name starts with Z, and his grandfather’s brand (if I understood him correctly) was Rocking Z. He also mentioned his brother’s brand, too.  So, yeah, I figure he’s a legitimate cowboy.  Working at Cavenders is his full time job though, so I’m not quite sure how much time he spends working in cowboy boots and how much time he spends selling them. Either way, we were glad this tall drink of water was there to help us.

 Meanwhile, Meghan had gotten approval from back home and we were ready to proceed to the checkout, where she shelled out her hard-earned/saved cash.

Be prepared to do this when you go boot shopping in Texas.

Meghan was so excited about her shoes, she wanted to wear them right out of the store. This amused our cowboy, and he was helpful enough to take off the security tabs and snip the tags off the boots–while she was in them. This amused me, since it reminded me of a cowboy shoeing a horse, so I had to take some more pictures:

After saying goodbye to Sidney Z., Meghan walked out the door, a excited new owner of some gorgeous Cowgirl boots!

The real question is though…can she dance in them?

Yes, these boots are made for dancin'!

Meghan told me on the way home that she had now completed the two things that she most wanted to do in Austin: Get some cowboy boots and meet a real cowboy.  Since we’ve already accomplished those two things, I’m not sure if anything else we end up doing will be as exciting, but if it is, I will let y’all know!

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Now, if this post has inspired you to get some cowboy or cowgirl boots of your own, and if you aren’t able to come to Texas, AND if you are willing to pass up the great smell of leather and a real cowboy to help you try on those boots,  here are some links to the stores I have been in and liked:

Cavenders: http://www.cavenders.com/

Allens: http://www.allensboots.com/

Callahans: http://callahansgeneralstore.com/

Do any of you own cowboy boots? What’s your story?