“THESE BOOTS WERE MADE BEFORE LASERS, BEFORE COMPUTERS. REAL PEOPLE CUT THE LEATHERS AND DID THE STITCHING.” - ULLI JOHNSTON
B O OT T E R M S 1 . P U L L S T R A P/ M U L E E A R 2 . CO L L A R 3 . I N L AY 4 . S T I TC H PAT T E R N
into something with a little more swag-
gers, she divines a perfect fitting pair out of
ger. Taking cues from more ornamented
her stock of nearly 800 vintage choices. How
Hessian boots seen during the Civil War,
she channels the spirits of the Chisholm Trail
a boot maker in Coffeyville, Kansas creat-
is unclear even to her, but it isn’t part of some
ed his own hybrid style that incorporated
smoke and mirrors Western wear fad.
contrasting leather colors and an option-
“These boots were made before lasers, be-
al five-point star on the front of the
fore computers. Real people cut the leath-
boot. It was one of the earli-
ers and did the stitching,” says Johnston.
est incarnations of a toe
“They’re not mass-produced.” The precision
bug, the type of elabo-
of hand-stitching and the comfort, fit and
rate stitching likely to catch a
durability of expert leatherwork can’t be
dance partner’s eye on the dance floor of
understated, but these marks of the human
the White Horse.
hand are as symbolic as they are functional.
Flash forward to 2015 and the $15 mail or-
More than any other type of footwear,
der boots worn by the earliest Texans are long
a good cowboy boot has both a maker and
gone. The same level of hand craftsmanship
a past. That connection is what draws jet
and personalized details still exist thanks to
setters to pay thousands of dollars for ex-
obscure artisans and the higher-end lines at
otic leathers, turns tourist curiosity into
legacy companies like Justin and Lucchese,
bank-breaking impulse buys, and makes
5 . VA M P
but nowadays an entry level pair should run
two-steppin’ at the Broken Spoke such a
6 . TO E B U G / W R I N K L E S T I TC H
you at least $200 according to Ulli Johnston,
special event. It’s how one type of shoe can
7. TO E
also known as the famed “Boot Whisperer of
pair just as well with trailheads as they do
Wimberley.”
sidewalks, with pearl snaps as designer suits,
8. HEEL 9. CO U N T E R 10. PIPING 11. SHAFT
Available by appointment only, Johnston
with backyard barbecues as charity galas.
hosts customers at the Wild West Store,
And it’s why even though Texas has ridden
where with a quick view of the customer’s
boldly into the new millennium, we’ll never
naked foot and a literal wiggling of her fin-
hang up our boots. tribeza.com SEPTEMBER 2015
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