Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Thursday 21 december 2017
Cowboy boots are as much a part of San Antonio as the Alamo

By MARCO GARCIA footwear for customers will-
Associated Press ing to spend top dollar for
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A a cowboy boot that offers
visit to San Antonio would a unique style, comfort,
not be complete without perhaps most importantly,
a stroll by the Alamo, en- a sense of identity.
joying a cheesy enchilada Inside Little’s showroom,
plate at a Tex-Mex joint off hundreds of colorful boots
the River Walk, or browsing the family made over
the cowboy boot section several decades line the
at the local Western wear shelves.
shop. Some have decorative
In fact, nothing says more embroidery stretching from
about a Texan than a fan- the pointy toes up to the
cy pair of cowboy boots. shafts.
Whether they’re rough- Others are emblazoned
hewn boots scuffed and with pictures of the Alamo,
dirtied after a hard day’s bluebonnets, and even
work at the ranch, or a slick a portrait of Elvis Presley
pair of exotic skin boots stitched into one unique
made from snake or alliga- pair of boots. The store can
tor, worn to a board meet- create designs for custom-
ing or for dancing at the ers upon request, incor-
honky-tonk, cowboy boots Lucchese saleswoman Michelle Esquivel holds a pair of custom made cowboy boots at the porating elements with
Lucchese Boot Maker shop, Wednesday Sept. 20, 2017, in San Antonio, Texas. The Lucchese store
are a part of Texas identity. sells off the shelf hand crafted boots made in Texas. personal meaning ranging
“I won’t wear anything Associated Press from musical notes to Day
else,” says Dallas resident of the Dead, according
Coley Kellogg, 24, who suits, accessorized with in making the boots. The snake and lizard skins, to Duane Little, who helps
got his first pair of custom- mini-skirts and even found Lucchese Bootmaker store along with the hides of hip- run the business his great-
fit boots when his feet under the occasional wed- in central San Antonio sells po, stingray, elephant and grandfather started.
stopped growing at age ding dress. a handmade pair of Amer- many others. (Laws allow A pair of custom-made
15. Kellogg, who origi- Western wear shops can ican alligator skin boots import and sale of these boots from Little’s made
nally grew up in San An- be found around San costing nearly $13,000. animal skin products with with calf’s leather or kan-
tonio, works as an analyst Antonio and, along with Traditionally, cowboy proper permits under cer- garoo skin and simple
in the oil and gas industry 10-gallon hats and humon- boots were made with tain conditions.) stitching and no fancy de-
and pairs his fancy ostrich- gous belt buckles, most tough cattle hides to with- More fashion boutique signs start at $1,300 with an
skinned boots with slacks to shops will have a wide va- stand a life of driving cat- than traditional Western eight-month waiting list.
the office every day. riety of cowboy boots to tle across the open plains, wear store, the Lucchese Little’s is located on Division
Any boot-wearing Texan peruse and try on. Caven- but boot makers turned to store at the Alamo Quarry Street just off I-35 South.
can attest it takes confi- der’s Boot City, a Western exotic leathers and fancy Market on Jones Malts- The cowboy boot is a life-
dence to pull off a fancy wear shop found just west stitching to attract not berger Road sells cowboy style, as most Texans will at-
pair, especially if you’ve of the airport off NW Loop only cowboys, the but the boots better suited, and test. It is part of an identity
didn’t grow up in a West- 410, sells cowboy boots for ranch and oil field owners priced, for boardrooms that keeps Texans, Texan.
ern-wear culture. Texans as little as $100 but offers who were willing to pay than the oil field. The soft So if you think you’re tough
just don’t wear them spar- many for hundreds, even more for something differ- leathers of goat and buffa- enough to tame a bucking
ingly: Western boots are thousands, depending on ent. lo adorn many of the boots bronco or brave enough to
matched with business the types of materials used Many boot makers use in the showroom along two-step across the dance
with the scaly pirarucu floor, consider picking up a
skin, a large freshwater fish pair on your next trip to San
found in the Amazon. Antonio.q
Lucchese’s high-priced
boots have been worn by
U.S. presidents, Dallas Cow-
boys cheerleaders and ce-
lebrities like Arnold Schwar-
zenegger and the late pro-
fessional wrestler Andre the
Giant, who wore a whop-
ping 26EEE, according to
Lucchese marketing man-
ager Merritt Milliorn.
If boot shoppers want
something different than
the off-the-shelf boots,
head down to Little’s Boot
Company on San Anto-
nio’s south side. Founded
by Lucien Little in 1915, the A detailed shot of custom
company has been mak- made cowboy boot at Little’s
ing customized boots for Boot Company, Wednesday
Duane Little holds a custom designed yellow kangaroo skinned cowboy boots made by his Sept. 20, 2017, in San Antonio,
family’s shop, Little’s Boot Company, Wednesday Sept. 20, 2017, in San Antonio, Texas. over a century. Texas.
Associated Press The shop offers handmade Associated Press