Which of course leads to the Question “Where did Cowboy boots originate?” A Brief History Of The Cowboy Boot |
A Brief History Of The Cowboy Boot
Historically horsemen have always needed protective footwear as well as preferring boots with a higher heel. The origin of the cowboy boot that we know today comes from various boot styles including the Wellington boot, which originated from Britain’s Duke of Wellington. At the time it was a straight plain leather boot with one-inch heels and straight tops. Cowboys also wore the Hessian boot, which had a V-cut in the front, and some of these had a silk or leather tassel hanging down in the V.
The Coffeyville-style cowboy boots originated in Coffeyville, Kansas around 1870 and were normally black leather with a low Cuban heel. The front of the boot, known as the “graft”, was higher than the back and was usually a different color. Texas cowboys were known to have a lone star inlaid in the graft.
Cowboy boots continued to evolve through the late 1800s and the designs were influenced by the European cavalier style of boot, which were characterized by higher heels and better-quality leather.
The toes of cowboy boots were square or rounded and this did not change to pointed until the 1950s.
The straight lines of stitches across the top of the toe of the cowboy boot are called a toe wrinkle. Boot makers in the early 1900s started to add decorative stitching on the toes in addition to the wrinkle and these designs became and have remained to this day the personalized signature of custom-made boots.
In the 1920s and 1930s cowboy boots became a fashion item as a result of the movies and radio shows about the Wild West.
After 1940 boot designs became more colorful and intricate incorporating images of the west such as cacti, eagles, horses and horseshoes.
In the 1950s when rodeos became a popular form of entertainment and country music started being heard, the popularity of cowboy boots skyrocketed and millions of pairs were reportedly being made in all shapes, colors and styles.
After this the designs of cowboy boots followed the fashions and styles popularized in the movies – if John Travolta or Tom Cruise wore cowboy boots then those styles were immediately in demand.
Since the early 1990s boot makers have become even more adventurous and we are now seeing styles incorporating studs, conchos, rhinestones and precious stones, no doubt partly as a result of the interest in line dancing. Of course it is still possible to buy an attractive plain leather boot.
Part of the enduring appeal of the cowboy boot is that they can be worn by anyone.
There is an excellent book that covers everything to do with the cowboy boot called appropriately The Cowboy Boot book, which you can get from Amazon.
Copyright © Jakki Francis,(UK), 2005
As I sit here chomping down on Chili with a Salad… I think of how GREAT my life is !!! Feeling very good right now My Blood Sugars are the best they have been in nearly 10 years… yay me !! For those of you who do not know. My youngest Daughter Anna and I are both Insulin controlled Diabetics my eldest Daughter takes medication to control her insulin levels.
Times can be very tough and due to the Health issues I am a stay at home mom… secret little yay me here …. I really like being around for my family, caring for my animals and crocheting. My Husband is a Fiber Optic Engineer and is Self employed.. because of the economic down turn… lets just say it depression. His work is very sparse. Today he is working.. again YAY !!!
But I love it most when a plan comes together!! At the beginning of the year I Purchased an erase board calendar and wrote on it a basic plan to organize myself, become more professional, this included a basic work schedule. A time when I would be done for the day… never really accomplished this 
Set Goals for the month. Blogging and the Vannas choice contest being top two with some Social networking include.. The end of the month is coming quickly and I feel I have made great progress !! A few things to streamline and a few that need just plain determined stick to it bullheadedness.
New goals for February need to be set. I want to make sure pattern writing does happen once a week and my shopping cart feature is finished. I would like to have a Bear of the month available… one of my big projects with felted faces perhaps and offer that with Bear Pile and maybe Ebay. Of Course the free Valentine gift pattern will be posted… guess that means I better start learning about PDF files.
I am excited by the Potential. I feel Great. I am happy to be getting to know all of you !! Today is just good 
Here are Todays entries to Vannas Choice Contest
I love words with in words… I get to have a little Demon. Encourage a Monster addiction and Demonstrative in language means this that those…. which is how I like to shop for yarn and accessories !! I need this and that ohhh… those are pretty
Well when I started working on my Amigurumi and desk Work Space it was a definitely a game of Hide and Seek… I hid it from myself and if I ever wanted to get anything done I had better seek out a solution !! It is getting better I think
There is still more work to do but I can actually start really concentrating on my Amigurumi. Monday went well and though I did not get the big project done I got all the little ones done. I have found I get lost in the big picture of a project. I work best if choose a little manageable portion to do and then all the pieces over time grow into a finished concept. Not always the one I had envisioned originally… one of the reasons I am revisiting My Years in Art College.. When you water color you have to plan… written plans are always best, and I am older now and I don’t remember the plans for some of the Amigurumi I found in my personal Hide and Seek game
The Little blue bird sitting on my shelf is one of the Spring themed Amigurumis I plan to enter in the Vanna’s Choice Yarn contest
Today is the first official Monday of the New Year… The New and improved me…. right ??? After being out of the work force for so long nearly 18 years now, Mondays are not a thing of dread to me. Really no day means particularly anything to me and if there were a day that I disliked it would be Wednesday…. the day with out meaning. No looking forward to the weekend when the kids will be home. No sense of fresh and Clean start to the week like Monday is to me.
That is it Monday is a Fresh clean start to the Week for me. This Monday there are quite a few Redhot Pomeranian needs that I have to address. I must order shots for the dogs. Update my website and contact new puppy owners to be My Files are in an absolute tissy and I will be harnessing that disaster too.
Leaving I think my work space nearly cleaned completely. Fred wants to try out for Basketball tomorrow MUST remind him of that and figure out what he needs from me. My Dr has been trying to get a hold of me got to call them back… something about biopsying or something like that. Also want to make appointments for the kids to get into the dentist…. Sigh…. Long list, I don’t think Monday will be long enough
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