How to Texas is a recurring column offering step-by-step instructions on how to be Texan. We’ll guide you through the cultural traditions, customs, eccentricities, lifestyles, and activities you’ll find on your travels that make the state uniquely Texan.
Cowboy boots are the official footwear of Texas. Just ask the state Legislature, which declared them so in 2007. From the ranch to the honky tonk to a wedding, Texans wear the iconic boots for any occasion.
“I don’t even have normal shoes,” says Ulli Johnston, who runs a vintage cowboy boot store in Wimberley. “My motto is the warmer the weather, the shorter my boots.”
Since she and her husband opened The Wild West Store in 1995, Johnston has become known as “The Boot Whisperer,” thanks to a special talent: She can pick out a customer’s perfect pair of boots just by looking at their feet. Customers don’t even have to tell her their size. “I’m very intuitive, and I like people,” Johnston says. “I just look at them and say, ‘Let me see your feet, take off your shoes.’ And then I know.”
Johnston didn’t grow up around Texas’ boot-wearing culture. She’s originally from Germany. While visiting a friend in Texas in 1989, she attended an auction where she met her now-husband Bill. They had their second date at Bill’s airstream in Blue Hole. “When we drove through San Marcos, it was like coming home,” she says. Four and a half weeks later, they got married. She sold her belongings back in Germany, and the couple settled in Wimberley.
They worked at antique shows, where they began collecting and selling vintage boots, before opening their beloved store. Nowadays, customers travel from near and far to watch Johnston do her boot-whispering magic. “I’ve had customers say the equivalent would be a Texan in Germany having the most famous sausage place,” she says.
Finding the perfect pair of cowboy boots can be overwhelming. They come in a variety of styles, leathers, and colors. Plus, Johnston says: “The sizes don’t mean zilch.” So, what should you keep in mind when trying to find the right boots?
Here are a few tips from The Boot Whisperer herself:
Try them on in person.
Johnston doesn’t recommend buying mass-produced cowboy boots online. They’re often poor quality and the sizes might not match up with what you’re used to. “I don’t even deal in sizes,” she says. “One time a guy came in and said, ‘I need a 9-and-a-half.’ Ten minutes later, he paid for the size 11-and-a-half.”
Be prepared to spend a pretty penny.
Johnston’s vintage boots start at around $350 and go up. That’s comparable to other boot brands like Tecovas and Lucchese. (If you go for an exotic leather, you could be looking in the four-digit range.) You can find less expensive ones at Western wear retailers like Cavender’s or Boot Barn, but you may sacrifice quality. Because of the cost, Johnston says she doesn’t recommend parents buy them for their kids until their feet are done growing.
Go bigger, not smaller.
If your toes are squished, you have the wrong boot. “Comfort is mandatory,” Johnston says. Your heel should lift up in the back of the boot when you walk. Often, people think that means the boot is too big, but it’s normal, especially with boots that haven’t been worn much. “Overall, it’s better to find boots that fit with a thicker sock because that way you know even if your feet swell a little bit, you can switch to a thinner sock,” she says.
The warmer the weather, the shorter the boot.
There should be a bit of space between the leather shaft and your leg, otherwise you might get too hot. Johnston says she wears her taller boots in the winter to stay warm and her shorter ones in the summer to keep cool.
Maintain them.
If you want to add traction to the bottom of your boots, Johnston recommends taking them to a shoe repair shop and having them add a thin rubber sole over the bottom. “That really helps to protect the leather sole,” she says. If your boots get dirty, you can clean them with saddle soap and water. If you want to touch up the color, use a matching shoe cream. “Don’t experiment at the front of the boot and realize ‘oops, that’s not a matching color.’ Do it at the top or back.”
In the boot world, anything goes.
If you’re buying your first pair of boots, you may want to stick with a classic look, like brown or black. “But there are beginners who say, ‘Bring me red,’” Johnston says. “So there’s no rule. It just comes down to people have to love the boots, they need to be comfortable, and that’s it.”
