…@haileyjett! She’ll be getting her choice of the Ladies Ariat Chili/Sepia Crepe boots or the Men’s Ariat Stockman Brown boots.

We’d like to send out a huge thank you to everyone on Twitter who entered our cowboy boots contest. There were some really, really great entries, and we used twitRand to pick a random entry as the winner. Below are some of our favorite entries, but you can see all of ‘em if you search for #cowboyboots on Twitter.

From @Jessco3:
I love #cowboyboots because even after years of wear they still make me feel as strong, confident and sexy as the first day I put them on!!!

From @MrQuincyMagoo:
love #cowboyboots because sneakers won’t catch a good cowgirl

From @TheLuckyCowgirl:
I love #cowboyboots because there’s nothing else that takes me back home like my boots.

From @Nancy501:
I love #cowboyboots because they put a smile on my face and a kick in my step!

From @PTRendt:
Love #cowboyboots because well.. I just can’t dance in anything else!!

From @JackLeBlond:
I love #cowboyboots because the make short people even shorter

Thanks again, y’all! Have a wonderful 4th of July weekend!

Are you following Allens Boots on Twitter? This Friday, July 3, we’ll be giving one of our followers a pair of Ariat cowboy boots! All you have to do to be eligible to win is follow us and at some point between now and Friday at 2pm CST, Tweet why you love #cowboyboots (be sure and use that keyword with the hashtag so we can easily find your entry). For example: I love #cowboyboots because there’s nothing more comfortable than a worn-in pair.

We’ll announce the randomly-chosen winner this Friday around 3pm CST. He or she will have their choice of Ladies Ariat Chili/Sepia Crepe boots or the Men’s Ariat Stockman Brown boots.

Good luck, y’all!

Men's Ariat Stockman Brown

Ladies' Ariat Chili/Sepia Crepe

We couldn’t be more thrilled to be featured in the Spring 2009 issue of Scion Magazine. We hope y’all will pick up an issue and read the story — it’s on page 17. Written by Veronica Meewes, with photograhs by Meewes, Julian Sambrano and Megan Luke, the story is called “Boot Heaven” and talks about Allens Boots and cowboy boots. We love the intro:

“There are several things Texans take very seriously. Opinions on football and barbecue are best stated with care, depending on the company. Passion is a mild description of the fervor these subjects can arouse. There is one thing, however, that’s never up for debate in Texas: what constitutes fine footwear. From the rugged open range to fancy formal affairs, cowboy boots are what you put your feet in. And as much as Austin is the capital of Texas, Allens Boots in South Austin is the world’s capital of cowboy boots. It’s like the Library of Congress for boots — if it’s a cowboy boot and it exists, you can probably find it here. The place is pretty easy to spot, too. A massive red boot tops the sign like a cherry, right above the stone storefront this independent retailer has called home for 31 years.”

“Boot Heaven” goes on to talk a bit about our store’s history, and how we opened in the 1970s on South Congress Avenue in Austin, when the street was “completely different.” Now, of course, South Congress is a very hip shopping area full of fantastic shops, salons, galleries and restaurants.

When writer Veronica Meewes visited the store, Allens Boots owner Stephen Greenberg gave her the grande tour, and a crash-course in western footwear. From Lucchese boots to Old Gringo boots, Meewes got to know all about western wear. She noted that the odds are pretty good that you’ll have a run-in with a celebrity at Allens Boots. During the Austin City Limits music festival, Robert Plant came into the store and bought a pair. Claire Danes, Rose McGowan and Trisha Yearwood are some other celebs who’ve come in to shop, too.

Thanks for the great article, Scion Magazine!

We really enjoyed the recent Colorado Springs Country Living Examiner article about country fashion, appropriately titled “Country Fashion.” The writer talks about how country fashion took some getting used to when she moved from the city to the country, but now she truly appreciates what drives fashion in Colorado Springs. For others who may be moving from the city to the country, she offers some great tips:

First on the list is cowboy boots, of course. “Fashion grows from the ground up” in the country, says the writer — and we totally agree with this witty statement. Not only farmers and ranchers have to walk through dirt and gravel roads, but typical folk do, too, so cowboy boots can really come in handy. She recommends you keep your Manolos in the box and put on some cowboy boots when you get to the country.

Next up is flats. Another type of shoe, flats are a part of country fashion that help you dress up without wearing heels, which typically don’t do too well in dirt and gravel roads.

And then there’s denim, another country fashion essential. It’s classic, durable and always in style. We carry a ton of different denim jeans at Allens Boots. Don’t miss our great selection of Wrangler jeans.

The last two tips are to pack washable fabrics and plenty of accessories. We love western wear accessories like belts, cowboy hats and buckles.

All great tips, definitely. Thanks, Examiner! Find all things country fashion, from cowboy boots to cowboy hats, at Allens Boots.

A good friend in San Francisco passed along to us an SF Gate article in which the writer talks about her recent trip to Austin (”Just Back From Austin, Texas”).

She talks about things not to miss (staying at Hotel San Jose), cool souvenirs (Texas rock CD) and mentions that she wished she’d packed her swimsuit for Barton Springs. But our favorite part of the article was this one: Worth a splurge: Cowboy boots from Allens Boots, a great store on South Congress that’s been selling cowboy gear for nearly 30 years. Very helpful staff.

Thanks, SF Gate! We’re glad you enjoyed our store and Austin!

If you’re planning on visiting Austin, we sure hope you’ll stop by Allens Boots to pick up some souvenirs, from cowboy boots to cowboy hats and children’s gifts.

Summer is here, and so are cowboy hats! Talk about classic style: Cowboy hats are seriously practical, as they protect a person from the sun and other weather elements. Shield your eyes and skin from the sun, or fan yourself with the hat — in the hot summer weather, cowboy hats really come in handy.

So many cowboy hats are available, but which one is best for you? If you’re like us, you can spend hours picking out the perfect one or three. By the way, is there such a thing as too many cowboy hats? We don’t think so.

Montecarlo Cowboy Hats

Great colors as well as more traditional styles can be found with Montecarlo cowboy hats. The Montecarlo Wild West Blue Hat comes in bright blue and is lots of fun. It’s a crushable straw hat with a 3.5-inch brim and a 4.5-inch crown.

Stetson Cowboy Hats

Stetson cowboy hats are well known, and they come in all shapes, sizes and colors here at Allens Boots. If you’re looking for a straw cowboy hat, don’t miss the Stetson Santa Monica hat, bronze in color with a feather band and four-inch brim. Perfect for summer. The Stetson Spartan is another classic and is made of felt material.

Children’s Cowboy Hats

It doesn’t get much cuter or cooler for kids than children’s cowboy hats. Outfit your little cowboy or cowgirl in their very own cowboy hat, and watch ‘em smile. Browse our selection of children’s cowboy hats from Bailey to find the perfect one — they certainly make great birthday, Christmas and “just because” gifts.

These are just a few examples of the many, many great cowboy hats we have at Allens Boots. Stop by our store or shop online to find  your perfect summer cowboy hat.

If you’re able to make it to Pueblo, Colorado, a city just 90 or so minutes south of Denver, this weekend, we highly recommend going to the Wild Wild West Fest. Happening Wednesday, May 13 through Sunday, May 17, the festival has a little something for everybody. What’s great is that it’s for a good cause — money raised will go directly back to all of the non-profits involved.

The Wild Wild West Fest will be held throughout the Pueblo community, though most of the events will happen on the Riverwalk and at the Union Avenue Historic District. Attendees can enjoy carnival rides, eat BBQ, compete in a horse shoe throwing contest, watch pro bull riding at the Colorado State Fairgrounds, dance to live music and much, much more.

The live music line-up is great, too: Don’t miss Monte Mills and the Lucky Horseshoe Band, Jennifer Wayne and Band, Colby Yates and Band, Kevin Denney, Justin McBride and Band, Wynn Varbel, Patrick Kratzer and more.

The Denver Westword recommends stopping by Art & Beauty to Boot at the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center (210 North Santa Fe Ave) if you’ll be at the festival. This three-day art show features 20 famous cowboy boots from Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Robert Redford and Nolan Ryan, to name a few. They’ll also have cowboy paintings from the King Collection and a silent auction.

To check out the full schedule for the Wild Wild West Fest, just go here. Have fun, y’all!

The Cattlemen’s Ball is just a month away, and we’ve already told you about famous billionaire investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett, donating a pair of signed cowboy boots to help raise money for cancer research. Other famous folks who have donated signed boots include Brad Paisley, Larry the Cable Guy and Dolly Parton. And now Microsoft’s Bill Gates is the latest to generously donate a pair of signed cowboy boots.

Bill Gates’ signed cowboy boots will be auctioned off online, and the money raised will go towards the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Eppley Cancer Center.

Gates signed in silver ink a pair of black Tony Lama cowboy boots. While Warren Buffett added “I love beef!” to his signed boots, we didn’t hear if Gates did anything like that to his pair.

The auction is going on right now and will come to a close on June 6, where the winners of the auctions will be announced at the Cattlemen’s Ball. In its eleventh year, the event’s theme this year is “Give cancer the boot.” The Cattlemen’s Ball aims to “promote beef in a healthy diet, to showcase rural Nebraska and to raise money for health care research.” Since its start in 1998, over $3 million has been raised.

Bill Gates’ pair of signed Tony Lama cowboy boots will hopefully bring in many bids and help raise money for this great cause.

Photographer Dave Wilson recently stopped by Allens Boots on South Congress to take some photos. When we saw his completed cowboy boot photos, we were blown away by ‘em.

“I spent a very interesting 90 minutes this evening taking photos inside Allens Boots on South Congress here in Austin,” Dave wrote in his blog. “They have a superb stock of all sorts of cowboy boots ranging in price from about $99 to $12000 or more.”

Dave’s photos have a unique style. The technique he used is called HDR, or high dynamic range, and it involves combining several photos (typically at least three) of the same thing that were taken with different exposures (one just right, one too bright and one too dark, for example). The result is a very beautiful and almost surreal image, and Dave did a fantastic job capturing our store in HDR.

A native of Scotland, Dave Wilson currently lives in the Texas Hill Country and is a freelance photographer. Don’t miss Dave’s great photos of Allens Boots — visit his blog and his Flickr photos to take a look, and we’re sure you’ll be just as impressed as we were.

Thanks, Dave!

Ever seen the 1979 movie The Electric Horseman, where Robert Redford plays a former rodeo champion? If you have, you probably vivdly remember the outfit Robert Redford wore in the opening montage — pink and purple sparkly cowboy boots with a rhinestone-studded suit adorned with embroidered golden eagles and blossoms. And now this famous suit is going to be at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

NewsOK.com recently published a story about the museum’s acquisition of the suit. They bought it at an auction in 2005 for around $9,000, and it cost $5,000 to make the special mannequin and a protective case for it. According to the article, the suit originally cost $10,000 to make in 1971 when a famous rodeo tailor created it.

The curator of cowboy collections, Don Reeves, explained that the Electric Horseman suit “tells the story, visually and otherwise, of the rhinestone cowboy/urban cowboy craze … of the 1970s and ’80s.” And this isn’t the first costume from Electric Horseman to be at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Back in the 1980s, the  museum borrowed Robert Redford’s lighted suit from the movie.

In the article, Reeves goes on to say it’s an iconic artifact that’s not only an “amazing piece on its own merit but also stands as a symbol of the height of … Western performer fashion.”

Without a doubt, it seems this famous cowboy costume will have a great home at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

Western Wear at Allens Boots

You won’t find anything quite like Robert Redford’s Electric Horseman suit or cowboy boots at Allens Boots, but you will find some great Western wear and cowboy boots from Lucchese, Justin, Frye, Old Gringo and more. Stop by our Austin store, or shop online.