SXSW is just a few weeks away. Do you have your cowboy boots ready? If you’re coming to Austin from out of town, there’s no better souvenir than a pair of cowboy boots. (Though a cowboy hat comes in at a very, very close second!)

Every March, people travel from all over the world to attend SXSW, the South by Southwest Conference and Festivals, in Austin, Texas. Tech-geeks, music lovers and film fanatics each have their own part of SXSW: There’s the Interactive festival from March 12-16, the Film festival from March 12-20, and the Music festival from March 17-21. Each day of SXSW is packed-full of exciting, cool stuff to do and see.

What’s great about SXSW is that people from all over the world get to see Austin. The weather is usually perfect, and all the local stores, bars and restaurants impress. Allens Boots is so very proud to be close to all the action — our South Congress store is located just south of downtown Austin, and the street typically has some fantastic parties and shows going on all day, every day during SXSW.

If you’ll be visiting Austin next month, we’d love for you to come by Allens Boots and pick up a souvenir that is just so Texas — cowboy boots! Only thing is, you might have trouble picking out a pair of cowboy boots. We have a ton to choose from, so be sure and allow plenty of time to spend at our store. Don’t miss classics like Lucchese 1883 boots, or Frye Harness boots. Whatever you wind up picking out, show ‘em off when you get back home — your friends will be jealous. And you’ll always remember the fun you had in Austin, Texas.

Ever seen cowboy boots on fence posts? Maybe it’s something you saw at a friend’s house or a relative’s house growing up — or maybe your own home’s fence has some boots on it. It’s mysterious, no doubt, so what does it even mean?

Colorado publication The Longmont Times-Call has a story about steel fence posts adorned with not just cowboy boots, but other shoes, at a cul-de-sac in the area.

The fence separates the airport from the Amgen campus in an unpopulated area. A child’s green slipper, a black cleat, workman’s boots — they’re all among the dozens of shoes capped on the posts. According to the article, a source who works at the airport near the fence said it’s been years that the shoes and cowboy boots have been on the posts. Initially, he thought the shoes belonged to parachutists called “swoopers” who, after doing a successful jump, donated a shoe to put up on the fence.

Not so, said a representative from the skydiving business. Apparently an “elderly man with a metal detector” is responsible for the shoes. Still though, they don’t really have a definite explanation.

Cowboy boots on fence posts at ranches isn’t something new. The article mentions how it used to be a signal that a ranch or homeowner was at home when there was a cowboy boot sitting on top of a fence. Again, though, there’s no definite explanation for the Longmont fence.

This made us awfully curious, so we couldn’t help but search around for more info. Just why do people but cowboy boots on fence posts?! Looks like someone else was curious about the same thing, as they posed the question at AnswerBag. Responses from others included some interesting explanations, including one that said once ranchers had worn out a pair of cowboy boots, they put ‘em on top of the posts to protect the wood from rain. Another one said the tradition started as a sign of respect to a rancher or farmer who had passed away.

Anyway, it seems like there may not be just one reason for cowboy boots placed on fence posts — it may have a different meaning for everyone. Or, hey, maybe it’s just plain good ol’ fashioned cowboy fun.

You Don’t Have to Put Your Cowboy Boots on Fence Posts Just Yet!

If you’re looking for cowboy boots to wear rather than to put up on fence posts, don’t miss our selection here at Allens Boots of Lucchese, Justin, Frye and more.

When a friend sent us a link to the Chattanooga Times Free Press‘ recent article about how to look your best in cowboy boots, we just had to take a peek. We loved hearing what they had to say and think it’d definitely be a worthwhile read for women out there who are looking for ideas and tips for wearing cowboy boots.

The article recommends pairing a sleek pair of cowboy boots with a slim skirt. Don’t, they say, wear bulky boots with a slim skirt, as it could make your legs appear shorter. Something like the Frye Paige Tall Riding Cowboy Boots would be ideal, or even the Ladies’ Lucchese Black Patent Calf Cowboy Boots.

Another tip suggests the correct pant length when wearing cowboy boots: pants should be almost to the floor, almost skimming. This tip, of course, doesn’t apply if you’re wearing skinny jeans, which typically have a shorter length than regular jeans.

Speaking of skinny jeans, the article recommends wearing booties and ankle boots with them. Try the Old Gringo Laura Botin Cream/Tan Cowboy Boots to achieve this look.

So what about cowboy boots with heels? If you’re wondering how best to wear those, they advise pairing ‘em with tights, micro minis and jeans. Not only is this a great look, but it’s a popular look this year that has been used in a few fashion shows.

Have a pair of cowboy boots with color on them like the Charlie 1 Horse Burnt Orange Calf Boots? Make that color pop by wearing a solid-colored ensemble. It’s a fun, playful look that will surely bring attention to your colorful boots.

Thanks to the Chatanooga Times Free Press for these great tips! Though we’re of course of the opinion that you really can’t go wrong by wearing a pair of cowboy boots, these sure are great ideas for showing off your boots.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is now the proud new owner of a brand-new pair of limited-edition Lucchese boots. These Lucchese cowboy boots are one of only 125 pairs made to commemorate Lucchese’s 125 years of hand-making cowboy boots.

It’s a well-known fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger is a huge fan of cowboy boots. And he’s no stranger to Lucchese — word has it that Lucchese has built a few pairs for him. So these Lucchese boots won’t be the first pair he’s owned.

The Lucchese 125th Anniversary Limited Edition Boots are gone once all 125 of ‘em are sold. Nope, they won’t be making any more of these beauties, so get ‘em while you can. Each pair of Lucchese 125th Anniversary Limited Edition Boots arrive in a numbered 125th Anniversary Edition tooled leather boot box. These Lucchese boots are made with a genuine American Belly Alligator leather foot and feature hand-painted and hand-tooled quarters. Lots of detail work on these Lucchese boots that just show off those 125 years of Lucchese boot making.

Governor Schwarzenegger not only loves Lucchese boots and cowboy boots, but he’s a strong supporter of domestic manufacturers like Lucchese who make their boots right here in the USA.

Interested in owning one of these 125 pairs of limited-edition Lucchese boots? We can’t blame you — these cowboy boots are pretty amazing. We carry ‘em at Allens Boots!

Cowboy Boots Make the Essential List

Cowboy boots are essential for every fashionista’s wardrobe according to Nina Garcia, fashion director of Marie Claire magazine, and her new book, The One Hundred: a Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own.  The book lists the items from A to Z and includes tips on how to wear them, along with some history on each item and a few, fun colorful pictures to boot.

Cowboy Boots Year Round

According to Miss Garcia you should always wear your jeans over your boots, which every good cowgirl knows is best whether you are working on the ranch or enjoying a night on the town.  The good people of Texas know that you can wear cowboy boots all year long.  In the fall and winter, they always look great with your favorite pair of jeans.  In the spring and summer, the women can pair them with long skirts and their favorite casual dresses.

Some of our favorite high-fashion boots are the Lucchese Classics Tan Ranch Hand boot for some of your more casual affairs; or the Justin Black London Calf for some of your fancier evenings out.

Cowboy Boots Aren’t the Only Essential Items

Aside from our favorite, the cowboy boot, the list also contained 99 other items for the fashion-savvy woman.  Some of these items included the Frye Harness Boot (a close cousin to the cowboy boot and one of our popular items), a denim jacket, jeans, a cuff bracelet, a hobo bag like our Ariat Corded Cowgirl Hobo purse, a statement necklace, turquoise jewelry, and a sunhat (which we are sure they meant a straw cowboy hat).

Seeing as how Allens Boots carries all of these above-mentioned wonderfully western items, it looks like we should be considered a fashionista’s shopping Mecca.  Now as far as the other 91 items on the list, you are on your own with those.

Jessica Simpson and Her Cowboy Boots

Jessica Simpson has gone country!  Well at least her taste in music and her taste in boots have.  It makes sense that Jessica is becoming a country music singer.  She is from Dallas, Texas, she possesses that wonderful southern accent, and she does make a pair of cowboy boots look pretty darn good.

Jessica Simpson Gives Top 40 the Boot!

Jessica has always been known as a pop singer, but her new album that comes out in early September, titled “Do You Know,” is her first venture into the world of country music stardom.  Jessica appears on the cover of her new album donning a white dress and a pair of cowboy boots.  We have been wondering what brand those boots are since we saw that picture.  Are they Ariat, Tony Lama, Lucchese, or perhaps even Justin?

Jessica Simpson’s Boots are made for Walking

Because of her new trek into country music, Jessica has been seen wearing cowboy boots a lot lately.  However, this is not her first rodeo with cowboy boots.  Back in 2005, Jessica played the infamous Daisy Duke in the movie “The Dukes of Hazzard.”  She most definitely got used to wearing boots during that movie.  Although it probably was her “These Boots are Made for Walking” video that put her cowboy-boot wearin’ on the map.  After that video, the demand for Jessica’s red cowboy boots was so high that she ended up carrying them in her own Jessica Simpson shoe line.

Jessica Simpson’s Red Boots

Now we may not carry Jessica Simpson’s red boots at Allens, but we do carry one of the most extensive selections of women’s cowboy boots this side of Hazzard County. And if it is red cowboy boots you want, than look no further than the Justin Scarlet Vintage boot or the Charlie 1 Horse Red Calf Western boot.  Whatever mood that Jessica and her boots have put you in, we have got you covered.

N@ked Cowboy and the Blue M&M

N@ked Cowboy Sues M&M’s.  That almost sounds like a title to a comedy film, except it is an actual story. New York City’s famous “N@ked Cowboy” has filed suit against Mars Corporation, the maker of M&M’s.  The N@ked Cowboy, also known as Robert Burke, is claiming trademark infringement by the candy maker.  Apparently the blue M&M is dressed like Burke on the large animation screen outside of M&M’s Times Square store; and Burke claims that the may be construed as his endorsement of the product.

History of the N@ked Cowboy

The 37-year-old N@ked Cowboy walks around Times Square playing the guitar in nothing but a cowboy hat, white underwear, and white cowboy boots.  However, Times Square isn’t the only place that you can find the N@ked Cowboy.  He seems to make his way to New Orleans every year for Mardi gras; and he has even seemed to make an appearance or two in our very own Lone Star capital, Austin, Texas.  If you want to catch him here, start looking in March during the South by Southwest Music Festival.

N@ked Cowboy Look-a-Like

Now if you are finding yourself wanting to emulate the N@ked Cowboy, than you are probably going to need to swing by Allens Boots and get yourself a nice pair of white cowboy boots.  I am sure that you will be able to find exactly the boots you are looking for among our large selection of Justin, Lucchese, Tony Lama, and many other boot makers.

Now that you have your boots picked out, you will need to wander over to our hat section and see if you can’t find yourself the perfect Stetson or Resistol.

As far as the last part of the outfit, the white underwear … Well, as much as we would like to say we have everything you need, we got to tell you that you are on your own with those.

*Photo by LinksmanJD

Lucchese Boots History

Sam Lucchese, the founder of Lucchese boots, was just 17 years old when he decided that he was going to be a bootmaker. When he was 20, just three short years later, he opened the Lucchese Boot Company in San Antonio, Texas. Then in the 1960’s, Sam Lucchese, Jr. (grandson of the founder) took over the company and turned it into the nationally renowned boot company of today.

Lucchese Boots Celebrates 125 Years

Lucchese boots are known for their superior fit, quality and comfort. They may take more time to create and cost more than most other boots, but these hand-finished boots are worth every penny; which is something you will figure out the minute you slip your foot into one of these works of art. Founded in 1883, this year marks the 125th year that Lucchese has been outfitting America’s cowboys with high-quality boots; and to celebrate, they have created a limited edition anniversary boot.

Lucchese Boots Limited Edition 125th Anniversary Boot.

The Lucchese Limited Edition 125th Anniversary Boot will be made with the finest American Belly Alligator that is available. The boot will be made in the Lucchese matador construction with covered sideseams and fully hand-tooled and hand-painted quarters. Lucchese logos, stars and hand-tooled scrolls will adorn the tops of each of these beautiful anniversary boots. The scallops will be hand-laced and the torero pullstraps will be overlaid in alligator. The inside of each boot will be lined with Lucchese’s premier grimini linings.

Get Your Lucchese 125th Anniversary Boots Today

Lucchese is only making 125 pairs of the anniversary boots. Each boot will be hand-signed and numbered by its creator. To ensure the authenticity of this piece of Lucchese history, an embossed seal will be on a numbered certificate; and each boot will come in a matching numbered 125th anniversary edition hand-tooled leather boot box. And to top it off, each purchased pair will be recorded in a dedicated 125th anniversary edition log book.

We here at Allens Boots are proud to be a part of this celebration. Happy Anniversary, Lucchese!!

After a visit to Texas, Guy Kawasaki, popular entrepreneur, venture capitalist and blogger, decided he needed some new Lucchese boots. A short Google search later and Guy found a great pair of Lucchese Classics on AllensBoots.com. We talk with Guy about his boot buying adventure.

Q: How did you discover Allens Boots?

A: I was trying to find some Lucchese boots on Zappos, but it simply didn’t have the selection that I wanted, so I went to Google and typed in Lucchese and came upon [Allens] Boots.

Q: You were in town for SXSW. Did you make it by the store?

A: I was, but I didn’t know about the store then. Nor was I looking for boots. It’s a long convoluted story: I met a bunch of crazy web folks from Houston at SXSW. In a few weeks I’m speaking in San Antonio, so I decided to hop on over to Houston to see those folks again. One day the guy who taught me how to ice skate showed me his Lucchese [boots], so I decided I had to have a pair for my San Antonio-Houston boondoggle. That led to my search for boots online.

Q: Cowboy boots don’t necessarily seem like the natural footwear choice for someone from Hawaii who went to school at Stanford and became a tech executive and author. When did you start wearing boots, and why?

A: My wife made me buy a pair years ago, but I hardly wore them. Then I spoke in Phoenix for a fast-food association, and they gave all the guests a pair of boots. I liked them so much that I decided I wanted another one in black. My wife told me to buy Lucchese from Zappos.

Q: How often do you wear your boots?

A: I go in spurts. I’ll wear them every day for a week, then not at all for a month, then every day for a week. I like to travel with them because they’re easy to put on after passing through airport security, but having to pack three pairs of shoes (sneakers to work out in, dress shoes for speaking in and boots) can be a pain.

Q: What do you wear your boots with – traditional blue jeans, slacks, khakis?

A: Jeans. Boots are only made for jeans.

Q: How many pairs of boots do you own?

A: Four, not counting the one I ordered.

Q: What made you choose the Men’s Lucchese Classics Tan Mad Dog Goat?

A: It’s the simplest design I could find. I don’t want to look like a pimp who is trying too hard, and ostrich gives me the creeps.

Q: You have a lot of projects going on – what’s your biggest at the moment and why?

A: My primary project is Alltop.com. This is a collection of sites covering a diversity of topics on the Internet like wine, food, art, music, fashion, politics, economics, journalism, cars, gadgets, design, environment, etc. We assemble all the top stories and present their headlines on one page. You can think of it as an “online magazine rack.”

Q: What’s next for the cowboy boot wearing Guy Kawasaki?

A: There’s lots of work to do with Alltop. I’m also a venture capitalist looking for the next Google. Incidentally, as a venture capitalist, I have to deal with a lot of bullsh*t, so that’s why I need boots.

About Guy Kawasaki

Popular entrepreneur, venture capitalist and blogger, Guy Kawasaki is a managing director of Garage Technology Ventures and a columnist for Entrepreneur Magazine. Previously an Apple Fellow at Apple Computer, Inc., Guy is the author of eight books including The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries, and How to Drive Your Competition Crazy. Currently Guy is focused on Alltop, a metasite providing immersive content on dozens of topics.

The Cowboy Boot Love Affair Begins

To begin the tale of a woman and her cowboy boots, we look to Austinite Kathy Williams. She was on a mission to find the perfect pair of boots, but just like the Waylon Jennings’ song states, Kathy “was looking for love in all the wrong places.” Well at least until she walked down the women’s cowboy boot aisle in Allens Boots, that is. It was a beautiful day back in 1994 that she discovered her pair of deep black cherry leather Lucchese boots and the relationship is still going strong 14 years later.

In Love with Cowboy Boots? Really?

Now I know what you are probably thinking, can you really be in love with a pair of cowboy boots? The answer is “yes,” because the day you find the perfect pair of cowboy boots is the day you take on a whole new attitude. You know you look good. You know that you are tough. And you know, without a shadow of a doubt, that you can two-step like never before. This is what the perfect pair of cowboy boots can do for you.

This is what the perfect pair of cowboy boots did for Kathy Williams.

What’s Not to Love About Cowboy Boots?

If you take care of your cowboy boots, they will look great and last forever. Cowboy boots always seem to be hip. The style of a cowboy boot hasn’t changed over the years and they seem to go with everything from jeans to shorts to skirts and dresses. Finally, they are so comfortable, if you get the proper boot fit, that you can wear them all day and right into the night.

So now that you know that true love can exist with a cowboy boot, come on in to Allens Boots and fall in love today.

You can read more about Kathy Williams’ boot adventures in the Austin American-Statesman