I’ve noticed that even mass-produced cowboy-boot companies have jumped in on very square-toed boots with two very prominent rows of outseam stitching. For examples:
There are definitely going to be young cowboys and cowgirls who, in ten or twenty years, are dead convinced that proper “cowboy boots” always look this way, because that’s what they saw growing up.
@thenewreligion, any idea when this trend started, or came back? Any reason to think it jumped over from Pacific Northwest stitchdown boots?
Incidentally, more and more of the Spokane companies are also adding “western” lines:
Happy to share my views but I might be very wrong on all accounts. I’m more familiar with the opinions than facts. And there’s an obvious split on these such that on FB groups and Reddit the wide square toe with double toe stitching is pretty mercilessly mocked, with few who come to their defense. but they’re obviously huge sellers so it’s probably just that their customer base is not spending time online arguing with strangers
The serious aficionados are mostly interested in vintage 60-80s styles, narrow round and square toes, French toe, box toe. Not as much very pointed or “roach stompers”. In my time in Mississippi most people where i worked favored the wide square toe. It felt to me like a statement of class belonging or solidarity. It was a statement of blue collar identity. People felt more comfortable around a person who had the humility to show their redneck roots with a WST. It was a bit like driving an American pickup, versus a coup. It also carried shades of patriotism, or jingoism depending on your perspective, another statement of identity like flying an American flag from the back of said pickup. So i think part of why you’re seeing more is people feel the need to show where they belong and what team they’re on more than they used to. Another line of fracture. I think the origins lie largely in the Mexican immigrant community, who brought the look with them from Mexico where it’s very popular. If you look at border town boot stores catering primarily to the Hispanic population it’ll be literally the only style they carry or MTO. Some of that is probably pure whims of fashion - eg who can explain why a 4X long curly toe was ever popular south of the border? But ive also heard there was some push from the manufacturing side based on the fact you can fit more people in fewer lasts with a wide square toe because it basically functions like a munson in just trying to fit heel to ball and from the waist forward it’s just clown shoe.
PNW - not that I know of, but its so hard to track influence in the internet age, eho knows if people were consciously or unconsciously influenced by the double row look showing up in their feeds. If nothing else it makes the toe shape obvious from a mile away so if your goal is to advertise team wst thatll do it
Jk is just having good Mexican makers make standard boots to reasonably high standards. Nicks is actually doing their own boot on a 55 last but In a four panel style, which to me is a lot more interesting since they’re actually trying to convert working ranch folks to a different look and feel, rather than just selling western boots to brand loyalists like jk (although theyre of course doing that too)
I hadn’t made any connection between wide square styles and the Valley in Texas, but I haven’t lived in Texas for ten years now.
I can definitely see how the shape might make a way to distinguish a new style that could belong a separate identity, despite more and more different kinds of people wearing other kinds of cowboy-style boots again. And of course it makes perfect sense that double contrasting outseam stitching would be a big, bold way to emphasize the shapes. @thenewreligion, the ability to fit more feet—or at least not have so many returns—also crossed my mind. I see some potential cross-over with the “barefoot” companies there, though I’d allow that approach might have arisen independent in both places due to common incentives, likely to do with direct-to-consumer delivery, buying online, and closed boot stores during COVID.
Another contributing theory: comfort footwear finally had a breakthrough in ranch and rodeo culture as well. Work boots like georgia carolina and danners started adding thick cushion to their already roomy steel toe boots. Ariat built tennis boots into a behemoth. And twisted X and Hey Dudes have made it acceptable to wear a wider variety of cushy footwear even at the rodeo. And I think people who wear them say that wide square toe fits into that theme. Where an older generation (who probably had better fitting MTM boots) used to take pride in their long narrow leather boots with hard leather insoles, this generation thinks working outdoors you should feel like you’re wearing house shoes with full on toe convection. Since these standards of what is acceptable or normal have relaxed, and old timers who would scoff at WST are phasing out, i think theres a collective sigh of relief that wst is comfortable and acceptable. Its like embracing oversized sweatshirts as comfy, to the point of being common, then accepted, then de mode. Its the tennis shoe revolution, it was just delayed in this subculture.
And side note i think you and me know that elegant boots with hard leather insoles can be very comfy with proper fit, but we also know this isnt common knowledge and that developing and understanding of fit takes considerable time effort and expense that few people have interest in spending, especially when you can walk out of boot barn on a cushion of air with any size that you can fit your foot into and doesnt fall off.
Sorry one more final perspective; at the time the four panel cowboy boot was being born and multiplying the straight last, ie without left or right sidedness, was not that far in the rear view and the military and riding boots of the civil war and antebellum time often dealt with this interchangeability by using an unstructured square toe. And many of the early cbb’s continued that pattern, probably either out of aesthetics, function, ease of fit, or use of straight lasts. I dont know if that influenced any of the resurgence, but it does have precedent
