FOOTWEAR Custom-made boots charm customers with artistry and fit

Not only are handmade cowboy boots comfortable, they're fun to wear.
SCRIPPS HOWARD
Jeff and M.J. Rankin own more than 20 pairs of cowboy boots and they're not even cowboys, they own an executive search firm. The Lake Geneva, Wis., couple wear cowboy boots with almost everything, including their business suits.
On special occasions M.J. has even been known to sport them underneath formal gowns. "They're the most comfortable shoes you can wear," she says. "And they're fun!"
Fantastic footwear
The Rankins wear boots that are custom-made boots by Back at the Ranch, a cowboy boot store in Santa Fe, N.M.
"We elevate boot-making to an art form," say owner Wendy Lane and operations manager Laura Metzger. Back at the Ranch stocks more than 700 styles and enjoys a steady business.
"Once you have one pair, you want another. It's an addiction," Lane says. "The comfort and emotional high that comes from a boot that perfectly suits you physically and aesthetically conjures a powerful charm.
"I have a customer who is a brain surgeon and he wears his cowboy boots during surgery because of the comfort and confidence they give him."
Colors and designs abound
Custom-made cowboy boots are popular with boot wearers because of their artistry and snug, supportive fit. In every step of the process of creating a boot from hand, boot-makers like Ron Jacob of Jacobs Shoe Repair, also in Santa Fe, concentrate their talents on making a piece of footwear that works hard, feels great, lasts forever and gets better looking with age.
With the variety of designs and quality of hides available, the design of a custom cowboy boot is limited only by the imagination of its creator.
"People wear cowboy boots for 20 years. They never go out of style," Lane says.
"In the old days, red was as wild as it got," Metzger says. "But today we have turquoise alligator, fuchsia stingray, and ostrich in purple, green, yellow or lavender."
The wild spectrum of canvas on which to carve or paint the design of the boot inspires even the most conservative dresser to go a little bit crazy.
"I can't tell you how many people from New York walk in to the store intending to buy a plain, black boot," Lane says. "They always end up walking out with something like the Virgin of Guadalupe on their feet!"
Metzger adds: "Once you put them on, your whole opinion changes."
After a customer is measured and has selected his or her heel, toe, hide, color and stitching, Lane says it takes anywhere from four to six months to create the custom boot, depending on the intricacy of the design. The boots are hand-cut, designed and carved.
"It is truly an art form," Lane says. "The custom boot wearer either has a one-of-a-kind creation or a boot that is a different color, heel or height of a stock boot."
And, customers don't even have to step out of their home to get the specialized treatment. Back at the Ranch sends comprehensive measurement instructions to customers all over the world. All boot wearers need is someone else to trace the outline of their foot.
Worth the price
The cost of custom-made boots starts at $1,000. The artisans work with customers to create an original boot design and can accommodate specific illustrations or branding. But many people feel the price is totally worth it.
"There is no comparison between a factory-made boot and a handmade boot," Metzger explains. "The custom boot will not only feel better, but the design is also extraordinary.:
What is Back at the Ranch's most outrageous boot design request?
"A customer wanted a hand-beaded poker hand complete with wagering chips," Lane replies. "And he wanted the design on the foot in addition to the top so the stitching and beading had be extra secure."
That pair of boots cost about $7,500.
The folks at Back at the Ranch say that custom-made boots inspire an attitude; that the more you wear them, the better they look; and that, like the people who wear them, the character gets better over time.