Trey and I walked through the different types of styles of toes and heel choices that you can get on your Lucchese Boots. There are 18 styles of toes – from the Classic toe, to the 1 toe, to the new W toe – and Trey explained the differences in both the style and functionality of each.

For example, the #3 and #4 toes are pointier and tend to be found more in the higher fashion styles. In contrast, a roper style boot has a more rounded and more practical toe like the W. Trey and I also went through the 12 various sizes and styles of heels and talked about what was best with which style of boot.

My Choice of Lucchese Boot

Regardless of which style of Lucchese Boots you choose, you can’t lose. Me? I picked out Caiman Crocodile Lucchese Classics with a Baby Buffalo upper and some Louisiana Bayou inlayed designs. I chose a # 1 toe and a #4 cowboy heel.

Lucchese Fun Facts

We have heaps of video from my trip and will be posting highlights and fun facts on the blog in the near future. Stay Tuned!

Trey Gilmore and I took a look at some of the history of the Lucchese Boot Company. Trey walked me through the archives of the fit books and we looked at a lot of the notable people who have worn Lucchese boots throughout the years.

Wonder if John Wayne was wearing Lucchese in The Searchers…

John Wayne’s Lucchese Fitting

Lucchese State Boots

We also took a look at an interesting display of state boots that Lucchese was commissioned to make by the Acme boot company. Each boot is a hand-built Lucchese Classic and is hand painted to include images of the state’s capital building, its state bird, state animal and motto. It’s a really neat piece of American History.

Today I took an in-depth tour of the Lucchese factory where they hand-make every pair of Lucchese Boots. We started out in stitching and I saw how Lucchese can make any pattern on your boots. Then we followed the whole process through lasting, to hammering in the lemonwood pegs, to staining the bottom and putting on heels.

Did you know it takes more than 100 steps to make each pair of Lucchese Classics? It’s amazing to see these craftsmen at work.

Today I got a chance to talk with a gentleman named Frank who manages the Skins department for Lucchese. We got to see how they cut each Lucchese style with these giant cookie cutters. We saw everything from American Alligator, to Full-Quill Ostrich. He showed me the difference between American Alligator, Crocodile and Caiman… and why a lot of people often confuse them.

We also talked about some of the softer flat leathers like mad-goat calf and buffalo and their unique properties. Frank was even nice enough to teach me how they shape and mold their boots around a special “twisted cone last” that gives Lucchese boots that special glove-like fit.

How to Fit Your Lucchese Cowboy Boots

Speaking of fit, this afternoon, I also got a chance to learn about how to properly fit a cowboy boot. At Lucchese, they fit literally thousands of people per year and they showed me how to take proper measurements. We also walked through some of the many important steps they take to make sure that every boot fits just right.

I learned that they have fit books dating back to the earliest days of Lucchese that contain the measurements for famous cowboys, presidents, rock stars and just about anyone who’s ever wanted to wear these American classics.

Well I’ve made it to El Paso and found my way to Lucchese Boot HQ. Leaving the airport and it’s 108 degrees (But as they say around here, “it’s a dry 108”.)

Our first stop of the day was the Lucchese Showroom. This place has almost 1000 pairs of Lucchese Classics, Diva, Lucchese Cowboys and Lucchese 2000 boots. Its pretty much Nirvana if you’re a cowboy boot junkie.

Today, Fred Gibbons, who runs all the Lucchese brands, walked me through each individual line of Lucchese boots, pointing out the differences and highlighting some of the cool features of each line:

Stay tuned for more Lucchese footage tomorrow!

We’re going to head down there to get a ton of firsthand video footage of some of the newest styles in the line of Lucchese Classics, Diva, Lucchese 2000, and Lucchese Cowboy and Cowgirl. We’ll also interview some of the people who help make these boots the American classics that they are.

I’ll be taking you on a tour of the factory so you can see some of the 100 steps that each Lucchese Classics boot goes through before it finds its way on to your foot.

We’ll also get some in-depth information on the types of skins used in Lucchese styles. We’ll highlight exotics such as American Alligator, Caiman, Lizard, Stingray, Full Quill Ostrich and even Elephant, and review some of the more traditional flat leathers such as Mad-Goat Calfskin, Kangaroo, and Buffalo.

And to help you find just the right Lucchese boot for you, we’ll take a look at how to properly fit your boot and check out the differences between styles of toes and heels.

Stay Tuned!

Barbed Wire Lucchese Boots

It is always a fun time around Grapevinehill.com when we get in a new batch of closeout Lucchese Classics boots. It is a cool time when we get these Lucchese Classics shipments because it reminds us how many different colors, skins, stitch patterns, welt styles, toes, heels, custom logos, piping, pull tabs,  etc. that one can create a totally unique pair of boots with.

Many of the boots we get in this type of shipment are one-of-a-kind boots. Some of them will never be made again and some will become inspiration for new styles and designs.

• For instance, if you are into a bit of rock n roll, check out these bad bad Lucchese boots with metallic Caiman Crocodile Belly vamp and Skull embroidered tops.
• These are some gorgeous ladies Lucchese Classics in Caiman Crocodile vamp and beautiful hand tooled tops.
• If you are into peace and love (and polo), why not these ladies Lucchese Classics buffalo cowboy boots?
• Check out how you can do different shafts from vamps on these ladies Lucchese Classics boots.

Rattlesnake Lucchese Boots

Seriously, as a Lucchese Classics customer, when you order a new pair of boots you can choose from a HUGE number of variables to make a pair of boots that are unique and custom to you and you only!  Grapevinehill.com loves to help customers (including a number of the Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks) create their own pair of Lucchese Classics, hand-made in El Paso, Texas!   Just drop us a call (978-338-5552) or an email boots@grapevinehill.com and we can start helping you design your own Lucchese Classics.

You’re more likely to suffer from plantar fasciitis if:

You have high arches or flat feet, you stand, run or walk for long periods of time, you’re overweight, you have tight muscles in your calves or tendons along the back of your leg, your feet roll inward while you walk or if you don’t wear the correct footwear.

Symptoms of planter fasciitis include:

You feel instant pain in your feet after getting up in the morning, or sit for a long time. The pain may subside after a few steps but could get worse during the day if you’re on your feet for a long time. It may also hurt to climb stairs or after standing for long periods of time.

There is not one single treatment to prevent or cure plantar fasciitis. However, there are certain things you can do that will reduce pain, and over a period of time maybe even solve your problem completely. The recommended activities include: cutting back on activities that make your foot hurt, avoid walking on hard surfaces, icing your heel or taking an over the counter pain reliever, calve and leg stretches before bed and after waking up. Or, you can also try a new pair of shoes, preferably ones that have better support in the arch of your foot and cushioned soles.

Rocker or Toning Shoes for Plantar Fasciitis

MBT shoes
Skechers Shape Ups Shoes
Rocker RX

General shoes for Plantar Fasciitis:

Crocs
Clarks
Dansko
Birkenstock

Running Shoes for Plantar Fasciitis:

Brooks Beas
Saucony ProGrid Stabil
Brooks Adrenaline GTS 8
Ecco RXP 1660
New Balance 90
Light motion control:
New Balance 1010 /W / S
New Balance 1123 shoes
Mizuno Wave Nexus 2
Asics GT-2130

Make sure you get a quality pair of shoes with a lot of arch support and don’t over wear them. Get a new pair if they feel loose and start to lose support. You can also get orthotics and put them in your existing shoes but remember that quality is not just about looks but about saving your feet/souls.

If the Western Classic boot is the Levi’s of the boot world, the Working boot is the Carhardt. As the name suggests, these are practical boots that are still worn daily by guys who work hard and play even harder.

The modern Roper style boot is a good example of a working boot.  With a lower heel and shorter shaft, the Roper is an evolution of traditional designs and was created for modern rodeo riders, particularly calf ropers who need to run after calves as well as ride.

These boots have somewhat shorter shaft compared to the classics, usually reaching up to just above the ankles, and they tend to have a more rounded toes.  Ropers also have the squared off heels which are also likely to be slightly lower than the classic cowboy boot.

The lower shaft required less material and results in a less expensive boot and also allowed the boot to be more easily removed. Versatile and practical, the Roper has gained broader acceptance among working cowboys and weekend warriors, alike.

Ariat is a great example of a working man’s boot. Their Fat Baby has the traditional 8” high full grain leather and a bump toe. Likewise, the Heritage Roper has a 10” inch leather upper, traditional single stitch welt and the roper toe.

Is because of the universal appeal of all things vintage Americana? Is it the quality craftsmanship? Is it that western boots are just so versatile as an accessory?

Most likely, it’s all of the above.

Once considered the staple of the American west, today’s western boots are just as likely to be seen on the streets of New York, the runways of Paris, or subways of Japan.

For the uninitiated, Western boots generally come in three styles. Classics/Cowboy, Roper/Working, and Fashion styles.

Classics/ Cowboys

Classic western boots are the kind you expect to see on a cowboy working the range or getting ready to go out on the town. The defining characteristics of Classic boots tend to be a higher upper, or “shank” that reaches mid calf. Likewise the heels tend to be higher (as high as one and a half inches tall) and the toes are usually more pronounced and pointed. More than just choices of a fashion designer, these elements take design cues from the brave men who work the frontier and were designed to better fit into a riding stirrup.

As far as Classics go, none is more famous than Lucchese Classics boots.  Since 1883, when 17-year old Sam Lucchese Sr. and his brothers came to America, The Lucchese Boot Company has had a singular vision to craft a one-of a kind boot that “fit like no other boot.”

Lucchese’s original design, which remains the only one of its kind in boot-making today, and a dogged determination to hand craft the perfect boot have made given Lucchese an international reputation as THE authentic cowboy boot.

Their continuing commitment to the art of hand-making boots continues today. From the careful selection and cutting of the finest grade of leathers, to the hand-driven lemon wood pegs and meticulous finishing of a boot, Lucchese knows that there is no substitute for the experienced hands of a skilled boot maker.

Sam Lucchese, Jr. compared the hand cutting of boot leather to a fine chef carving up a roast. “If you cut leather for your boots in the same way you would carve up a meat carcass for your dinner table, you will be in good shape.”

More than 150 years later, you can still see this craftsmanship at work in a variety of sizes, styles and materials ranging from ostrich, crocodile, stingray, lizard, calf, buffalo to alligator.