How many of you are into Western/Exotic boots....

[NothingToSeeHere]

I saw the shoe thread and couldn't find a comparable thread for Western boots... so here it is. If there is one, mods please delete this and redirect me to the proper thread.

Backstory. I'm not a cowboy. I'm not from the country. I grew up in the suburbs and never put on boots other than at Rodeo. When I was 23ish I bought my first pair of boots. Lucchese Classics Cognac Ostrich ropers. It was a huge purchase for me and I saved for some time (for those who don't know these run about $1000 for a pair). One of my favorite outfits is jeans/button down/sport coat/boots. I'd only wear them every now and then.

They were very noticeable, to the point I was self-conscious in them. So when I was around 25 I purchase the exact same boots, but in black. These I wore a lot more often, but only with my favorite outfit style. I NEVER wore boots during my normal day. It felt odd.

My career affords me a lot of leeway and luxury in dress. I can wear shorts/sneakers to work and a polo if I want, although I mostly wore jeans/sneakers/polo. When I was 28ish I started feeling sloppy. I have zero sense of trendy style so I really didn't know what to do, and I didn't want to be overdressed. I'm in the industrial world and slacks and Ferragamo will get you nowhere. If anything, they may hurt you with small customers. So I started researching and found another pair of Lucchese. THis time I went with their budget line called "1883". It was around $400 for a pair of distressed antique finish goat roper boots. I started wearing these every day and they grew on me fast. The roper heel is great because you don't look like a cowboy with them. THey go well with almost anything. I've already had these boots resoled.

And this is where it started getting out of hand. I started working my black ostrich into the rotation. Then the Cognac. And in the past 6 months (I'm 34 now) I've purchased 3 new pairs, this time all Western heels, all Lucchese classic. I bought a pair of Crocodile belly, then a pair Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (for casual fun wear), and then I custom ordered a pair of sueded elephant.

Now I find myself wanting Hippo, Calf, Baby Buffalo, Stingray, and more. So I've got 5 pair of boots constantly in rotation. There are a lot of other great custom boots (more custom) that I'd like to add in the future such as ML Leddy or JB Hill or others, but for now I've stopped.

So who else is in to boots? Exotic or normal. Please post up pics and information! I love Lucchese but I definitely want to branch out in the future, and I'm sure there are a lot of great bootmakers I'm not familiar with.

Pics to follow!