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When your teensy-weensy budget doesn’t match your larger-than-life fashion aspirations, getting the look by the second-hand route – or shoplifting (just kidding) – is often the only solution. These vintage multi-coloured Boulets from Quebec ($80, 69 Vintage , 1100 Queen West, 416-516-0669, www.69vintage.com) are a prime example of how to live stylishly within your means.
Up close and personal you’ll marvel at the hand-tooled mastery (made in Mexico, naturally) of these overlaid leather boots by Old Gringo ($1,250, Bootmaster , 609 Yonge, 416-927-1054, www.bootmaster.com, www.oldgringoboots.com). Seriously – they will blow your mind, and maybe even your credit limit.
We liked the simple creamy leather-with-turquoise-stitching combo of these boots by Sendra ($550, Rockin’ Cowboy , 754 Queen West, 416-955-0676, www.sendra.it), available in colour schemes galore.
More runway than rodeo, these tall leather boots ($179, Le Chateau , 220 Yonge, 416-979-3122, www.lechateau.com) feature a high stacked heel and, thankfully, no western ornamentation, making them easily camouflaged (say with a pair of pants, or a longer skirt length) once the cowboy thang cools. Available in October.
Slightly higher in the heel and shorter in the boot, these leather butterfly-motif boots by Liberty ($795, Western Corral , 1982 Avenue, 416-488-8382, www.westerncorral.ca, www.libertybootco.com) make for some dang good strutwear. PS: They’re designed in the T-dot but made in Mexico.
