Detail in the Design: Custom Boots for Your Perfect Day

by

By Shelbi LeMeilleur

Photo by Jay Hardy

These boots are made for walkin’ … down the aisle! Wearing boots is a Texas wedding trend with brides, groomsmen, and guests all likely to don cowboy leather footwear. The next step up in the trend is to have custom boots created for your special affair. The Mule Barn Boutique in College Station caters to this trend, and owner Nancy Gilmore notes that custom boots can add a distinctly personal touch to a wedding.

“We make everything about that boot according to the wishes of the customer,” Gilmore says. “They can make it as creative as they imagine.”

Some brides choose to create boots just for themselves, while others clad the bridesmaids, groom, and groomsmen in matching boots, too. Gilmore says wedding parties can choose different materials and colors to match the wedding theme, or keep it simple with tooling and stitching to create a custom look. Brides interested in custom boots should expect a minimum of three months for delivery after the order is placed.

“It’s something great for bridal shots, I think, to have a beautiful pair of boots with their colors and dates,” says Gilmore.

If custom kicks aren’t your wedding fancy, Mule Barn is still the place for unique. Gilmore personally designs most of the boots Mule Barn sells through Anderson Bean, Rios of Mercedes, and Black Jack. “We can fit people,” Gilmore says. “By that I mean we can do a custom boot where they would draw their foot – that costs extra of course – but they would make a boot for them to fit that drawing.” The drawing is then saved and can be used again in the future for any other custom designs desired.

Gilmore has found that many people don’t buy boots off the shelf anymore because they are often uncomfortable. Mule Barn has nine trained professionals between their two locations. All go through a rigorous training process before they assist customers with custom fit and design.

Mule Barn uses a company out of El Paso that makes hand-made, hand-tooled boots. It usually takes two to three months to finish a custom order, which is much quicker than most other companies. Cost for the most basic custom design is $425 and goes up as you change leathers, inlays, stitching, and so on. Custom measures are an additional $150.

For a custom boot consultation, visit Mule Barn at either their Madisonville or College Station location.