Fox 7 News Discovers Chisos
Every Texan needs a good pair of cowboy boots, right? In her latest stop on her journey to "turn Texan," Good Day Austin's Libbi Farrow checks out Chisos Boot Company with founder and Chief Texan Will Roman and gets sized for her very first pair of comfortable cowboy boots.
Transcript
Libbi Farrow:
On this edition of Turnin' Texan, I'm here to officially get my cowboy boots at Chisos Boots. They're going to size me properly for my first pair, so let's go inside and check it out. Well, we're now inside and I'm here with Will. He's going to teach me all about the boots and how to be a Texan. Will, I'll let you kind of take it away.
Will Roman:
Absolutely. Well, welcome here to Chisos. So first of all, we're named after the Chisos Mountains out in West Texas, and we've got them up here on the wall, of course. And that's kind of my happy place. But cowboy boots are, of course, the official footwear of the State of Texas.
Libbi Farrow:
Right.
Will Roman:
So today we're going to get you fitted up and get you in some of the most comfortable boots you've ever experienced.
Libbi Farrow:
I'm excited because your slogan is Damn Comfortable, Cowboy Boots, and that just sounds like a dream for my feet, so I'm excited. But tell me a little bit about what boots are behind us and tell us more about them.
Will Roman:
So all of the designs are based off of Big Bend National Park in West Texas. So this one is got the sunrise and then the night sky over the Chisos Mountains. And then the other main design we have, this is actually our most popular boot. So most people have a big, fat, wide square toe if they do it, ours is a little bit more refined. And the design is based off the petroglyphs out in the park. So these are the old native rock carvings.
Libbi Farrow:
Huh.
Will Roman:
And so this is my interpretation again. This is my favorite place in Texas.
Libbi Farrow:
So did you design these boots?
Will Roman:
I did.
Libbi Farrow:
Okay.
Will Roman:
So I actually went down and we have a little workshop in Mexico that trained me up.
Libbi Farrow:
Okay.
Will Roman:
It's a little father son's job. It's not the big mass produced ones.
Libbi Farrow:
Right.
Will Roman:
And I spent most of 2019 down there learning the craft. And so these are my engineering and my design. And then now I still work with them today. So one other thing I want to point out is that we don't put our logo on the heel. The soul will wear down.
Libbi Farrow:
Yeah.
Will Roman:
But then this is Texas and this is what we want to represent.
Libbi Farrow:
So Will, let's touch on the history of the cowboy boot.
Will Roman:
Now, cowboy boots are quintessential Texan. But really the 1860s to the 1890s or when the big cattle drives, the longhorns, moved from Texas up north to feed the country. And cowboys needed proper footwear to get in and out of the saddle and to wrangle those longhorns. And so that's where the cowboy boot really started to take off. So this is our storefront, it's our offices. We actually do all of our own fulfillment here. And here I actually want to show you something pretty special, which is, this is one of our boots cut in half.
Libbi Farrow:
Oh, wow.
Will Roman:
And so you can kind of see this is a little of our secret sauce out here on display. So this boot is built the way you would've made it in about 1890 with one notable exception, which is that we introduced this idea of a leather topped comfort insole.
Libbi Farrow:
Hmm.
Will Roman:
So no more of those days of having to wear your boots for three months to break them in. These are comfortable right out of the bat.
Libbi Farrow:
Oh wow. Okay. And how long have you guys been in business?
Will Roman:
That's a great question. So November 19th, we're actually having our third anniversary party right here in the backyard. So we clear it out. We'll fit about 300 people back here with live Austin musicians like Paul Val and Comanche Moon. So when you shop at Chisos, you're shopping with true Austinites.
Libbi Farrow:
So this is really the place to become a Texan. And you were mentioning sizing earlier. Tell me about that too.
Will Roman:
So with a boot that doesn't have laces, you want to start snug and then it will stretch and break in with you as you wear it. And with our leather, we treated it. I mean, that'll start happening within probably about an hour of putting them on. Usually you go down a half size from what you might wear in sneakers. So let's try them on. Now, you go ahead and just...
Libbi Farrow:
Take my shoes off.
Will Roman:
Yeah. Don't try them both at the same time.
Will Roman:
And what you're looking for is you want a good thump when you kind of put them on. You want a little bit of resistance. Because again, you want them to be snug when you first put them on. Oh, I think that might be the perfect fit.
Libbi Farrow:
They feel like a cloud, I'm not going to lie.
Will Roman:
That's the magic. That's the Chisos magic.
Libbi Farrow:
If people want to come check the store out, check the place out, check the boots out. How can they do so?
Will Roman:
Yeah. So first of all, we're at chisos.com. You can buy everything online, but the store is open Monday through Saturday from 1:00 PM to 5:30 PM.
Libbi Farrow:
Sweet. Well, do you think I'm on my way to becoming more Texan?
Will Roman:
I think so.
Libbi Farrow:
I feel like a Texan. I just need a belt buckle and nice jeans. We'll work on the outfit part. But thank you so much for having me here. And I love these boots. You guys should come check them out. They're actually very, very comfortable. I'm not lying. This is not an ad.
Will Roman:
Thank you. Come back anytime!
Our love for the great state of Texas—and enthusiasm for cowboy boots—motivates just about all that we do. On this blog, we write about community stories, local news and what goes into making the best damn comfortable cowboy boots money can buy. Y'all make it possible for our little boot shop to exist. Don't hesitate to reach out! Call or text 512-866-7222 or howdy@chisos.com
