Rodeo Queen FashionsA Feature by Kelly Kraegel-Bates
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Part 1 - Putting Your Best Boot Forward
One of the most important parts of a rodeo queen's ensemble are her boots. They are a clear window into her style, knowledge of fashion, and attention to detail. Old cowboys used to use a stranger's boots to judge his character; for example: well-worn, re-soled boots with a polished and conditioned top showed their owner to be a hard working man who takes pride in himself and his work, where a pair of dried-out, high-dollar, snakeskin boots with scuffs may show a more careless personality with less work ethic. Regardless what old cowboys believed, boots are a very important part of completing that perfect queen outfit.
With all the thousands of brands, styles and colors of boots available there are a couple of basic rules that will help you along your way. The general rule of thumb is to wear round toe roper-style boots with pants or slacks and pointed toed boots with a dress, both with leather soles. Although they'll be a little tougher to find, boots are available with an extra tall shaft (16 inches), which you will find will help you greatly in hiding any possible leg showing out from under your dress or skirt, they are a wonderful investment and will make a world of difference in allowing your dresses to hang properly. Lace-up boots are a big no-no and should never ever be worn at a pageant. They are considered to be more tennis-shoe like than boot-like.
Current rodeo queen trends are to match the boot color with the pants or dress color. This way your boots aren't jumping out at the world, they simply blend in and will help add length to your body by continuing the color scheme on down to the ground. We don't want to draw attention to our nervous, clumsy feet, we want to bring the eyes upward. Although there are places that will dye boots and belts for you (Tim's Shoe Repair in Temecula California is popular) you can do it yourself with the help of a paint store (such as Vista Paint) and a swatch of your fabric or leather. Making sure the boots are dry and clean, and keeping the paint layers light will help prevent cracking later on.
Although exotic boots are more comfortable and very attractive, they are unnecessary. Buying a pair that can be worn more then just with one outfit would be a better investment. Most girls could pair some black ostrich ropers with some black pants and be able to wear them more than just with one outfit. Having a closet full of sea foam green, butternut yellow, princely purple and Barbie Doll Pink colored exotic boots won't do you or your checkbook a lot of good, but a pair of black exotics will.
Do all these boots sound expensive? They don't have to be quite so bad! I had a lot of luck purchasing used and new boots on eBay for as low as $5, and from a lot of friends who had those old ropers in their closets! You're going to dye most of them anyway, so color isn't an issue. Just remember you can't go from a dark color to a light color, but think about "recycling" those old boots you never wear anymore and re-dye them a new color. Many western wear stores can special order those extra tall dress boots and sometimes they'll be hiding on eBay as well! Popular searches include "Larry Mahan" and "Panhandle Slim". Make sure you plan ahead and leave yourself enough time for the boots to arrive and be dyed, it's even a good idea to keep an extra pair in the closet ready to be dyed if need be.
Make sure your boots are always polished, have cracked paint touched up and carry a small container of it on hand in case you have an emergency. Keep your white boots scuff free, and invest in some good liquid scuff remover. There is no excuse for scuffed boots, everyone can take the time to remove their scuffs. The most wonderful dress in the world will not matter if a judge sees that you wouldn't even take the time touch up your boots.
Practice walking in your boots and break them in a little bit before you dye them. Scuffing up the bottoms of your brand new boots on some pavement or with rough sand paper will give you more grip and keep you from feeling like a horse on roller skates when you get up on stage. And by doing the breaking-in BEFORE you dye them, you'll keep from cracking the dye and have longer lasting boots!
Blacking the bottoms of your boots before all phases of competition will keep your boots looking well cared for and show that you have paid attention to details. Black shoe paint works great. During stage competition your judges are at boot-level with you and the flashes of dirty, brown, worn out soles as you glide across the stage in your best modeling dress will be like blinking neon signs reflecting negatively on you. A black permanent marker or colored pencil can be used to darken up the white stitching around the boots to keep from drawing attention to your feet as well. Who wants their foot size outlined in white anyway? Be sure to wrap and protect the boot as not to accidentally get permanent marker on it.
While getting yourself ready for your next competition remember to pay attention to detail, it's not the money spent, but the time spent that matters. A queen's boots are truly a window into her personality, so be sure to put your best foot forward!