Which Toe Style is Right for Me?
With one of the largest selections of boots in the state of Texas, we know choosing the right boot can be a little overwhelming. Most folks want to gravitate towards a certain material but are often unaware how important the right toe style is in choosing the perfect boot. I believe we’re in the Golden Age of Toe Designs, which means we have to keep the same boot in stock with as many as 3 to 4 different toe preferences, in every color. It’s a good thing we love boots, because we carry a lot of them! And with several versions of the same boot, there’s a nice point of differentiation among our boots.
I remember reading a biography on Sam Lucchese, Jr., the grandson of the Lucchese boot founder, and the one who really took Lucchese to the top of the boot industry during his time running the company. Sam observed that toe styles change about every 40 years. Right now, we are seeing a transition from the dominance of the round toe to a wide square toe for men, and a snip toe for ladies, making the four major toe styles today, the wide square toe, round toe, snip toe and pointed toe.
How do you know which style is right for you?
The Wide Square Toe
The wide square toe gives a more casual look, but can still be formal with darker colors. Also, this goes great with khakis. We are probably 10 years into a 30-40 year cycle. Fashion cycles may become more compressed, but we still believe this is a major shift, and this toe will be the dominant toe for men’s boots for the next few decades.
The Round Toe
The round toe is the old traditional boot for the man or lady that knows what they like, and is not too impressed with today’s fashion. At The Texas Boot Company, we let folks know that while we don’t see the square toe as a fad, we only worry about a sample size of one, the customer who will be wearing and enjoying the boots.
The Snip Toe
The snip toe is a nice bridge between the wide square toe and the round toe. It is a dressier look then the wide square toe, but it’s still casual enough to be worn with jeans and a t-shirt. Most snip toe boots come with a western heel as opposed to the flatter walking heel of the wide square toe boots. This has become the boot toe of choice for professionals who want a dressy look to wear to the office but also want to have a casual boot for date nights or weekends. For ladies this has become the toe of choice, followed by the pointed toe.
The Pointed Toe
The pointed toe enjoys its place alongside the snip toe for ladies, we are seeing more and more men go with a pointed toe for exotics, too, although its still more of a niche boot for men.
Hopefully this guide gives you a little more information on which toe you might like best, but ultimately, boots have a way of calling your name, and when they do, that’s the boot for you!
