Why do I torture myself?
☆ March 17, 2010
Voice of Lust:
You wear boots every day!
That means cost-per-wear is actually quite tiny!
You work really hard, on your feet, all day long, and sometimes all night, and your feet deserve incredible handmade homes!
It’s almost your birthday!
Voice of Logic:
$500 and they will be covered in shit 90% of the time?
Are you insane???
Seriously, look at these boots. These. These… And all of these! I think, if I owned a pair, I’d place them in the center of my desk and just gaze at them.
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42 Responses to “Why do I torture myself?”
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March 21st, 2010 @ 10:49 am
Hi Shreve! I’ve been checking this site occasionally and am sooo psyched to see you’re up and running! Best wishes on your latest adventure. And as always, thanks for sharing your life. You are so fun and such an inspiration!
Love, love, love the boots! I have no use for them, but my voice of lust says I should start saving up. Voice of logic? Huh? I will have new boots in no time.
March 23rd, 2010 @ 7:02 am
My mom bought me the most incredible, beautiful, expensive pair of leather boots for Christmas. Where have they been all winter? Up in my closet. I take them down and smell that wonderful leather scent occasionally or put them on for a trip to town. I can’t bear to have them ruined by the above mentioned. BUT, I really want to wear them…:O(…they are SO comfortable and reek of…country luxury.
March 23rd, 2010 @ 8:06 am
I’m with ya, sister. And I have even less reason to buy them – I’m a part-time stay-at-home-mom. I would be wearing them to the grocery store and carrying laundry up and down stairs. Oh, and to church once a week. But I still want them!!!! ;-) One day . . .
March 23rd, 2010 @ 8:06 am
Oh, I can NEVER resist beautiful boots! Go for it! Protect them regularily and they will only get more beautiful.
March 23rd, 2010 @ 8:07 am
Love your boots, I have 14 pairs of boots. I have snow boots you would never wear in the snow because you don’t want to mess them up. So when it comes to boots I have no voice of logic.
March 23rd, 2010 @ 8:11 am
Go for ’em. I still have my basic Frye boots from college…1975!! I wear ’em with short skirts in the summer and jeans in the winter. Just keep them well mink-oiled.
March 23rd, 2010 @ 8:25 am
You MUST buy these boots! I’d rather wear my boots than a pair of bedroom slippers. As far as I’m concerned they’re a tax writeoff! : )
March 23rd, 2010 @ 8:31 am
Hi Shreve! Those are gorgeous boots.. I say get them! toss logic to the wind..and treat yourself for your birthday to something extravagant just because! You deserve it and work hard for it! Love this new site.. what a unexpected treat with my morning coffee!
Marlene from Cambria!
March 23rd, 2010 @ 8:32 am
I did find it ironic that at the end of scrolling through the cow photos, were these beautiful boots! The boots did entice lust, their obvious craftmanship, I could just smell the hand tooled leather.
These boots are made for a pair of faded worn jeans.
March 23rd, 2010 @ 8:53 am
Go for it, the pleasure you will get every time you put them on is money well spent.
Love the site
March 23rd, 2010 @ 8:57 am
In your line of work, boots are an investment. Buy the best you can afford, take care of them and they’ll take care of you. I imagine you could even write them off as a business expense.
Plus, they’re gorgeous.
March 23rd, 2010 @ 9:19 am
you NEED them; and more importantly, you deserve them! maybe we could see pictures of them as they get worn in!!
March 23rd, 2010 @ 9:48 am
Get them Shreve, you won’t regret it. I bought myself a pair of boots similar to these while I was visiting my boyfriend’s family in Texas. I paid well over $600 for them but I have put more use into those boots than any other pair of shoes I have owned. And even all scuffed up and covered in mud, they still look great. :)
March 23rd, 2010 @ 10:00 am
Get the boots, you deserve a good pair, if you oil them well and brush them good one in a while, it will be fine. I still spit on mine for shine. Had them for a long while, i got a wooden form to put in them when I store them. These are mighty fine boots sister !!!
March 23rd, 2010 @ 10:15 am
As has been mentioned already, you, more than me the city-slicker, is justified in purchasing a pair of great boots. And they are gorgeous.
As to your point that they will be covered in muck most of the time, well, I think that you would know that they were gorgeous and you would always feel great when wearing them.
Go for it!
March 23rd, 2010 @ 10:19 am
Shreve, I am a fan of Charlie, your photos, your entire clan and now your boots! Keep entertaining us, I’m thrilled to visit you often! Jan in Madison, WI
March 23rd, 2010 @ 10:19 am
Gawgeous! Love the tall sexy shank (right word for leg part??). But wonder if you can do all the farmily work with such a tall boot?
If you get them, you have to post photos, ok? One of my fave photos from my 20s was a pair of worn boots and National Park Ranger’s hat (boots wearing the hat) I took while said ranger was swimming in a cold mountain lake. Oh the romance of it!
March 23rd, 2010 @ 10:53 am
Oh for goodness sakes, buy the boots, they are gorgeous! Who cares what they’re covered in after you get them, your feet will be on the INSIDE and loving it!
March 23rd, 2010 @ 11:30 am
Shreve,
My first pair of boots were Justin 8″ ropers I bought after a whole summer of cowboying when I was a teenager. (A dollar a day and yore keep!)
I loved those boots and wore them for 27 (count ’em) years! Of course they were resoled and reheeled several times.
Today, my favorite pair of three pairs I have is a simple Acme cowhide pair that I paid $40 for on sale. Boots don’t have to be expensive to be loved and enjoyed. They are the most comfortable footwear I have ever worn!
Best to you and yours
Charley Bell, once a cowboy, ever a cowboy.
March 23rd, 2010 @ 11:32 am
Life is short. Buy the boots!
March 23rd, 2010 @ 11:34 am
The most important thing is how you feel when you wear them. Where I grew up, it was a normal practice to spend a good amount on your work boots/shoes and maybe not quite as much on your dress boots. I always did that with my kids. I wanted comfortable, sturdy shoes for their feet to grow in but I would buy them some pretty, inexpensive shoes for dressing up because they would out grow them before they wore them out. If those boots feel really good to wear, go for it. You can clean them up every night and take care of them and they will last a long time.
March 23rd, 2010 @ 12:10 pm
I wear boots almost all the time. I have worn boots to work for the past 30+ year. Since I live in my boots, mine are expensive – $500 is a good price for a GOOD set of boots that do not fatigue your feet, which in turn tires you. Cheap boots can wear you out and make you clumsy. Consider their cost an investment in your health and well-being.
I have at least two but usually three or four pair that I rotate wearing because the leather needs to rest, and once a year a pair needs to be either retired or repaired. I hate retiring a pair because that means I have to replace them, which is not easy. Finding a good pair that fit so well you don’t notice them is difficult and time-consuming and, like you, I live in a remote area. That is further incentive to pay more for good boots: in the long run you save time and money.
Do not stint yourself on your footwear. I have dropped all sorts of things on my feet, from rocket engine parts to tools to sacks of feed for the horses, and have been stepped on by horses. The boots have prevented damage on more than one occasion. If you like the boots and they fit, then get them. You will not regret it. Never mind they get mucked up: that’s what they are for.
Forget the price. Invest in yourself. Get yourself the boots.
March 23rd, 2010 @ 12:43 pm
Hi Shreve,
I buy a new pair of boots every winter just for the fun of it. I love all of them – even those 1970’s tall Frye boots I still have, too! Lots of times I buy my work boots from eBay: $40 for a brand new pair of Durango pull-ons or Ariats instead of $240. I use these for my work boots & don’t care if those bright red ropers meet horse s@#* in the corral or on the trail. And I wear ALL of my boots for dress or play or work. Just keep them cleaned & water proofed. Anyway, the birthday fits both lust & logic – go for it!
March 23rd, 2010 @ 1:21 pm
Oh! there is no question about buying those boots. I would buy those boots in a heartbeat. And, after my third pair of really nice boots that I luv, I no longer feel any need to justify the purchase. It is like buying underwear; you must have it and wear it and there is just no need for justification and besides would your mother allow you to get in an accident without a descent pair of boots!! NO, of course not!
March 23rd, 2010 @ 1:32 pm
You might enjoy this as well:
http://www.bootmaker.com/bootmakr.htm
March 23rd, 2010 @ 2:12 pm
Love your new Website and lust after those boots. Have had many made for me down in Texas with tall shafts… since those days I can’t find anything taller than 12″. I always wear boots, always have and always will and I am now Medicare age.
Read your book, been watching Charlie forever, and love keeping up with your family. Thanks for keeping us in the loop.
March 23rd, 2010 @ 2:40 pm
I just bought $150 boots last week, I justified it because they are waterproof (and not just pretty because they are turquoise on top). First day I wore them they were covered in horse shit, and I tracked it through Walmart by accident, hehe. I have them on now, totally worth it, they are so comfy. If you have the extra money then go for it. My boyfriend has a pair of custom made for his feet $500 boots, but he makes loads of money and can buy whatever he wants. He never wears them, scared to get them dirty I guess, like the $1000 cowboy hat tucked away in a box in the closet. I would wear them everyday if I had expensive boots, if you get them, wear them.
I too blog, and have read your book. I have a cool job camping and working with birds this summer, so the above blog started so I can write about that when May rolls around. I like this new site, wish you would write a book about the vespa trip complete with amazing poetry that inspires you.
March 23rd, 2010 @ 4:46 pm
Ooh… I am plotting my own handmade boots here in Albuquerque … and I don’t “NEED” them, but I WANT them; I carry the card in my pocket, style chosen, leather chosen, … it’s all there just waiting for the $450 to fall into my lap. Tax return … make it happen!
March 23rd, 2010 @ 6:25 pm
If you can afford them, get the boots.
We’re not here all that long and you should be surrounded
by what brings you joy.
March 23rd, 2010 @ 6:28 pm
reasons to buy boots:
your young
your a hard worker
you just plain love the boots
you wear boots all the time
you never no what will happen tomorrow
they are drop dead gorgeous boots
you will regret it if you don’t
ta da
all good reasons
March 23rd, 2010 @ 6:41 pm
DO NOT BUY THAT PAIR OF BOOTS!!!!!!
Ha! Buy two pair. One for stompin poop and one for just looking pretty. See, I’m ALWAYS thinking.
March 23rd, 2010 @ 7:01 pm
Shreve, just do it!!! buy the boots if you can afford them. life is way too short to deny yourself something as silly as boots. I will be most disappointed if you don’t get them.
I have worked in ERs and surgery for too many years and have seen too many people dead or dying and they never got to enjoy life. really, life is way too short to deny yourself anything that would make you smile and happy.
March 24th, 2010 @ 8:01 am
BUY THOSE BOOTS! :)
Oh, if only I see those boots, I HAVE TO buy one new pair! …or two? *think* Have to check out if they ship to Europe!
Greetings from Germany! :)
PS: Nice site. I love it!
March 24th, 2010 @ 8:57 am
Shoes , boots are works of art they do not require logic ,though it’s nice to be able to at least say they have a pracatical use. Men will never understand this
March 24th, 2010 @ 10:14 am
I love boots too but can’t justify spending a ton of money on boots that are going to walk through horse poop. And you know if you set them aside that one day you’ll just need to run outside real quick and that will be the end of that.
March 24th, 2010 @ 10:23 am
If I could think of one good reason to buy a pair of those boots for myself – I would, but I can’t – so you should. : )
March 24th, 2010 @ 12:15 pm
I am a boot addict and I love cowboy boots! Those are some seriously wonderful boots! I may have to put a pair on my wish list.
If you are ever in Tucson, AZ, I highly recommend stopping at Stewart Boot Company in South Tucson (they don’t have a website). I used to live in Tucson, and Stewart Boot makes beautiful, functional boots that last practically forever and can be re-soled if they ever wear out.
March 24th, 2010 @ 2:57 pm
People from Sebastopol are so insipid.
April 6th, 2010 @ 2:33 pm
So it’s killing me….did you get the boots??
April 6th, 2010 @ 2:40 pm
Weeellll, not yet, but I’m like the leaning tower of Piza, leaning in that direction…… :)
April 7th, 2010 @ 6:53 am
Do it! AND, would be a great roadtrip to go pick them up! Over to Cody, through Yellowstone, up through Paradise Valley and next thing you know you’re in Livingston! OR, Cody over Chief Joseph Hwy to Beartooth Hwy to Red Lodge, over Rt. 78 to Columbus, then I90 to Livingston. I’m jonesing to get back out there…can you tell? Sept. won’t get here soon enough!
October 30th, 2010 @ 7:05 pm
I’m a yankee with four cats and a dog and no horseshit to mention in the area. But I do work at fairs and festivals, and my go-to for nonslip, comfy boots that endure mud, muck, and other nasty weather is a pair of Justins. It’s slightly ridiculous for me to wear them given a) I haven’t been on a horse since the pony ride at a birthday party when I was three and b) we do not have livestock.
But. They’re comfortable, and since I have balance issues, not skidding on slick muddy footing is a big thing for me. And the Justins never skid.
Even better, they were $8 in a thrift shop. But still. Good boots are good boots.