</p><p class=”body-text”>Good thing for you, I’m obsessive about this shit. I spend an ungodly amount of time on eBay looking for old cowboy boots. <a href=”https://www.esquire.com/style/mens-fashion/a44260983/chris-stapleton-lucchese-boots/” target=”_blank”>I know the design and business minds behind Lucchese’s resurgence</a>. And most days of the week, I’m in a pair of boots. They’re <a href=”https://www.esquire.com/style/mens-fashion/a43307082/dr-martens-loafer-review/” target=”_blank”>loafers</a>, <a href=”https://www.esquire.com/style/mens-fashion/g26810824/best-tennis-shoes-for-men/” target=”_blank”>tennis shoes</a>, and slides all in one. I’ll wear cowboy boots to the airport, a court date, my wedding, and my funeral. Bury me with my boot collection.<br></p><p class=”body-text”>Let me also make it clear: I’m happy that more guys are wearing boots than I’ve ever seen before. It’s an iconic piece of American menswear. We should treat it as reverently as the bison, the bald eagle, and the Statue of Liberty. If you’re new to buying cowboy boots or an old head looking to rebuy after your old boot maker retired, this is Esquire’s expert guide. These are the best cowboy boots you can buy on the Internet.</p>” data-next-head/>
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Esquire’s Three Favorite Brands

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Best Luxury Cowboy Boot Brand
Lucchese

Pros
Plenty of options for men and women
Super high-quality
Classic styling, with regular fashion and exotic releases
Cons
Boots are pricey
Personally, though, I’m a Lucchese man. Since 1883, these have been the boots of presidents, celebrities, and diplomats. That’s always had a big impact on me. These days, the company tries to do as much of its production as possible in its El Paso factory. That’s why I come back to Lucchese over and over.
Beyond that, the best praise I can give Lucchese is that these boots pictured are at least a decade older than I am, and I wear them multiple times a week. I scored these that were made in San Antonio for $200 on eBay a few years ago. The San Antonio tag means they were made no later than 1986, since that’s when the company moved to El Paso. (Coincidentally, Chris Stapleton revived this style in his 2023 capsule collection under the name San Antonio.)
My other pair is a rockstar-inspired buffalo leather in black with a snip toe, pictured in this article’s lead image. Between the two, I’m in Lucchese more often than anything else. They’re my most comfortable, most reliable footwear. There’s that rich man’s aura about Lucchese that some people think is stuck-up. When a celebrity or politician steps out in boots, chances are it’s Lucchese. In Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men, Lucchese boots are used as a differentiator between have and have-not characters. But there’s a reason for that aura. Off the shelf, they’re the best boots you can buy. And if you want to get into the world of custom boots, this would be my first pick as well.
Best Modern Cowboy Boots
Parker Boot Company

Pros
Simple, classic looks off the rack
Incredible quality
Cons
Though not custom, these are of that quality, and the price reflects it
Speaking of custom boots, Stephan Parker’s company, Parker Boots, does has bread and butter in bespoke. It’s a small team with a really obsessive process. If you’re a hunter, it’s one of the first places I’d send you to do something with your hides. American Tannery, which it works with on hides, is a standard-bearer that’s also used by Lucchese and is (coincidentally) only a few miles from where I grew up in Georgia. I can attest to the quality here.
But that’s bespoke. Recently, Parker Boots has introduced its first made-to-order program. This line takes the greatest hits of Parker’s career as a boot maker and distills them down into a tightly edited range of boots that don’t require the time (often measured in months) and expense (we’re talking around four grand) of going through the entire bespoke process. I’ve lusted after the Deep Brown Roughout boots for months and might make it a little wedding gift to myself.
Beyond all that, I think Parker is a great place for the city-traversing readers of this magazine to end up. The ‘modern cowboy,’ as Parker calls his customer, could be anyone from a businessman to a lawyer to a doctor or even a style blogger. The key is that they appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into a pair of bespoke boots—and like to tell their friends about it.
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Eight Other Cowboy Boot Brands We Like

A Young Up-and-Comer for Exotics
Rujo

Pros
A real focus on exotic vamps and loud quarters
Makes surprisingly comfortable boots, even with all the exotic materials
A couple smooth leather and suede options
Cons
Not the brand I’d send you to for all your needs
Rujo is another young brand I’m into. Founded in 2019, the idea was to give a youthful spirit to the old-timey world of cowboy boots. In 2025, that seems like a guaranteed way to print money, but in development for Rujo, I’m not sure it was so clear.
The brand takes the now tried-and-true route. Designs are made in Rujo’s Dallas headquarters, and the boots are manufactured in León, Mexico.
There are regular leathers and suedes in the catalog, but Rujo is one of the main brands that leans into fashion-forward exotics. The best sellers are all exotics. The bulk of the offering is exotics. The name of the game is exotics. The quality is no better or worse than the other stuff at this price point. (If you’ve caught on to how many places manufacture in León, I can tell you there’s some factory overlap.) I do think Rujo gets the design of exotics, though. The quarters are as flashy as the vamps. That’s important if you’re the type of guy who’s going to wear his pants a touch shorter (be careful) and have some of the quarters visible when you cross your legs.
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Best Performance Cowboy Boot Brand
Ariat

Pros
Super comfy
Well priced
Ariat Bench Made is another great Mexican-made line of boots
Cons
Overseas assembly also doesn’t sit well with the westernwear crowd
Ariat, in my mind, has always been a true western boot in the sense that most models were made for work. Hybrid rubber soles, horseman heels, and affordable prices so you won’t lose sleep if a pair needs to be tossed. The brand is the official sponsor of Professional Bull Riders—doesn’t get more cowboy than that. Ariat got ahead of the curve by being the first company to integrate athletic-footwear properties into its boots.
One common thing you hear about Ariat boots is that they can be difficult to resole. That comes from models having rubber outsoles that themselves cannot be swapped out and replaced. You can, however, swap out entire soles, and Ariat does that in-house if you don’t have a cobbler you trust.
Since the cowboy boot is the most North American piece of footwear, people get understandably upset if they’re made outside of Mexico or the U.S. Ariat is one of the few brands that do some manufacturing in Asia on lower-end styles; the quality on those is totally acceptable for a pair of work boots. But these days, Ariat has a high-end line called Ariat Bench Made. I was actually shocked by the quality of the pair I got. The catalog is not as deep as the one at Tecovas, who got to the DTC game first, but there’s a really solid selection of cowboy and ankle boots in a couple high-quality leathers. And they keep that comfort factor that makes Ariat, Ariat.
A Classic Cowboy Boot Brand
Frye

Pros
Unique, modern styles
Trusted heritage brand
Cons
On the pricier side
Frye is reputedly the oldest boot company in the United States. Since 1863, the brand has been offering styles, particularly harness boots, that are as sleek as they are durable. Throughout the years, it has also created some mighty fine western-inspired boots, all made of hard-wearing leathers (typically crafted from Goodyear) with some of the most beautiful patinas on the market. It’s a brand for those who want to dip their toes in the style without going whole hog.
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Cult Favorite for Exotics
Rios of Mercedes

Pros
Great quality
Cool styles
Cons
Pricey
For over 160 years, Rios of Mercedes has, relatively speaking, flown under the radar. It is a brand with an incredibly loyal fan base, a brand for real-deal cowboys, the kind of folks who truly value quality leather, standout exotics, and timeless design. Often talked about in the same breath as Lucchese, it still makes all of its boots in Texas, so the price point is on the high side. The designs are a bit more exotic and fashion-forward than some other brands’.
Another Great Affordable Cowboy Boot Brand
Justin

Pros
Reasonably priced
Cons
High-quality, but more work boots than fancy dancing boots
Almost a decade before Lucchese set up shop, Herman Joseph Justin opened a shoe-repair business, eventually making bespoke boots that featured decorative stitching (a hallmark of cowboy boots) on the shaft so as to stiffen the leather. Over a century later, the brand is still kicking around, offering authentic cowboy boots at the most affordable prices. But the brand doesn’t just stop there; it also offers other badass western apparel that will serve as the perfect pairing to your new set of kicks.
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Best Wide-Ranging Cowboy Boot Brand
Stetson

Pros
Plenty of styles
Modern look
Cons
On the pricey side for the quality level
When it comes to true American labels, it doesn’t get more authentic than Stetson. The brand, for well over a century, has outfitted cowboys, ranchers, and the military, becoming synonymous with a brawny, take-no-prisoners vibe. It may be best known for offering the best cowboy hats and other accessories, but its boots are not to be overlooked. This specific style has a clean and understated design, a pointed snip toe, and a dark-black color that reminds you of the famous movie cowboy Lee Van Cleef—but if that isn’t your vibe, it also offers numerous other shapes and colorways.
best affordable yet high-quality cowboy boot brand
Thursday Boots

Pros
Offers a variety of shoe styles
Highly reputable
Cons
Not a cowboy-boot specialist brand
Thursday Boots is the perfect happy medium when it comes to cowboy boots. Notice how a lot of cowboy boots are … expensive? It has excellent quality, don’t get me wrong—we wouldn’t be recommending it to you if it didn’t. But unlike many others, Thursday Boots keeps that high quality at a much more affordable price point. It has classic styles that you can wear for years and years.
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best authentic cowboy boot brand
Alvies

Pros
Westernwear institution
Timeless styles
Cons
Pricey
A true South meets West brand, Austin-founded Alvies is giving you cowboy boots directly from the source. This is a company that’s a household name in Texas, so you know you’re getting authentic, high-quality designs and boots that take you anywhere. And while our editors especially love this quarter-inch snip-toe style, we understand it isn’t for everyone, but if it is for you, then you stand out as a little more fashionable than the next guy.
Why You Can Trust Esquire

I was wearing cowboy boots before TikTok brought them back in style, and Esquire at large has been doing the same. We talk about a lot of pairs, but we always come back to the same makers. Most recently we loved Tecovas, Lucchese, and the occasional small-time maker. We love no-frills stuff like these suede Tecovas or the chocolate-shade counterparts, but we love us some exotics as well. Broadly, we report on westernwear, and we’ll talk to anyone who wants to talk about boots. Sure, we go heavy on Tecovas and Lucchese, but that’s because we’re buying ready-made fashionable boots. If you want want to talk custom, we can do that too. Basically, what do we not know about cowboy boots?
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