He wants to buy a pair of cowboy boots. And he is not alone. For some people, especially here in Texas, it has never gone out of style. But now the industry is benefiting from some high-profile product placement, courtesy of President Bush. Since he became president, more doctors, more lawyers and a lot of the Secret Service are wearing them.
Boots are a niche within the larger footwear industry.
And custom boots are a niche within the niche. Lisa Lankes, a spokeswoman for Justin Brands which owns lines like Justin Boots and Tony Lama, estimated that two million pairs are sold annually, roughly three-quarters of them in the Southwest. Justin Brands is a unit of Justin Industries of Fort Worth. But people in the industry agree that sales are picking up, and, equally important, that there is a buzz about boots these days. We're starting to see some interest in high fashion that will ultimately trickle down and hit the mainstream.