I Bought The Same Boots Three Times

Put your feet up. This might take a minute.

We were talking about our most prized possessions this morning on the radio and outside of family, and a necklace my grandmother gave me, I have to say my most prized possession is my boots.

If I'm being totally honest, not only are my boots a prized possession, I'm obsessed with them. So much so that I've bought the same pair three times now and I wear them at least three days a week, some times all week long.

There is a bit of a back story but before I get to it, I've got to ask, do you have a pair of boots you consider your most favorite shoe? If so be sure to share a photo of them in the comment section of our Facebook links!

Now the back story.

I originally saw the object of my affection in a magazine almost fifteen years ago. They were made by boot company Old Gringo and I think the price tag was somewhere in the ballpark of $500.00.

Now let me be the first to say I would have a hard time justifying spending that much money on a pair of boots ( or any piece of apparel for that matter) but I loved them the moment I saw them, having to quickly put them out of my mind after seeing their price tag.

About five years later while I was on a somewhat disgruntled trip to West Texas with friends we ended up in some barn on the side of the road that various vendors had converted into a junk gypsy boutique of sorts. On the shelf of the very first vendor I came across were none other than the Old Gringo Boots I had fallen for years ago. They had a price tag of $100.00 and my heart leaped out of my chest. As I picked them up my voice loudly cracked as I asked the vendor if she had more of this style and she replied, " Nope. That's the only pair I have. What size are you?" My voice cracked again, and my heart sank when I answered, "7 1/2"

I mean, what would be the odds?

Sure enough, they were 71/2 and...now, ALL MINE.

I wore them almost every day for years, until they were stolen out of the back of my car along with my suitcase, camera, and computer on a trip out of town.

For weeks I had dreams about finding the thief and getting my boots back. Not dreaming about my camera, my luggage, or my laptop. Just the boots.

I searched on eBay for months joining every Old Gringo fan page I could find in the hopes that these now discontinued boots could be found. I finally found a pair but they were a size 9 1/2. In my haste for finally seeing them online, combined with the naive belief that I could just wear four pairs of socks to make them fit, I bought them for $200.

Of course, they didn't work out. I traded them for artwork about a year after buying them.

Last year on a whim, I circled back to a few Old Gringo fan pages and OMG I FINALLY found them in my size and almost in perfect condition! I happily paid $200 and cried when they arrived.

Turns out, those Old Gringo boots were going to cost me $500.00 in the end anyway. But they were worth every penny. Can you really put a price tag on boot love?

If you're a fan of boots like I am, the answer is nope. Besides, my boots pale in comparison to the ten most expensive boots according to Money, Inc. which you can check out here.

What about these $6 million dollar boots painted by Jack Armstrong? Yep, you read it right, $6 million.

It makes me having to buy my Old Gringos several times a NON-issue. I like to think the Jack Armstrong boot price tag compared to my Old Gringo is about 'perspective.'

You know who has great boots reasonably priced in Victoria? High Brehm, locally owned and Cavender's corporate.

Now it's your turn to show me your boots and if you care too, share your boot love story with me.