What brand name cowboy boot did John Wayne wear?

Answer 1

I was told that he wore Lucchese boots, exclusively. I was told this at a boot store in south Washington state and tried on a pair as a result. These are the best looking and most comfortabley pair of boots I've ever worn and I will never own any other brand. I was told that John Wayne said essentially the same thing. I can't verify that Lucchese are the "Duke's" brand, but I could certainly see why he would choose them.

ADDED NOTE by Joe Erwin (agingapes@gmail.com) It is claimed that John Wayne (also) wore Olsen-Stelzer boots, and I have a pair in size 10.5 or 11 that have "Marion Morrison," John Wayne's real name, stamped inside the shafts. I have not yet been able to authenticate that they were actually his, but it is plausible, as they are the correct size for him (even though some claims are made that he had small feet). These boots are very comfortable--every bit as much as any of my Lucchese boots (I have three pairs and all are really comfortable). Even so, my personal favorite boots are Stewart, made in Tucson. Given that "Duke" was in Tucson a lot (to make movies), I would be surprised if he did not have some Stewarts. They really are excellent boots.

Answer 2

I know of two bootmakers who made boots for Clint eastwood because I sought to have them recreated for myself. T.O. Stanley in Texas has met with Clint and made boots for his movies but I forgot to ask which ones. He said they were a medium tan roughout leather, 1 1/2 inch heel, "old timey" square toe, and he built up the toe because Clint had bad feet and hated wearing boots! He said Clint said he would rather wear hush puppies or something like that. The other boot maker is in Brentwood west los angeles. The owner told me Clint had boots made there at his shop and they were a size 11 1/2 C but he didn't remember much more than that, nor did he seem as excited as I was to dig up the old invoice and make another pair (for me!). I think the original spaghetti western boots were actually just bought in an Italian store as TO said they were European boots. You can call me at (310) 597-2977 and I'll put you in contact with the boot makers. I have the original mold I used to make my boots which was modeled after the boot worn by Clint in The Outlaw Josey Wales and reflects the built up toe TO said Clint liked because he had bad feet and liked a little extra room. I have pictures of the boots I designed to look like Clint's (based on what I carefully examined from the rare instances in each Clint western where you can see his boots clearly if you pause the movie and enlarge it). I can email to you if you shoot me an email at davidslavich@yahoo.com.

Answer 3

This is a similar question that someone asked before that I answered (the previous question was " what brand of cowboy boots did Clint eastwood wear" or something like that). I once had the same question as I love all his movies and wanted to buy a pair of boots (and every suit he wore in Dirty Harry movies and all the guns and sunglasses and whatever else I could find). If anyone else has info about other clothing items and accessories like what kind of sunglasses he wore in Dirty Harry movies I'd appreciate that info. I just happen to live in Brentwood in West Los Angeles and I decided to have a pair of boots made for myself that looked like the ones he had in the Spaghetti Western movies. I tookscreen shots from the various films and decided to actually go with The Outlaw Josey Whales boot as that is my favorite movie of Clint's. Turns out, the store where I went to make them, where Arnold Schwarzenegger Tom Cruise, Jerry Bruckheimer and other famous people have custom boots made, just happened to be a place where Clint himself has had boots made. The owner told me he wore a size 11 1/2 C (narrow) and he said he made him a pair of boots for the movies many years ago. The owner didn't seem as excited as I was to dig up that old invoice in their factory in Texas, but I would have liked to find out more than I did. While my boots were being made, I researched some more and found that T.O. Stanley in Texas also made boots for famous people including President George W. Bush, Sammy Davis Jr. and Clint Eastwood. T.O. was very kind and generous with his time and told me that he met Clint and was commissioned to make a pair of boots for Clint for his movies (western). He said it was a 1 1/2 inch heel, 'old timey' one inch square toe and the leather was a medium tan roughout cowhide(roughout is a hide that is turned inside out so the inside of the hide is what you see as the surface of the boot...it thus has "nap" which is like suede but not as fine and soft, more chunky and rough). He said he made them and polished them perfectly and then the studios took sand paper and neutral polish and made them look old for the movie but I forgot to ask him which one. I'm sure if you called him he'd tell you he loves to talk about Clint as he really respected him and T.O. would love to make you a pair of his boots. He quoted me at about $650 and my next pair I probably will go with him. T.O., said Clint was a real gracious guy, he spent an evening with him and Sondra Locke (Clint's co-star and girlfriend during the Josey Whales and Sudden Impact era) and while Sondra massaged Clint's shoulders Clint talked with T.O. for hours at a minibar at some celebrity's house in Los Angeles back in the day. T.O. also noted the original pair of boots for the Spaghetti Western Movies was actually just picked up at some store in Italy and thus they were European boots of unknown origin. You can call me at (310) 597-2977 if you have questions. I think this is some of the most important information one could know and the world deserves to know about this and these boots should be readily available to everyone. In fact, I spent hours making my own clay mold of the toe as I perceived it from the Josey Whales movie so that Falconhead could recreate it accurately. It is also important to note that most of these boots in those movies had a "full welt" which is not as common today (boots today usually have a welt that tapers under the sole of the foot with lemon wood pegs which is actually more expensive to make). A full welt is one that had a consistent distance from the base of the shoe all the way around and continues all the way back to the heel and connects to the heel and continues around the back with the same width. Remember these were "working man" boots and back then and now roughout leather is actually a cheap leather but the one actually used for most of these Clint boots (the studios would put neutral polish on them to make them look like aged/worn smooth cowhide, but actually roughout is more like sued and is very rough and has nap...but when you put the polish on it gives the illusion of an old boot that a gunfighter who sleeps in the desert would have! An example of a smooth leather cowboy boot would be the one worn by Emilio Estevez in Young Guns. Clint's boots were by and large not smooth leather, but roughout that was smoothed out with polish so it had a rough beat-up look). Also, I opted to use all leather and not use plastic on the "rand" which is the part often called the "spur ridge" (T.O., says he grew up a cowboy and a spur ridge, which is an excessively wide heel welt supposedly to keep spurs in place, is just something fashion designers made up and never really existed...). Moreover, these boots for these movies were made to look like they would back then which is "on the cheap' so there is no trim on the top of the stovepipes (which are simple and cylindrical like a stovepipe with no curves like some modern cowboy boots). Also the seam that goes vertical down the side of the boots is supposed to be a French Seam, that is, one without a cord binding them together like most of the boots made today. Rather, you just fold the leather together and sew it on the inside straight down without this cord...this is how they used to do it "on the cheap". It is possible that there could be a comeback here and I'm surprised nobody has made and marketed this boot. I think it's the coolest footwear that ever existed in my humble opinion. If you call me I'll tell you where to have them made. I have the original mold and I can let you use it if you want. "Put your drawers on and take your gun off" -Clint Eastwood, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Answer 4

Justin's Tony Llama STAR BOOTS find them at starboots.net ROPER.