THE BOOT GOES ON

Southern Californians are in love with cowboy boots; we take them to all the best places, unapologetically wearing them with everything from Armani suits to black Lycra bicycle shorts. These days, there’s no boot like an old boot. The trick is, it has to be someone else’s old boots--vintage and used boots are so hot that stores carrying them (look on Melrose Avenue, Santa Monica’s Main Street and in the Sherman Oaks Antique Mall) can barely keep up with demand.

Brad Hammond, owner of Worn Out West on Beverly Boulevard, sells everything from antique rodeo boots to genuine ranch-hand work boots, with a top price of $99. Hammond says that customers prefer pre-worn boots for quality of workmanship, better value for the dollar, and most important, “not having to go through those initial weeks of breaking in a pair of stiff boots.” At the other end of the financial spectrum, upscale stores such as Mark Fox and Leathers and Treasures specialize in boots from as far back as the early ‘40s, gathered from estate sales, flea markets and other contacts across the country. Used boots in these stores start at $100; a pair of “museum quality” boots can go for as much as $1,000.

Whether choosing a vintage, custom-made pair of snakeskin church-goin’ boots or just a simple ol’ “doggin’ and ridin’ ” boot that once belonged to a cowpoke, there’s something romantic about boots that have walked a mile or two in their time.