Steppin' Out
MEET OUR FIRST ROPER, THE MANCHACA
by Alvie Faulkenbery, September 17,2021
Steppin' Out
MEET OUR FIRST ROPER, THE MANCHACA
by Alvie Faulkenbery, September 17,2021
I never wanted to make a roper boot. And yet here I am, excited to announce our newest men’s boot, The Manchaca deerskin roper.
I never wanted to make a roper boot. And yet here I am, excited to announce our newest men’s boot, The Manchaca deerskin roper.
WHY I USED TO BE A HARD NO ON ROPERS
I fell in love with the vintage Western boots I inherited from my grandpa, Alvie Jr. The statement-making J or snip toe, the staunch feeling of wearing a cowboy heel, the classic profile and timeless style — that was my idea of a cowboy boot. By comparison, a roper is short, kind of squat, really, with a round toe and a shorter heel. It just didn’t feel as special, and the ropers that other cowboy boot brands put out never appealed to me. It was almost like you were trying not to wear a cowboy boot at all.
WHY I USED TO BE A HARD NO ON ROPERS
I fell in love with the vintage Western boots I inherited from my grandpa, Alvie Jr. The statement-making J or snip toe, the staunch feeling of wearing a cowboy heel, the classic profile and timeless style — that was my idea of a cowboy boot. By comparison, a roper is short, kind of squat, really, with a round toe and a shorter heel. It just didn’t feel as special, and the ropers that other cowboy boot brands put out never appealed to me. It was almost like you were trying not to wear a cowboy boot at all.
WHAT CHANGED MY MIND
Well, a few things:
- Our mission is to get people that have never worn cowboy boots into a pair for the first time. A great entry boot is the roper, and so in the spirit of sticking to our mission, I had to find a way to make it work for us.
- A lot of our loyal boot buyers do love ropers, and were constantly asking when we would make one.
- I could never back down from a challenge — I wanted to see if I could make a roper that even I would wear.
WHAT CHANGED MY MIND
Well, a few things:
- Our mission is to get people that have never worn cowboy boots into a pair for the first time. A great entry boot is the roper, and so in the spirit of sticking to our mission, I had to find a way to make it work for us.
- A lot of our loyal boot buyers do love ropers, and were constantly asking when we would make one.
- I could never back down from a challenge — I wanted to see if I could make a roper that even I would wear.
I’m pretty pleased with the results. The proof being that I’ve been happy to wear a pair of Manchacas around for the last month or so.
I’m pretty pleased with the results. The proof being that I’ve been happy to wear a pair of Manchacas around for the last month or so.
ORDER NOW
ORDER NOW
The Manchaca is available to pre-order now, and will begin shipping in early October.
The Manchaca is available to pre-order now, and will begin shipping in early October.
ABOUT ALVIE
Alvie is the founder of Alvies (makes sense, right?), a man obsessed with boots and flip-flops. He spent six years designing and selling them out of an Airstream. That time was like his vision quest, where he learned everything he could about traditional bootmaking and leatherworking in order to build the best boots and flip-flops on the planet. In addition to being our Presidente and chief product designer, he’s also our resident boot expert and dropper of knowledge on the blog.
ABOUT ALVIE
Alvie is the founder of Alvies (makes sense, right?), a man obsessed with boots and flip-flops. He spent six years designing and selling them out of an Airstream. That time was like his vision quest, where he learned everything he could about traditional bootmaking and leatherworking in order to build the best boots and flip-flops on the planet. In addition to being our Presidente and chief product designer, he’s also our resident boot expert and dropper of knowledge on the blog.