Lucchese was sold to Wranger (their parent company to be exact) and sold several more times after that.

A pair can cost you $4,000-8,000 these days, depending on your taste. Since the start and to this day, Lucchese makes custom boots. Still handmade in Texas by generations of skilled bootmakers, these boots were always recognizable by poppy extravagant designs. In the 70s, the popularity of all things Western began to fade, and so did the sales of Lucchese. Sam Lucchese died at the age of 61 and his son took over the operation. Of course, most of the acts were about the Western culture and they all wore Lucchese boots on stage.Įventually, Lucchese began to make custom pairs for Bing Crosby, John Wayne (who wore Lucchese boots for over 50 years), and John Lennon. He hired several skilled managers to run the theater and this operation kept bringing new actors, directors, and all the glamor of Hollywood to Texas. He quickly realized that he needs to go into media production to turn his products into the most desirable footwear in America. The profits from selling shoes Sam invested in real estate, but not for rent as we all can easily assume. Production volumes and factory capacity were one of the deciding factors for the Army, obviously in addition to quality. Fort Sam in Houston was the biggest client for Lucchese. You’ll see that in the history of other brands as well. They say you can’t survive 100 years without making something for the Army, and Lucchese is no exception. Because of this, the bootmaking operations for Lucchese were unbelievably efficient, precise, and always of highest quality standards. Sam was always a forward thinking perfectionist and an avid advocate for latest technologies. He was an expert in Spanish boots and saw an opportunity. Sam was only 15 when we founded the company.

Growing up, he used to repair boots, so this was nothing new to him.

Sam realized that Europe is too competitive and is was also time for him to explore the New Land. Previous Owners : Lucchese family, Blue Bell Corporation (also owned Wrangler)īoots I own : 1883 Brown Leather Western Cowgirl Cowboy Bootsįounded by immigrants from Sicily, Sam (Salvatore) Lucchese and his brothers, Lucchese was born as a combo of highest Italian bootmaking standards and a pretty open market for cowboy (back then they were Spaniard style boots) boots in America. Lucchese Boot CompanyĬurrent Owner : Arena Brands Inc. Frye, Wolverine, and Chippewa have only certain styles that are still USA made, everything else is made in China. Quick note: even though most of these brands still make their boots in the USA, please always check the country of origin for any boots you buy. They had to rely on other methods to be successful, something we will all need to learn once this buzz of social media influencers and fake likes goes away. Most of them also launched their manufacturing around the same time, but back then there was no Instagram to easily find competitors and get more likes with influencers. You’ll notice that all of these companies are pretty old and have been selling shoes for decades. In this article, I wanted to collect some interesting and not widely known facts about the iconic American bootmakers: Lucchese, Red Wing Shoes, White’s Boots, Wesco, Chippewa, Frye, Wolverine, and Danner. There are tons of articles and roundups like “6 boots you must buy this fall.” So I’m not aiming to compete with that. Since then, I began to buy/collect/wear pretty much all of the brands that will be mentioned here. My first pair of quality boots I bought about four years ago. T here are a few things that attract me to quality boots - craftsmanship, how long these companies have been making their products, and overall rebellion against cheap $20 widely popular footwear that has no soul, no longevity, and no visual appeal. American made leather boots are not cheap these days, but they are also very different from cheap sneakers that will fall apart in a matter of months.

Red wing boots website