Sugarbat Castle

I had been CowFolk-Boot-Curious for a while, so when tasked to find classic Western-inspired garb for one of my dance classes, I didn’t want to settle for just any pair that fit.

Since I needed some other basics, my first stop was Walmart. I don’t make a habit of shopping there, but the selection is massive, catering to my desire to make clothes shopping as quick and painless as possible.

Existing in (and having grown up in) a larger body, clothes shopping is quite loaded for me. My fight-or-flight kicks in, I feel lightheaded and unable to think, and my throat gets sore. I try to avoid shopping in person when I can, which has made cutting back on Amazon quite interesting!

After picking out some cozy-looking multipacks of intimates, I mozied over to the women’s shoes. I found a pair of CowPerson-inspired rain/gardening boots (pictured). It crossed my mind that after my dance class was over, I could use these in the garden, but I found them unpleasant overall to look at and wear. I assumed Walmart would have more selection, but figured as a newbie to the CowPerson world, that even the CowPeople aren’t wearing these boots at the end of April. I found some cheap and ridiculous boots tangled and dangling on an end-cap on clearance (pictured) – none in my size. Among them – white boots size 11, a mid-calf metallic silver pair in size 7. I found my size in the silver online for $17 bucks, but gave up when the order process wasn’t as simple as payment info and address.

Between the shoes and intimates, I had taken several laps around the accessories sections looking for a CowPerson hat to fit my head. I usually wear “mens” hats, and I was shocked that WalMart had no CowPerson hats in the men’s section. On my 3rd hopeless lap through the women’s accessories, I found a bedazzled number all by itself, apparently put back during my struggle in the shoes section. It fit, barely, but I felt it was a sign, so I threw it in the cart.

After WalMart, my next check was at my local ARC thrift store. No CowPerson boots in my size at all. I left Arc like I always do, feeling worried about my choices, putting half of the items back, and covered in a thin layer of Febreze and dust.

It was after ARC that I decided to brave the several vintage/thrift/discount shops locally that my dance teacher and classmates had mentioned. Please note that this search was for women’s size 9-10 CowPerson boots by a person with driving anxiety, social anxiety that borders on agoraphobia, and you guessed it: generalized anxiety. My goal was to get in, scope the places out a bit, try on what might fit, and ideally find a funky pair of boots before slithering back into my cave. I bee-lined it for the shoes in my size and didn’t spend much time looking at the other products or sizes. I’ll note what I did notice of these places, but this is definitely not a full picture nor a discouragement to check these places out. They likely have a ton of gems if you are taking the time to browse and not holding your breath and fighting off an anxiety attack.

The rest of this post is a quick write-up that I made after my shopping journey.

Cowperson Boot thrifting for large feet:

Background: I typically wear a size 9-10 in shoes, have a high arch and high instep. I found it was hard to get most pairs of cowboy boots size 9 even onto my foot because of the nature of these boots and my high instep. I mainly looked at size 10 after I struck out on several size 9s. Zippers are handy on the pairs that have them!

💛 Plato’s Closet (college & Troutman by Michaels) 10-8 Mon-Sat, 11-6 sunday Decent selection of shoes in my size, Everything there looked well taken care of/good condition compared to the other places I went, and they had some fun brands. (They had a ridiculous pair of Dolls Kill cowboy boots with strawberries on them. My kind of place ) I found a cute pair of ankle boots that I liked on my body (pictured) but they would have required some crafting to get a cowperson feel (fringe, stitching, patterns on the side etc)

💛 Repeat Boutique (college & lake by flower garden/prost) 10-5:30 Mon-Sat, 11-5 sunday Most of the shoes in my size looked worn out/dusty/squished, not a ton of boots in larger sizes, didn’t even try any on

💛 Ragstock (college & olive) 10-8 Sat, 11-7 sun-wed, 11-8 Thurs Friday Only had gogo boots that I could see, no cowboy boots that I saw. They had lots of cute dance clothing there, as my dance teacher had shared.

💛 Brand Spankin’ Used (college & olive – right across college from ragstock) 10-6 mon-sat, 12-5 sun Not a ton of boot selection in my size in good condition. (Pictured some oxblood/brown boots I tried, didn’t love the style or shape)

💛 Wayward (off linden) 10-6 every day Several pairs of legit cowboy boots in my size (many pictures below) This is where I realized that even when comfy, I don’t like how classic cowboy boots look on my body

💛 I got home Monday night and ordered two pairs from Boot Barn online

💛 ARC Fort Collins (across college from Starlight) Swung by on Tuesday before class and found a pair of cowboy boots in a shape that I liked for my body type to use in case the pair I ordered online didn’t fit – these were tan ankle booties with a pointed toe and a more cowboy shape than the previous ones. I planned to customize these with fabric paint if the ones I got online didn’t work. (Screenshots of me wearing those at class on Tuesday)

At the end of the day, I ended up keeping a pair online from Boot Barn. It’s a metallic pair that excites my inner child and says, “I don’t actually listen to country” 😜 (last pictures).

So if you’re in NoCo and have some larger pups looking for a country strut, I hope this post has been helpful.

💛 take care