A 13" western boot in benedictine chap — a deep, wine-leaning brown that is a long way from the usual tan.
The shaft stands 13", which is the height most western boots are built to and the one that behaves best under a trouser. Chap is the softer, more supple grade of hide used where a boot needs to move with the leg rather than stand up on its own, and benedictine is the colour: dark, warm, closer to red than to black. The style number is 2414.
This is a colour that rewards being noticed, so it is worth letting it show. Under a straight leg the shaft is hidden and only the vamp reads, which is a waste; a slimmer trouser, or a jean with a shorter break, gives the boot somewhere to be seen. It suits an evening as easily as a working day, and it will look better in a year than it does now, once the surface has taken on some marks of its own.
