— Rural Kansas —
Rios of Mercedes, a custom bootmaker founded in 1853.
Based in Mercedes, Texas, the company continues to make each pair of boots by hand while preserving traditional methods.
Rios boots feature a distinctive construction that uses cloth in place of the cork typically used in a shoe's insole.
As a result, the sole flexes easily, offering a softness underfoot despite the substantial appearance characteristic of western boots.
Another defining feature is the raised toe.
Slightly lifted from new, the sole settles in with wear and the curve gradually becomes more pronounced. Rios's signature “spring toe” is not complete from the outset; it develops through walking.
Rural Kansas.
These all-black western boots were created with the rural landscape of the American Midwest in mind.
The upper and shaft are unified in BLACK, with color-based decoration kept to a minimum.
The muted sheen of the smooth leather and the silhouette of the boots themselves remain fully visible, creating a quiet, rugged pair.
This BLACK, too, will not remain the same as when you first begin wearing it.
With wear, the leather develops more luster, and the color gradually changes in the areas that experience the most friction.
GRAY emerges from the deep BLACK, and over time, depending on the light, nuances reminiscent of DEEP GREEN may also begin to show.
Precisely because it is a single color, the subtle changes in tone are especially visible in this leather.
The toe features Rios's signature spring toe.
It is given a slight curve from new, and as you walk and the sole settles in, that curve gradually becomes more pronounced.
The shaft stitching, “LUNA,” is inspired by the moon.
GOLD double stitching runs across the BLACK leather, adding decoration through fine lines alone within the all-black design.
The sole is leather.
Traditional lemonwood pegs are driven in, while the bottom is left solid rather than finished with a half sole.
Not overly refined like a dress shoe, it creates a slightly rugged look inspired by rural dress style.
Perforations are applied to the tongue, though they may not be included depending on the size.
Rather than adding color, the color is created by wearing in the BLACK.
As the leather develops a sheen, picks up marks, and the spring toe takes shape, it gradually becomes a black unlike the one it had at the beginning.
In the city, or somewhere with a little more scent of earth.
Rural Kansas is made to be worn continuously, without being tied to any particular place.
※Boots made in American workshops may vary slightly from pair to pair. Please enjoy the marks and variations in tone characteristic of natural leather, as well as the differences in expression created by handwork, as part of these boots.
We have written a BLOG about Rios of Mercedes. Please take a look.
・“Rios of Mercedes as a Genre”
