Boots vs. Shoes

[alexanderom]

Happy Halloween, all.

I have been doing a lot of research into my outfit and I've got a question that maybe some of you more well versed fellows might be able to help me with. We always see people portrayed as wearing boots in the West, and in most of the pictures I've seen of the time, this is the case. But what about lace up boots/high shoes (http://www.gentlemansemporium.com/store/002085.php)? Would this have been something only an East-Coaster or city folk would have worn? When I lived in Charleston (SC), I saw several Victorian era photos of men wearing sack suits and these types, but would they have been common or seen at all elsewhere?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jack

[Plum Loco]

Just a opinion   
But I belive that the lace ups ,  in the link [ and surplus civil war brogans ]  would have been worn A LOT , by non-cowboy type people .
I can not picture railroad train crews , wearing cowboy boots , especially in the locomotives , or brakemen either .
And the railroad crossed the West to Calif  in 1869 .
Just like now , people wore what they could afford to purchase , its as simple as that , and has been for a long long time . 

[River City John]

Plum Loco (another fellow train nut?) is basically on the right track.

A townie occupation, or many other frontier occupations, such as prison or express guards, rivermen, Pinkertons, surveyors, peddlers, etc that would have plied their trade while armed, could all have worn lace-up footwear.

RCJ

[Plum Loco]

he he he you guessed right , G scale "outside"




and a former CW re enactor   

[Roscoe Coles]

I think the profession and social status of your impression will tell the tale.  Remember work clothes, of which boots would be a part, were considered to be a bit vulgar, or at least not presentable in any kind of polite society.  If you had enough money and desire to buy a sack suit (not just the coat and vest) you probably had the money and the occasion to wear lace up shoes.

I own a pair of lace up shoes that I wear when I am doing a town impression, gambler, dandy etc.  They are comfortable and a bit dressy.  When I am doing a range impression I wear boots, or sometime brogans depending on what I am up to. 

[Delmonico]

Lace up boots/shoes were also worn on the range.





They show up quite often in photos, if you look real careful.

[Professor Marvel]

My thoughts Regarding lace-ups vs pull-on boots
Pull-on boots have been traditionally associated with riders and their work; however due to the amount of leather, precise sizing and skill in the manufacture they are costly and in prior times not necessarily readily available without measuremnt and lead time.

Lace up shoes (which were often also called boots) could be "below the ankle" or "above the ankle". The simplest designs, as exemplified in the U.S. Army issue shows of ca.1812, are very simple to cut and make, (in fact there were no Left or right lasts until perhaps 1818 and left and right lasts were not in great use in the U.S. until  post civil war)  can cover a wide variety of foot sizes with a given size of shoe (do to the latittude of  lace-up design), and were in wide use in a variety of occupations throughout the 19th century.
 
As our good Delmonico has shown using photographic proof, there is sufficient evidence to substantiate your use of lace-up shoes in whatever occupation.

yhs
prof marvel

[pony express]

In the second picture, it appears that he has a "pliers pocket", about 100 years before modern cargo pants came out with them. But at least no hammer loop!

[Frenchie]

I love period photos that challenge the conventional "Hollywood" image of what a Westerner looked like.

During the Civil War you'd see more cavalrymen wearing shoes/bootees/brogans than boots, simply because they were easier and cheaper to get. The Quartermaster Department issued only one style of boot and it was intended for mounted artillerymen; it resembled a square-toed Wellington and looked not at all like a "cowboy boot".

[alexanderom]

This is just the kind of information I was hoping for, thank you so much! The concept I had was someone from Charleston who went attended the Citadel and went west with the Cavalry in the '70's and then stayed on out that way after resigining his commission in '75. I don't want to use much military gear or accoutrements because he (like myself, oddly enough) views them to be "work clothes" and wants to take them off as soon as possible when he has the chance. So I'm going for that City kind of a look, something that would be reminiscent of his hometown.
The only thing I plan on using as far as military gear is the Cavalry revolver. Something about the brogans, though...I really like them.

Once again, thank you so much.

Jack