What a swell gathering it was when Miron Crosby invited a select clutch of influencers, social forces and friends for a first look at the bootmaker’s swank new Western emporium located on the edge of River Oaks. The sophisticated transformation of the former River Oaks Bookstore on Westheimer embraces the ethos of the handmade, luxury cowboy boots that have turned the stereotype of the common Western boot upside down with its chicest of designs.
Co-owner sisters Lizzie Means Duplantis and Sarah Means came in from their home base in Dallas to launch their third boutique, following the original Miron Crosby store in Dallas’ Highland Park Village and a second store in Aspen. Opening in only the poshest of neighborhoods, the Texas bootmaker recently hosted a popup shop in Palm Beach. And, yes, from the Lone Star State to the Rocky Mountains, the tony enclave of Florida billionaires and beyond, the fashion forward boots are must-haves for stylish femmes.
For the Houston woman and gent, this new Miron Crosby boutique offers a selection of 46 designs of the handmade cowboy boots which are made by craftsmen on both sides of the Rio Grande in Mercedes, Texas, and León, Mexico, where the master artisans with decades of experience hand cut and stitch each pair of Miron Crosby boots.
I am absolutely mad for the collection of Maggie Metallic Shorty boots (should I go for the red or lavender?) as well as for the just released holiday-inspired Noelle Green boot with its jingling metallic silver bells, poinsettias and sprigs of holly in festive shades of green with silver details, all happily evoking the spirit of the season.
“We want to assure that cowboy boots have a seat at the fashion table, beyond just wearing them to the ranch or to the rodeo,” Duplantis tells PaperCity. “We want people to feel like they are a staple in their closet and something that they would wear every day and for every occasion.
“Whether that be a wedding with a ballgown or a school carpool with ripped jeans. They’re so versatile.”
The boots are on sleek display throughout the 1,576-square-foot salon where Javier Burkle of Burkle Creative and Maplewood Group worked in tandem to create a warm, homey environment for displaying the boots that are available in ready-to-wear or bespoke.
One unique feature of Miron Crosby custom boots?
“We can take a handwritten note and transcribe it into leather and sew it into the liner of the interior liner of the boot,” Sarah Means notes. “So every time you pull them on, you see a note which is a really fun kind of thing that people love. Because I do think cowboy boots really commemorate milestone in our lives.”
Boots are not the only merchandise on display at the new Miron Crosby store either. Inventory includes vintage Native American pieces from storied Shiprock Santa Fe; silver money clips, belt buckles and more from Comstock Heritage, one of the oldest silversmiths in the in the nation; a special collection of vintage Western books, vintage barware; and bolos.
The opening preview was quite the neighborly event with State of Grace providing hushpuppies, crab fingers, shrimp and dressed raw oysters and with ACASA Margarita Mix and LALO Tequila shaking things up with classic margaritas.
For further entertainment at this lively opening, artist Tyler Darling drew live portraits of the fashionable attendees. Out front, Ken’s Shine, noted for his personal shine expertise as well as for special events, offered boot shining along with a ranch-inspired photo moment. Complete Miron Crosby’s boots in every photo.
PC Seen: Hunter Bell NYC founder Hunter Bell; The Reagart Collection‘s Reagan Corbett; Amy Zadok of Zadok Jewelers; luxe event planner Lucas Somoza in from Paris; SmartFlyer travel advisor Libby Cagle Taft; Allison Bagley and Jenny Weber of Houston Tidbits; Neiman Marcus’ Heather Almond; Julie Baker Finck, president and CEO of Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation; creative consultant Kate Stukenberg, Demi Mccormack, Crystal Robin, and Sallie Taylor.
