It can be annoying to put on your favorite pair of cowboy boots only to discover that they are slouching at the ankle rather than standing straight.
It also destroys the overall look of your boots as with bending comes creases and untidiness.
But it is not a very big unsolvable issue.
There’s no need to worry as there are a few things you can do to keep your boots from looking tattered and clumped together.
There are a few things you can do along with simple boot maintenance to make sure your cowboy boots are not bending at the ankles.
One of the few methods are using a plastic/metallic strip to hold them together or simply using a boot band.
Why do cowboy boots bend at the ankles?
Because the ankle is narrower than the calf, boots frequently tend to bend there. To stop the material from bunching there, one way to stop this slouching is to pad the area around the ankle.
Put on tall, thick socks and bunch them around your ankle in a comfortable manner to close the space between your skin and the fabric to avoid bending and creasing.
Various techniques to avoid your cowboy boots bending at the ankles
1.) Make use of shoe trees
I always suggest shoe trees to guys when they purchase their first pair of nice boots because they are so helpful, especially to remove creases that eventually will cause your boots to bend at different places.
Shoe trees will stretch out and avoid creases.
2.) Go for the proper fit
Your boots will have a lot of creasing on the sides and will likely bend if they are too wide or spacious.
The leather will be able to flex and crease as you walk and stand thanks to the extra space between the uppers and your feet.
3.) To keep them in place, use adhesive tape.
Buy some boot adhesive tape, such as Boot Stay or Boot Straps.
Simply remove the protective backing from the adhesive tape, then attach it to the interior of the boot’s top.
The adhesive tape will keep your boots from slipping down and slouching at the ankles by attaching them to your stockings or pants.
4.) Make use of a metal or plastic strip to the interior of the boot.
You can attach rigid metallic or plastic strips to the inside of the boot, such as Juvale Folding Boot Shaper Stands.
These stiff strips adhere firmly to the fabric inside the boot and prevent the material from bunching up around the ankle or anywhere else.
You could also try using a long wooden craft stick or a metallic or plastic strip to attach something to the inside of your boot near the ankle.
5.) Use boot band
To prevent them from slipping down and bending, wear a boot band. Boot bands have two parts.
The main portion of a snap button is on one piece, which you attach to the inside of the top of your boots.
The second piece, which has the female end of a snap button, is then wrapped around your leg just above where the top of the boot meets.
To prevent your boots from bunching or falling down, the pieces snap together.
6.) To prevent slouching, cushion the ankle region.
Because the ankle is narrower than the calf, boots frequently sag there.
To stop the material from bunching there, one way to stop this slouching is to pad the area around the ankle.
Put on tall, thick socks and bunch them around your ankle in a comfortable manner to close the space between your skin and the fabric.
In the event that your boots are too small to fit thick socks on your feet, you could also wrap a piece of cloth around your ankle.
How can you avoid the overall slouching of cowboy boots?
1.) Keep each boot on its own shelf.
Do not pile your boots underneath clothing or other items in your hallway or on the floor. Take good care of your boots and give them a place to store themselves.
Put a piece of cloth between them and lay them out flat in your closet. Alternatively, boot clips or binder clips can be used to hang each boot up.
2.) Do not overstress the boots.
The less your boots slouch from worn-out material, the more careful you must be with them.
When putting your boots on and pulling them up, try to avoid tugging, pulling, or rough handling. Instead, make an effort to smoothly insert your foot into the boot.
3.) Fill your boots with something to keep their shape.
When storing boots upright when not in use, you can buy boot shapers to fill out the shape of the boot.
As an alternative, you can cut pool noodles to fit inside your boots or stuff them with newspaper or rolled-up magazines.
This will prevent your boots from slouching when you put them on by keeping them upright when you aren’t wearing them.
How to avoid creases that are the result of bending?
1.) Dampen the boot tops’ interiors. To get the tops to stand up straight, fill the boot top with something. Newspapers can be rolled up.
My preference is to use some empty, large-sized 32-ounce Gatorade bottles because they fit neatly in the boot and help hold the top up.
(However, you can use anything that adequately fills the boot shaft and maintains taut leather.) Allowing for natural drying will make the tops straighter.
2.) When you’re not wearing your boots, you should keep something in the tops of them to prevent wrinkles. For this, many people also use boot savers, which are excellent for keeping your boots upright when they’re just stowed away in your closet.
3.) Rub alcohol/water solution to the creases. To start, combine water and alcohol in a 50/50 mixture. Take your finger and rub it in the crease’s opposite direction.
Therefore, rub vertically if the crease is horizontal.
After that, hang them overnight on a shoe tree to dry. Although you can use a little leather conditioner, you should only do so if the leather appears to be dry.
It shouldn’t require more than a little water and alcohol.
How to make sure your cowboy boots don’t slouch?
1.) Pick boots that are snugly fitting. The boots will undoubtedly bunch up if they are loose around your leg.
Choose boots that are snug around the calf and ankle, but make sure they are not too tight at the top. Choose the pairs that fit your foot, ankle, and calf the best after trying on several pairs.
2.) Pick a pair of sturdy-material boots. Even though you may adore the way soft, suede boots look and feel, the ankle will sag due to the material’s suppleness.
In order to avoid the material bunching up around the ankle, choose boots made of more durable material.
The least likely to slouch are boots made of rigid leather or with ankle support.
Conclusion
Cowboy boots tend to bend and slouch as they have a taller height. You cannot stop it altogether. However, there are ways you can avoid it and minimize its effects.
Bending hampers the overall aesthetic of your good looking cowboy boots, and they usually don’t come cheap. So you will have to ensure they remain looking new and good for as long as possible.
We have mentioned a few tips you can go for to avoid bending and creasing of your cowboy boots, at the ankles and all the other portions of your feet.
Hope this article is helpful!
