The Search for the Perfect Cowboy Boots: Unsuccessful to Date

I think god doesn't want me to have cowboy boots. I'm serious. No really, I am. I swear, I have been searching for a good pair for years, and they always slip past. I'll admit, sometimes it's my fault. I have passed on pairs that were a little more than I wanted to spend and they've haunted me.  Or there was the time that I didn't try on the most perfect pair of high black ones because I wasn't wearing socks and they weren't size marked and I was TERRIFIED I would get my sweaty feet stuck in them. I still think of those boots. They were very similar to the ones I tried on in Spokane (wasn't wearing socks then either, but J took off her own shoe and lent me a sock so I could try them anyways like a TRUE BEST FRIEND) but even taller! Probably the most perfect boots I've ever seen. 

I thought when I saw the wall of boots at this thrift store in Spokane run by a gross old hippy dude I secretly loved that maybe I had a chance, a chance to finally find the one true boot! To redeem myself for not even trying the perfect boots. So I tried on a few pairs, but alas, they just didn't fit. In the picture, I was struggling mightily to pull that boot off my foot. Thank the dear sweet lord I didn't try it on sockless. Despite not finding anything to fill that boot-shaped hole in my heart and closet, this thrift store was a delight! Entire racks of denim jackets, ridiculous pants, whole other racks of old tie-dye, boots, pink maribou heels (do you SEE those next to me??), all piled up and jammed in so you could barely get between the racks. My kind of place.

I suppose if I want cowboy boots so badly, and I DO, maybe I ought to be more proactive in procuring them. I could troll ebay, or even consider buying them new. But ebay seems dangerous considering how much trouble I have fitting into the ones I run across in real life, and new boots are awfully pricey. I also don't want to lose the fantasy of stumbling across the perfect pair in some dingy, poorly lit shop, preferably in a small town east of the mountains. And what COLOR should I buy? So far I've tried on anything that might possibly fit and which I like the shape of (I prefer a tall, slender boot with a not overly pointed toe, but also nothing round or square. Basically it should come to a point but that point should not be too long.) and figured that if it fits, I'll buy it regardless of color. But I seem to be most drawn to black boots, although I think brown would probably be most versatile.

Girls, this is HARD. I want the boots so bad, but they must be perfect. I don't think I've ever had quite such a hard time finding something I like. I mean, I also do not own the perfect leather jacket, but I haven't been actively looking the way I've looked for cowboy boots. I'm talking beeline to the boot section of any vintage store and gleeful excitement and anticipation if the selection looks promising. Followed, inevitably, by crushing disappointment when NOTHING fits my damn feet. Until I find something that does, I guess I'll just keep searching. And maybe burn some incense in front of a shrine of cowboys and western movie stars I may or may not be assembling in my closet. Now where'd I put that photo of John Wayne?