An interesting thing is happening in the world of Mexican boots. The toes are getting pointy. And long. And dance crews are flaunting them as they shuffle the night away to the pre-hispanic-African-Cumbia lovechild that is Tribal music.

Where did these boots come from? What makes them different? Who first started making and wearing them? How are they worn? And what do they have to do with Tribal music?

Kick off your pathetically boring shoes and pull up a chair. I'll give you the low-down on the Mexican pointy boot trend below.


*Mexican Boot Origins*

If you want to fully understand the pointy Mexican boot trend, you'll need to understand the origins of Mexican boots in general.

Mexican boots emerged in the 1800s as an offshoot of more general cowboy boots. What differentiates Mexican boots from cowboy boots is:

They are typically worn for show or fun- they're not work boots like cowboy boots
They were traditionally made out of exotic animal skins (e.g. alligator, armadillo...)
They started out as flat-heeled and shorter than cowboy boots (though now their styles vary significantly)
They are typically more expensive than cowboy boots due to more expensive materials, more customization, and fancier design
Modern Mexican boots can be flat or high-heeled, and they are bound by no specific design constraints. Most have flat toe caps, though some utilize silver pointed toes. Some are simple while others are incredibly elaborate. Many of the more elaborate ones come with a theme.

*The Pointy Boot Trend*

Mexican boots were already fancy. The addition of extra pointy toes is just an extra mod to make some boots even fancier.

The trend emerged in late 2009 / early 2010, and runs parallel (and seems greatly inspired by) the Tribal music trend.

The boots (botas vaqueras exóticas) started out as only moderately pointy- just slightly different from most Mexican boots. But the toes just got longer as longer as fashion daredevils sought to outdo each other. Before long, toes that extended out just a couple extra inches were reaching out as far as seven feet.

The trendsetters were usually modding the boots themselves- using plastic hoses for the curved soles of the added pointy toes, topping them with materials ranging from leather to designer fabrics, and using screws to give the toes shape. Are you ready to purchase a pair of your very own?