The toe shapes we cut

The toe is the first thing anybody notices about a western boot and the last thing most people think about when choosing a size. It is worth a minute, because the three shapes do not fit the same way.

Square

Flat and broad across the front, with the toes sitting side by side rather than stacking against each other. It is the roomiest of the three across the ball of the foot and the one to start from if your feet are wide or your little toe complains in everything else.

Snip

A square with the corners cut back. Narrower at the tip than a square toe and blunter than a point, which puts it in the middle for room as well as for looks. It is the shape people land on when a square reads too heavy and a point reads too sharp.

Pointed

Tapered to a tip well past where the toes end. This is the one worth understanding before ordering: the extra length is empty space, not foot room. The boot looks longer on the foot, but the size runs the same, so sizing down to compensate leaves you with a boot that is genuinely too short. Take your measured size and let the toe do what it is shaped to do.

Choosing between them

Width across the ball is the practical difference and it runs square, snip, pointed from most room to least. Everything else is taste, and taste is allowed.