BRINGING OUT MY INNER COWGIRL AT M.L. LEDDY’S

I’d been told that M.L. Leddy’s, the fourth-generation family business in Texas, is an incredible store, so it’s long been on my list of places to visit. But it wasn’t until last week, when I entered their Fort Worth building in the Stockyards District to the intoxicating scent of leather, endless rows of hand-tooled cowboy boots, a separate floor of handcrafted saddles in various stages of production, rows and rows of handcrafted cowboy hats, and walls covered with magnificent western-inspired artwork, that I started to get it. This is not just a store but a 100+ year-old institution that captured the essence of western lifestyle long before Yellowstone.

Legend has it that M.L. Leddy left his parents’ cotton farm to work for a saddle and boot making business in 1918. He bought the business in 1922, moved it to San Angelo in 1936 and then to Fort Worth in 1941. Since then, the store has been making custom boots and saddles for Texas oilmen, cattle ranchers, celebrities and ordinary folk who insist on the best of the best. (Although celebrity client names are not revealed, I noticed a framed photo of George and Laura Bush presenting a pair of extraordinary saddles to King Charles and Queen Camilla. A note reads: To M.L. Leddy’s, Thanks for your fine work.)

In terms of men’s apparel, I discovered impeccable tailored clothing handcrafted in luxurious Italian fabrics but always reflecting genuine Western style. Much product is private label but there’s fabulous suits and sport coats by Oxxford and Heritage Gold, shirts with western yoke and details by Stantt, fun shirts with pin-up girls and other whimsical designs, great leather and suede outerwear, and amazing silk scarfs and bandannas by Ruth Graves, who works with mills in Como to turn beautiful western-inspired paintings by Leddy’s artist John Ripps into masterpieces on printed silk.

I fell in love with a $60,000 Clint Orms sterling silver belt buckle (no, I didn’t buy it!) and some amazing footwear ($1100 and up) including a new assortment of very cool customizable sneakers. I asked about the hundreds of leather books lined up on shelves throughout the store and John Ripps showed me notes dating back to the 1940s. Apparently, Leddy’s uses a special machine to measure the arch of the foot so every customer who buys custom boots gets a sketch of their arch with their personal measurements inscribed in the record books. Currently, there’s a 12-month wait for these handcrafted boots available in various leathers, suedes, elephant hide, alligator, stingray, sharkskin: you name it, Leddy’s can make it for you!

An upstairs floor with the saddle shop was most intriguing: I learned about tool swills and spurs and wooden trees and why riders need to be pushed back in the saddle. I fell in love with a hand-tooled saddle with alligator seat for $70,000 but in general, prices start at around $6000. Hand-tooled and hand-stained belts are also crafted in the saddle shop.

As if my trip were not wonderful enough, I got to witness my first-ever Cattle Drive and loved every minute, despite temperatures reaching 105 degrees! Thank you Rose Alvarez for escorting me and taking a video! Another real treat: lunch at Cattlemen’s Steak House with John and Mark Dunlap, where I got to enjoy beautiful western murals, a burger, a beer, and a surprise appetizer. (I was not told what I was eating until I’d eaten it; don’t ask…)

Huge thanks to all the folks at Leddy’s for a most wonderful visit. Although Martha and Wilson Franklin (a 2017 inductee into the Texas Trail of Fame, and also the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame) were out of town the day of my visit, I had the good luck to see them yesterday at the Chicago Collective. A truly amazing couple and an equally amazing store!

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