I met him three years ago when he told me and told me he could make anything I wanted in a pair of boots. I took him up on it, and Houston’s (Texas) James Morado made a believer out of me.
This past summer I was sitting in a diner in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania drinking coffee one morning when a man in an adjacent booth got up to leave. He stopped by my table on his way to the door.
“Excuse me,” he said. “I’ve been looking at the pair of boots you’re wearing since you walked in. Would you mind telling me where you got ’em? I’ve never seen anything like those.”
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He took me by surprise. I wasn’t even aware of his sitting next to me. But it wasn’t the first time people had asked about the pair of boots I was wearing – lime green ostrich, handmade by a friend named James Morado, a bootmaker I met three years ago in Houston, Texas.
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I gave the man the information, along with Morado’s phone number.
“You’re kidding,” he said with surprise. “I live in Texas, and Houston is not that far from me. He’s in Harris County and I’m in Denton. That’s about a three hour drive. You think he could fix me up?”
“I’m pretty sure of it,” I answered. “The man is in the boot business.”
I met Jim Morado in November of 2022 during a trip to visit my daughter Laynie, who was working in Houston at the time. I first heard about him from one of the assistant baseball coaches at Ohio State earlier that year. He had coached at the University of Houston a few years prior and he told me,”Man, if you like cowboy boots you need to go see the Morado guy in Houston. People say he’s the best in Houston, and Houston is full of boot stores. I think he works by appointment, so better call before you go.”
And I did, and asked him if he could make something really different, and eye-catching?
“Like what?” he asked.
“I want a pair of lime green ropers, made from ostrich,” I told him.
Custom bookmaker James Morado shows an example of his decorative handiwork, made on the original Singer sewing machine that his father and uncle used 75 years ago. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
“I can do that,” he assured. “Let me know when you’re coming down.”
The rest is history. I found his shop in a converted garage on a back street about thirty minutes from downtown Houston. He took my foot measurements, built a custom last for a precise fit, and promised me he could have them finished in time for a specific event I was attending in February…about two months shorter than his average delivery time.
“I want to make you a regular customer,” he laughed.
He succeeded. I’ve worn boots since I was in my twenties, buying my first pair when I was in Triple A baseball at a Shepler’s store in Oklahoma City. I’ve been hooked ever since for the look, the fit, the comfort, and the arch and heel support you get from wearing well-made cowboy, or roper boots. I don’t wear the green pair that often, but when I do…people ask. “Where did you get those?”
I probably have close to thirty pair by now, and a lot of them have been worn so long they need new soles and heels. When they do I pack them up and send them to Jim…some with years of wear and abuse. They always come back looking damn near like new. He’s that good, the second generation of Morado bootmakers to work in that garage in Houston.
“My dad and my uncle came here and started making boots back in the forties,” he says. “I learned from them. I used to sit on the table of the Singer sewing machine they used to sew the patterns on the boot tops. They did it all by hand. I still do it the same way, and on the same sewing machine.”
His production is all hand work, as opposed to commercial bootmakers like Tecovas and Lucchese, who use computer programmed machines to improve efficiency and profitability.
And his specialty is his guarantee of the best-fitting boot, or shoe, you’ve ever had on your foot. (https://www.facebook.com/custombootsbymorado/). Compared to wearing a running shoe or a pair of Skechers, they’re a hundred times more comfortable and supportive. I’ve worn them so long I can’t wear a pair of Nikes if I’m going to be on my feet for any length of time. The difference is day and night.
As to his pledge to make me a permanent customer…I’m going down in a few weeks to get another fix of the Morado addiction. If you’d like to know more, and you’re curious enough now to have a pair of your own, you can find him on Frisco Street, in Houston, Texas (click on the link above). And you can find all the information you need online – Google. It might take you a while because he’s perpetually busy. But……..
You’ll have people wanting to talk to you that you’ve never had before. All you’ve got to do is wear Jim Morado’s boots. And take it from me.
Everyone should have at least one perfect pair of shoes before you die. In fact, I think you’ll live longer if you do.
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