Snip toe vs square toe cowboy boots

The Round Up is Ariat's more fashion-led western boot and the bridge between the plain Heritage line and a decorated Corral. Expect a taller shaft than the Fatbaby, snip or square toe options depending on the model, stitch detail on the shaft and Ariat's cushioned footbed underneath. It is the pair that works for a wedding, a nice dinner and a concert without looking like three different boots, which for a first purchase is the single most useful property a boot can have.

What you give up: You give up the Fatbaby's instant comfort. A taller shaft and a higher heel mean a real break-in week, and a snip toe is less forgiving on a wide foot.

Corral is the brand you reach for when the boot is the outfit. The company describes handmade designs built with traditional craftsmanship, and its boots typically run a 13-inch shaft, a 2-inch stacked heel, a cushioned leather insole and a leather outer sole with a rubber heel cap. The embroidery, inlay and overlay work is genuinely good and it is the reason these appear in every country-wedding photograph on the internet. For a beginner the tall shaft and stacked heel do need a short break-in, so buy them two or three weeks before the event, not two days.

What you give up: You give up practicality. A 2-inch stacked heel on a leather sole is not a standing-all-day boot, and the decoration limits how many outfits it goes with.

If you want one boot that will not be a mistake, this is the one most first-time buyers end up in. Ariat publishes a full-grain leather upper, Goodyear welt construction, a 12-inch shaft and a 2-inch western heel, with its Duratread outsole and a removable Pro Performance insole. The reason it suits a beginner is the combination: the welt means it can be resoled instead of thrown away, and the cushioned removable insole means it is wearable on day one rather than after a month of pain. It is sold in a square toe and in narrower shapes, so you can pick the toe that fits your foot rather than taking whatever the model comes in. At the usual street price it sits in the middle of the market - above the mall-brand boots that are glued together, below the handmade tier you do not need yet.

What you give up: You give up character. This is the Toyota Camry of cowboy boots - nobody in a boot shop will be impressed, and the leather will not develop the patina a $400 calfskin boot does.

Tony Lama sits in the slot between the mid-market brands and the handmade tier, and the Bonham is its cushion-comfort everyday boot, listed at a 13-inch height. The reason to put it on a beginner's list is the proportion: Tony Lama's shapes are narrower and more upright than the square-toe mainstream, so a boot like this works with a dress trouser in a way a wide square toe never will. If the occasion you are buying for is a wedding or a night out rather than a fairground, start here and in Justin's Bent Rail rather than in the sport lines.

What you give up: You give up toe-box room and cost. The narrower last is unforgiving if your foot is wide, and the price sits above the entry brands.