The brand

The Alvies story

September 22, 2026 / Alvies, Austin / 4 min read

Alvies was started by someone who did not think he could pull off cowboy boots.

The boots came from his grandfather

Alvie Franklin Faulkenbery IV inherited a collection of high-quality cowboy boots from his grandfather, a WWII veteran and lifelong boot guy, in 2000. He admired them but did not wear them. He had long hair and was a flip-flop person.

Then came Halloween

One Halloween he put on a pair for a costume. They looked good and felt good, and he was hooked. That moment became the whole idea behind the brand: boots for people who do not think of themselves as boot people.

The idea in Thailand

The plan to sell boots and flip-flops together came to him in Thailand, nursing a hangover. He believed there were plenty of people like him who wanted to wear cowboy boots but never thought they could.

It started in an Airstream

Alvies began in a 1976 Airstream Sovereign parked at 3rd and Congress in Austin in 2013. That trailer still works at festivals today.

Trying boots on at home

Alvies decided the worst place to buy boots is under fluorescent mall lights, and the best place is your own back porch. So they run Boot Parties: they bring sizes and styles to your place so you and your friends can try them on together. They also host pop-up Boot Parties around Austin that anyone can walk into.

Everyone belongs

The brand’s line is that Alvies are for everyone: cowboys, accountants, surfers, DJs, dreamers and weirdos alike.