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MADE BY HAND SINCE 1853.
Our boots are made exactly like they should be—by hand—in Spokane, WA
SHOP ALL BOOTS

The White’s legacy is a boot inspired by the men and women who will wear it; tough, determined, and proud. Anything you can ask of a White’s Boot it can perform, because no matter who you are, you deserve the best boot money can buy.

55 Arch-Ease™ Last
[H3] C350 Cruiser

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$675.00 USD

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$675.00 USD

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55 Arch-Ease™ Last
[H3] C350 Cutter

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$675.00 USD

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$675.00 USD

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55 Arch-Ease™ Last
[H3] C350-CS

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$685.00 USD

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$685.00 USD

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1972 Arch-Ease™ Last
[H3] Perry 6" Select

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$430.00 USD

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$430.00 USD

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55 Arch-Ease™ Last
[H3] The Original 350 Cruiser

Regular price
$815.00 USD

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$815.00 USD

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55 Arch-Ease™ Last
[H3] The Original 350 Cutter

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$815.00 USD

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$815.00 USD

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690 Arch-Ease™ Last
[H3] The Original Packer

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$765.00 USD

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$765.00 USD

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SHOP ALL

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We’re

The

Last

of

a

Dying

Breed

The finest boots we make at White’s are built as true hand-sewn stitchdown boots. This means that each boot is hand-lasted, hand-welted, and hand-bottomed by one of our master bootmakers, a process that involves more than 25 unique stages, each performed by hand. Buying a White’s hand-sewn stitchdown boot is stepping into a long history of craft, dedication, and old-world quality that is increasingly rare, and enduringly valuable.
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[H3] A FULLY CUSTOMIZED FIT THAT MEETS YOUR HARSH DEMANDS
Whether your day is spent cutting fire line, climbing electrical poles, or bucking logs, our boots are inspired by the men and women who will wear it - tough, determined, and proud.SHOP ALL BOOTS

[H3] LOGGING BOOTS
SHOP LOGGING BOOTS
SHOP

[H3] FIRE BOOTS
SHOP FIRE BOOTS
SHOP

[H3] WORK BOOTS
SHOP WORK BOOTS
SHOP

[H2]

TRUST

THE

ORIGINAL

It took all kinds to track the trackless Pacific Northwest. And over more than 160 years, we've put boots on them all.
READ OUR STORYSHOP BOOTS
[H2] Boots Built To Last.

[H3] Rebuildable/Resoleable Boots
The best part of rebuilding boots is getting to understand each of our customers’ unique story and the time they’ve spent in their White’s-inspiring us to keep on doing what we do.
BOOT REBUILDS

[H3] Customize Your Boots
It wasn’t about the boot for Otto White, it was about the foot and man above it. We abide by his way of thinking still to this day. Whether your decisions are based on fitting requirements or style preferences, our custom boot ordering options will ensure that the boot you receive is the best boot for you.
CUSTOM BOOTS

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Our Community is Strong.
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Our Legacy—Since 1853
The White’s Boots legacy has been in service to the relentless spirit of the American worker, whose labor has helped the legend of our boots grow from the Pacific Northwest to those around the world.

As the legend goes, Edward White established a one man shoe shop in Connecticut before the Civil War. He was the first of three generations of bootmakers to span from 1853 to 1972—a remarkable feat for a family business in America. Edward never dreamed the ‘White boot’ would soon be a source of pride to lineman and log drivers and smokejumpers in the Pacific Northwest. His only dream was to make a good boot and get paid for it.

The early years of White’s Boots are marked by few surviving stories. More than anything, the boots are what we know best, and the stories they inspired in the Pacific Northwest.Bootmaking was hard living, but it was honest. A bootmaker only made money when he made a boot, still true to this day. Repairing boots kept the lights on, but it would never buy the building, and Edward knew it. He soon taught his son, John, who continued to work in the Northeast. In 1880, John followed opportunity to the Shenandoah Valley. It was the first time loggers and miners experienced early versions of the White’s work boot. The Blue Ridge Mountains served as a field test for the untested mountains out west, and John used every opportuanity to prepare his boots for the top.The next 20 years were the most important for the success of White’s Boots in the early 20th century. John taught his son, Otto, who would soon show his worth as an innovator of the trade. Otto was ambitious. He wanted to own a building, and he would do it by the 1920s. The more boots he made, the more he began to master the ‘Anatomy of a Legend’ many know and love today: the hand-welted work boot. It’s impossible to know how many bootmakers were practicing the same techniques in those days, but it would be Otto who put his name to the staying power of the hand-sewn work boot in America. He would do it his own way.In 1889, the future of the business rested on John’s shoulders. He decided to move the family out west, bootjacks and all. Otto was not yet 20, but he was already marching toward the Arch-Ease innovation he would trademark in Spokane, WA. All he needed was to experience a place where men had the kind of money to buy the kind of boots he made. In 1900, the family got off the train in Wardner, Idaho. John and Otto set up shop, and one by one, the White family name was stamped into the best work boot in the country.

[H4] Pre-Civil War
Edward White established a one man shoe shop in Connecticut

[H4] 1880
John White, son of Edward, relocated to the Shenandoah Valley (VA)

[H4] 1889-1900
John White, with his son Otto, move their family West. Ultimately landing in Wardner, Idaho in 1900.

At the turn of the 20th century, the Pacific Northwest was booming. Loggers, miners, and mill workers flooded Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. By 1910, Otto grew from a one-man shop to the White Shoe Company. He bought a small building and filled it with boots. As many as he could build, he sold. Even when the building burned to the ground from a formaldehyde candle he left overnight, Otto found a way to rebuild the company bigger and better. While John ran a one-man shop in St. Maries, Otto pushed the company toward its greatest growth opportunity: Spokane, WA.Spokane was a railroad town. It was the only way for the East and the Midwest to connect to the Pacific Northwest. It meant the White Shoe Company benefited from infrastructure that was impossible to find in Northern Idaho. Spokane offered equal access east and west as the pride of the Inland Empire. It was the only way for Otto to sell and ship to more dealers in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.A two decade period in the 1920s and 1930s would establish Otto as the author of the legend we know today. He designed more boots, signed more dealers, employed more bootmakers, and bought more machines. His focus was innovation. After years on the bootjack, Otto was obsessed with comfort that only came with a custom fit. He spent more than 20 years studying the anatomy of the foot and found his way to a ‘scientifically built’ boot. In 1926, Arch-Ease was trademarked. It was all Otto needed for the company’s prolific growth during the Great Depression.The Lineman, Sportsman, Summer Logger, Packer, Oxford, Semi-Dress, and modern Cruiser were all developed within a ten year period in the late 1920s and 1930s. With Arch-Ease comfort, Otto knew that everyone—from a store clerk to a mule packer—was in need of a custom fit. He had already mastered the logging boot with two different patents in 1916 and 1927 so went after every other kind of work boot. As a result, dealers and direct customers only grew during the pre-war and post-war years. The best ideas outlive their originators and Arch-Ease was just that for Otto. The boots he built in the Great Depression are the boots we still wear today.

Despite the legacy of the Lineman and Logger and Packer, the longevity of White’s Boots in the 21st century comes down to one boot: the Smokejumper. In 1939, the first version of Smokejumper was worn by Francis Lufkin, an employee of the U.S. Forest Service. As a field tester and foreman for the Smokejumping program, he would become a legend in his own right. He heard about Otto White from his grandfather, who had been a log driver in St. Maries during the logging boom. In the midst of the Great Depression, Francis bought his first pair of White’s Boots for $12.00. The rest is history. No company has benefited more from word-of-mouth than White’s Boots, and the Smokejumper is the chief benefactor of it. One-by-one, smokejumpers started buying the historic 335 model.In 1951, dealer catalogs touted the 335 as the official boot worn by smokejumpers in Region 1. The U.S. Forest Service never issued the boot as a part of their official gear, but smokejumpers bought it anyway for a week’s worth of pay. The historic Smokejumper was worn for more than 25 years. Hundreds of smokejumpers had worn it and hung it on their mantel as a trophy, but in 1963, Vibram introduced their revolutionary sole into North America and Otto’s bootmakers were there to use it.Over the next several decades, the 1963 model of the Smokejumper put White’s Boots on more than a map of the Pacific Northwest. It spread to all of North America and beyond. The Smokejumper was key to the success of the company after Otto died in 1972. By no means the only boot sold, but always the best selling, the Smokejumper is known as more than a boot for smokejumpers. They deserve the credit for wearing it and naming it, but the longevity of the Smokejumper is rooted in the 375 and 400 models Otto developed on the 4811 last in 1930. For 91 years and counting, everyone from a logger to a lineman to a farmer to a forest ranger has worn some version of it. Hand-lasted, hand-welted, and hand-bottomed, it’s a legend no matter who wears it.

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The White's Family of Bootmakers
1972 marked the last year Otto White walked the floors of White’s Shoe Shop, but his indomitable spirit continues through the generation of bootmakers he left behind. The lifeblood of White’s Boots has always been the bootmaker. In all but a few of our 168 year history, the company has been run by a bootmaker.Eric Kinney, President of White’s Boots, spent 26 years behind a bootjack. When he took over as the shop foreman, he was honored as one of the best bootmakers in the history of the company. His commitment to the integrity of our boots and his respect for the men and women who wear them help us continue the tradition of White’s Boots to future generations.

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Anatomy of a Legend
The legacy of White’s Boots begins and ends with the hand-sewn construction the White’s family of bootmakers has been using for more than 150 years. The value of an Old World work boot—the custom fit, the comfort, and the durability—comes down to how many steps of the process are administered by hand. An authentic White’s boot is not just sewn by hand, it passess through skilled hands at every stage of the construction process.Go here to learn more about the Anatomy of a Legend and other types of construction we use in our Spokane, WA factory.
LEARN MORE

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Construction
The value of an Old World work boot—the custom fit, the comfort, and the durability—comes down to how many steps of the process are administered by hand. An authentic White’s boot is not just sewn by hand, it passess through skilled hands at every stage of the construction process

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Handsewn Stitchdown
The finest boots we make at White’s are built as true hand-sewn stitchdown boots. This means that each boot is hand-lasted, hand-welted, and hand-bottomed by one of our master bootmakers, a process that involves more than 25 unique stages, each performed by hand.A hand-lasted boot offers the wearer a truly customized fit, as the leather is stretched and secured around the last by hand, ensuring that the boot provides support to every part of the wearer’s foot. In addition, the leather we use for our hand-sewn stitchdown boots is cut from the best portion of our hides, lending both superior flexibility and durability to the finished product – as this boot breaks in, it molds to fit the shape of the individual foot, just like a second skin, becoming more comfortable by the day.The hand-welting process, however, is what sets White’s Boots apart. Since our founding in 1853, we have been perfecting and protecting the practice of one of boot-making’s oldest and most technically demanding skills: hand-welting. During the hand-welting process, the bootmaker uses an awl and thread to stitch the vamp (the piece of leather that comprises the toe and main body of the upper) directly into the insole of the boot, 3 stitches to the inch. In addition to removing the need for either the canvas welt strip associated with a Goodyear Welt, or the glue associated with a Stitchdown or clampdown, a hand-welt is by far the most durable construction type available, and is entirely rebuildable.Buying a White’s hand-sewn stitchdown boot is stepping into a long history of craft, dedication, and old-world quality that is increasingly rare, and enduringly valuable.
Hand-SewnStitchdown ConstructionRebuildable / ResoleableCustomizableFor more information, please call our order department at 800-541-3786.Built to Last

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Stitchdown
Our stitchdown construction type offers a more secure fit and feel than a Goodyear Welted boot, but takes much less time to manufacture than our true hand-sewn stitchdowns. Still hand-lasted and hand-bottomed, the liner of our stitchdown boots is glued down or stitched down to the bottom of the insole. Then the vamp is turned out, and the midsole and bottom are machine-stitched together through the vamp. Removing the hand-welting process shortens the production time significantly, allowing us to offer a rugged, comfortable boot without the high price of a truly hand-sewn boot.
Stitchdown ConstructionRebuildable / ResoleableCustomizableFor more information, please call our order department at 800-541-3786.Built to Last

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Goodyear Welt
A Goodyear welt, the gold standard of boot construction at most companies, is a hallmark of quality at an affordable price at White’s.A Goodyear welt is machine stitched, making production fast and precise. But all that speed can easily affect comfort, as synthetic materials replace the all-leather construction that our hand-sewing process requires—that’s why we’ve gentrified the fast and ready Goodyear welt with a thorough hand-bottoming at the hands of our master bootmakers. With an all leather shank, and an all leather midsole, our Goodyear welted boots boast the off-the-shelf readiness of a boot half their price and the comfort of a boot twice their price.It takes a master to adopt new designs while maintaining old world techniques, and that’s what we’ve done. When faced with the choice between modern style and heirloom quality, we chose both. Now you can too.
ResoleableFor more information, please call our order department at 800-541-3786.Built to Last

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Nail Bottom
Nail Bottom is a construction type traditionally used in producing calked logging boots and lineman boots – White’s has been using it since the beginning. When bottoming the boot, the bootmaker folds the vamp under the last, instead of outward, securing it in place with nails.
Stitchdown ConstructionRebuildable / ResoleableCustomizableFor more information, please call our order department at 800-541-3786.Built to Last

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Rebuilds
One remarkable advantage of investing in our boots is that they are rebuildable. By eliminating synthetic material and fillers, White’s all-leather construction enables worn-out boots to be returned to like-new condition.

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5 Reasons to Have Your Boots Rebuilt
Same quality leathers, same durable result - the only thing better than reaching for your favorite pair of boots is knowing you'll never have to part with them.

[H3] Investment
You’ll receive years of service from your rebuilt boots, just as you would from a new pair of boots.

[H3] Comfort
White’s rebuilds your boots on the original last (mold) to maintain our legendary “Arch-Ease” support.

[H3] Quality Materials
Rebuilt boots are made of the same heavy-duty materials we use to make our new boots.

[H3] Quality Workmanship
Our craftsmen treat every boot with the same care, rebuild and brand new build alike – you’ll recognize the same time-proven quality in your rebuilt boots as you did in your first pair of White’s Boots.

[H3] Price
For a lower price than the cost of a brand new boot, we can replace every component of your boot except the upper quarters – that means worn-out insoles, midsoles, outsoles, heels, toe-leather, and heel-leather can all be replaced at a fraction of the cost of a brand new boot.

Complete the form below and send it with your boots to Attn: Repairs, 4002 E Ferry Ave. Spokane, WA 99202. Our repair lead times fluctuate throughout the year, with busy times typically leading up to summer. Once your boots have been assessed and before we start the repair, you will receive an email with a Sales Order. If you have questions, please contact our Repairs Department by email at repairs@whitesboots.com or by calling 800-541-3786.
BOOT REPAIR FORM

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STORIES

FROM

OUR

CUSTOMERS

“Will you do what it takes to rebuild these boots. I am 1.5 years from retirement and would like to make it with these boots. I realize that the uppers are at the ends of their life, but would you do your best. They are my best fitting boot, and wear them almost daily. These boots have been my best investment for work.”