Grab your cowboy boots, because the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a new public exhibit. Rough & Ready: A History of the Cowboy Boot explores the fascinating story of the cowboy boot’s craftsmanship, symbolism, and cultural transformation over the years. It’s an exhibition you won’t want to miss.
Here are five reasons to check it out.
Learn something new
The cowboy boot is steeped in history and legend alike, and is the very embodiment of contradiction. They’ve symbolized labour and leisure, freedom and domination, and tradition and reinvention. What began as a shoe of necessity transformed into an image of power, privilege, and even resistance.
The Rough & Ready exhibition explores the journey of the cowboy boot from its 19th-century origins to modern-day iterations, discussing the historic innovations developed in Asia, Spain, North Africa, and Mexico along the way.
Boots throughout history
The best part of any museum is getting to see the physical objects you’re learning about. The Bata Shoe Museum will host over 80 objects of historical and culturally significant cowboy boots, helping visitors understand the complex origins and bold fashion statements that influenced the boot’s evolution over the years.
Key exhibits include a pair of 18th-century Persian riding shoes which influenced the earliest cowboy boot design, Canadian-made cowboy boots worn by film star Tom Mix in a 1920s edition of the Calgary Stampede parade, and a pair made by Charlie Dunn, one of the most respected names in the craft.
An ode to Orville
Once you’ve journeyed through history, you’ll have a deeper appreciation and understanding of the cowboy boot, but what about modern-day icons? Orville Peck comes to mind as a Canadian who boldly interprets Western fashion, which visitors will get to see for themselves.
The country musician’s custom bespoke cowboy boots will be on display, and rightfully so — his unapologetic persona and dramatic style deserve to be studied!
Free community day
What would make this exhibit even better? Getting to see it for free. In honour of the Bata Shoe Museum’s 30th-year milestone and to mark the opening of the Rough & Ready exhibition, visitors are invited to a free Community Day.
Along with exhibition tours, there will be performances, games, Western-themed activities, and a kid-friendly mechanical bull. There will also be a Rhinestone Rodeo Show, which blends dazzling circus acrobatics with cowboy charm. Yee haw!
More exciting programming
But that’s not all — accompanying the exhibition are three other programs happening on select days in May and June.
Test your knowledge of all things country music at Country Music Trivia on May 27, don your dancing boots at the Hoedown at the BSM Pride Party on June 6, and explore the intersectionality of cowboy tradition and queer identities at Outlaws and Allies: Cowboys and Queer Culture Panel Discussion on June 19.
Purchase tickets to the Rough & Ready exhibition or RSVP online to attend the free Community Day on May 11, 2025. It’s sure to be a rootin’ tootin’ good time!
Rough & Ready: A History of the Cowboy Boot
When: May 2025 to October 2026
Where: Bata Shoe Museum — 327 Bloor St. W
Cost: $5 to $35, or free every Sunday
Kendall Bistretzan
Branded Content Writer
Kendall Bistretzan is a Calgary-based writer, reporter, and coffee enthusiast. In her spare time, she loves to read, have dinner with friends, and sing in her car. She is currently querying her debut fiction novel. You can find her on Instagram @kendallbistwrites.
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