M.L. Leddy may not have had aspirations of earning an international reputation for quality, handmade boots when he left his family cotton farm in 1918 — and he probably did not envision icon status when four years later he purchased the saddle and boot shop where he had been working in the small west Texas town of Brady. With self-taught talent and the help of his brothers, M.L. achieved all of that and more.
In 1922, saddle making and boot making were common trades. What distinguished the Leddy brothers was their desire to make only the best, and offer it with unparalleled customer service. By 1936 their reputation exceeded their borders, and they moved the business to San Angelo. A second location opened in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards in 1941.
In the early 1950s, M.L.'s sons Dale and Hollis, and his son-in-law Jim Franklin, purchased the business from its founders. By 1986, M.L.'s grandson Wilson Franklin continued the tradition — and today, fourth-generation family members work in the business M.L. started with nothing but talent and grit.
A visit to M.L. Leddy's is a trip back in time, where old-fashioned values are refreshingly new again — hand-laid brick streets, knotted pine, pressed tin ceilings, and the unmistakable smell of leather.
Leddy's iconic storefronts are so much more than retail establishments. It's a step back to a time when a handshake was as good as a contract, and folks still went out of their way to make sure the job was done right.
See How They're Made →In the original San Angelo shop, Leddy's bootmakers still craft each pair entirely by hand — the same methods passed down since M.L. taught his own brothers.
Every customer's foot is measured and recorded by hand in a ledger — the same bank-ledger books Leddy's has used since 1922, now holding more than 250,000 pairs of footprints.
The finest hides are selected, cut to the individual last, and hand-lasted and stitched by a single bootmaker from first cut to final polish.
A hand-written code inked inside each boot top lets Leddy's trace every pair back to its original owner — presidents, royalty, rock stars, and ranchers alike.
We strive to have the most impressive selection of men's and women's fashions, jewelry, belts, buckles, hats, and tailored clothing anywhere in the Western world.
Home to Clint Orms silver · Hickey Freeman & Oxxford Clothing · Kimes Ranch · Pendleton · Dubarry
Every custom boot owner has a page in M.L. Leddy's history books — old-fashioned bank ledgers where the foot measurements of more than 250,000 customers have been painstakingly recorded, next to presidents, royalty, and rock stars. It's not uncommon to see a grandfather bring in his grandchildren to be fitted for a pair of their own.
Open Monday through Saturday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM. Closed Sundays.
