This shop is made for walkin’ — in boots, that is. And Cowboy Legends abounds with all kinds of colors, designs, makes and models of boots.

“There’s something about the lure of cowboy boots,” said Larry Jennings, co-owner of the small shop. “People come in here who already have 50 pairs of boots and need more.”

Jennings was unfamiliar with the world of boots until he met Lynné Miller, who owned 100 pairs. She later became his wife and is now his partner in the boot business. Miller also sells vintage clothes online and has a few items such as blouses and shirts in the shop. The couple started selling boots at the flea market four years ago, then opened their store a year ago.

For Jennings, being in the retail business is a treat. After a long career of owning a managing consulting firm for Fortune 500 companies, he now is putting his business knowledge to use in another way.

“I’ve never worked in retail before, and I love having people come in and talk. They come in from all over the world,” he said.

The owners estimate that 70 percent of their business is with tourists, but locals are finding them too. Ella Frank, who lives in Santa Fe and works for the state, heard about Cowboy Legends from a friend. “I love boots and have about 10 pairs,” she said. “And going in to chat with Larry is always fun. He’s such an incredible guy that you just want to go in and hang out.” Frank says once a person gets into boots it’s hard to stop buying them.

Cowboy Legends started with an investment of about 500 pairs of boots, most the couple already had on hand from the flea-market days. “We paid the rent, had some shelves made and moved in,” Jennings said.

Jennings and Miller are both from Tulsa, Okla., and moved to Colorado four years ago; they then moved to Santa Fe to open their store.

Most of the boots they sell are used, another thing Jennings didn’t know about until meeting Miller.

“I didn’t know people would buy used anything, let alone boots. But Lynné and I met at an estate sale in Tulsa. She was buying up the boots. One pair she bought for $20, had it appraised at $1,000 then turned around and sold it for four grand,” he said.

Miller has been collecting and selling vintage clothes since she was 12 years old. She spends most of her time behind the scenes working with the Web site and shipping. Cowboy Legends also sells boots online.

The oldest pair of boots now in the shop dates to 1937; most of the inventory is from the 1940s and ’50s. Boots made from 1942 to 1946 are called “pee-wees,” with the uppers only 11 inches high.

Jennings has also learned that people want to know about the boots they’re buying. “They all want a story to go with their boots — where they came from, how we got them, who made them, that sort of thing,” he said.

The store’s boots sell from $139 to $5,000; the average runs about $200.

In the Santa Fe Village shopping center, Cowboy Legends is 800 square feet and packed with boots, cowboy hats, belts, scarves and even books about boots. “The best part of running a store is meeting the people — from a man who owns 15 banks in Texas to a Sikh who told me all about his religion. I like to be very personal with people,” Jennings said.

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