If the first thing that comes to mind when you think Reba McEntire is "Fancy" – whether that means her hit song or her glitzy red carpet attire – then you might want to get a look inside her closet, where the star recently created custom storage for her 85 pairs of boots. (And because McEntire is nothing if not accommodating, she actually provided a look into said closet – while wearing a top and boots of her own design, no less.)
The love for the rugged footwear, which goes way back to her days running barrels (a history which got her inducted into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 2017), extends into the present day, with her collection of Western boots and cowgirl-inspired shoes for Justin Footwear. The collaboration, which launched for holiday, has something for everyone, but most importantly, it has everything McEntire wanted. ankle buckle
"I wanted a variety of boots that I could wear on stage," she explains. "Then I wanted a pair of boots for the girls to run barrels in. Then I wanted some sneakers for when they get through loading their horse up in the trailer, take their boots off, get their tennis shoes on and drive home." Is that what her fans were asking for? "I was going by what I like, and hopefully that's what everybody else would enjoy too!"
McEntire bought her first pair of boots after coming in third in a competition with a pair of beat-up boots, she says: "I had one pair of boots I ran barrels in, I remember … I had duct tape around to keep the sole together. I think I won third that night and the next day I went down to the Western store and bought a new pair of boots and some clip-on stirs. That's the first pair of boots I bought."
Though she doesn't still have that pair (she estimates the oldest pair in that aforementioned boot-centric closet is one she's "real proud of" from 1976, custom-emblazoned with her brand) she does have dozens more. And with her collaboration with Justin, she gets to keep coming up with any style she can imagine – including her favorite pair, the Chelsea boot (named for her granddaughter). "They're a real comfortable, classy boot," she says. "I wear them on television and onstage in Vegas. When I'm not comfortable I don't have the confidence I need, and if I'm unsure of my footing the first thing that goes is your confidence. I've had Reba boots embellished [for special occasions]!"
In addition to the Chelsea boot, which is pictured above in brown and black, McEntire is partial to the cowgirl-print Alice slide, which was inspired by a print on a cape her hair and makeup artist uses to protect her clothes (see her model the cape here!), and her Hope "shootie," which was a collaboration between her and Justin. "I came in and said, You know what, I've got friends and some family members whose calves are a little bit big and can't wear my cowboy boots. [Justin] said, Let's do a shootie," she says. "It comes above the ankle—everything is very versatile."
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So is there room for anything else in her closet after all those boots? "Jeans. I have over 100 pairs of jeans!" she says. "I keep thinking I'm gonna give them away, but my weight fluctuates 5 to 10 pounds throughout the year. You have your heavy jeans, you have your skinny jeans. I have my bell bottoms, I have my cut-offs that I tuck into my boots and I have black, dark blue washed, heavy washed and I have my light blue jeans and then I have white. So there's a lot of jeans in my closet."
One thing she doesn't have taking up space is her enormous collection of red carpet and performance attire. "I have them in archive. I've got everything from movies, videos, award shows," she says. "They're in special boxes with tissue paper and documented, all taken pictures of and on mannequins. After we got all the clothes back from the Country Music Hall of Fame—we did a display there—it set into motion of making sure everything we recorded and documented."
Soon to be added to that collection? The gown she wears to Sunday's Grammy Awards, where she's nominated for Best Roots Gospel Album. She says they started looking at dresses right after the holidays and may have an outfit change between the winner presentation and the actual show. "It's gonna be a fun day," she says.
Backless Flat Shoes Shop Reba McEntire's boot collection at Dillards, and tune into the Grammys on CBS Sunday, January 28, 2018 at 7:30p ET.