About Alvies

We say Alvies are Designed for Life. And sure, that means that they’re made to last and able to take you on all your adventures. But it also means they’re built with purpose — footwear that stands for something. They were dreamed up in Austin, Texas. By a guy named Alvie.

Meet Alvie Franklin Faulkenbery IV. That’s his actual name.

Our founder Alvie is a practical man who knows that the feet are the heat regulation center of the body. That’s why he grew up as a flip-flop guy. He wore them to his college graduation. He wore them in every kind of weather. He wore them all around the world.

Meet Alvie Franklin Faulkenbery II. Aka Grandpa Alvie.

Alvie’s grandfather was a WWII veteran, a long-time adventurer and a lifelong boot guy. Over the years, he built up a serious collection of beautiful, high quality cowboy boots. When Grandpa Alvie passed away in 2000, Alvie IV inherited 13 pairs.

Break on through to the other side

As a long-haired free spirit, Alvie didn’t think he could pull off cowboy boots. He never expected to wear them. Years later, he grabbed a pair to use for a Jim Morrison Halloween costume. They felt and looked amazing.

From that day forward, he was a flip-flop and boot guy.

Inspiration strikes in Thailand. Followed by a hangover.

The idea for selling boots and flops together came to Alvie while partying in Thailand. Which is how most of the great ideas in human history came to be. Alvie believed with a fiery passion that all a person really needs is a good pair of boots and a good pair of flip-flops. To him, the combo represented that simple balance that people need for a life well lived. By creating his own quality boots and flops, he’d give them a go-to footwear duo that would be all they’d ever need.

Dónde está el Bootmaking Capital of the World?

To do that, Alvie knew the boots had to look great and feel broken in from the start. And the flops had to look as good as they felt. So he went to León, Mexico — the bootmaking and leatherworking capital of the world. It's the place to go for beautiful, supple leather goods. It's also a great place to drink pulque and have a pachanga with new and old amigos made along the way.

There are no strangers in Airstreams

We sold boots and flops out of Airstream trailers for six years. Have you seen how small the inside of an Airstream is? That’s how committed we are. But the trailer only lives in Austin. And there are a lot of poor, wretched souls in the rest of the world who haven’t experienced the glory of boots and flops. So we created this website to sell directly to people all over the world. Some call us heroes. Actually, nobody calls us that. But they do call us obsessed with making comfortable, long-lasting footwear. Maybe a little too much, like to an uncomfortable degree. We’re okay with that.

EVERYONE BELONGS IN ALVIES

Cowboys. City girls. Accountants. Surfers. Texans. Techies. Brewmasters. Pitmasters. Mosh-pitters. Sports quiters. Athletes. Mathletes. Bachelorettes. Best men. Ballerinas. People with two left feet. People who still listen to Backstreet. Drummers. DJs. AJs. JJs. Jolenes. Marlenes. Mall Santas. Real Santa. Barkeeps. Baristas. Campers. Ranchers. Outlaws. In-laws. Movers. Shakers. Rodeo clowns. Class clowns. Nomads. Directors. Science-fiction fact checkers. Dog people. Cat people. People people. Librarians. Wanderers. Weirdos. And Dreamers.

Whoever you are on the inside, you're gonna look great with Alvies on the outside.