The quintessential elements of a Southern woman typically include some aspect of the following: being well-spoken, well-mannered, and, of course, well-manicured. Rarely, if ever, had sisters Kasey Lemkin and Lawren Sample seen their grandmother, Aleene “Gigi” Partlow Sample, without a full face of makeup, curled hair, and a perfectly curated outfit. “She was the matriarch of the family,” says Lemkin, smiling as she recalls the time when her grandmother lost power and resorted to cooking Christmas dinner on the family’s grill. “She would cook for everyone and would look immaculate doing it.” “Rumor has it,” chimed Sample, “that she was the first woman in the town of Plantersville that wore pants.”
The sisters swapped stories, a combination of family folklore and eye-witness events, all of which mirrored the same, underlying message—Gigi walked with confidence. This confidence was inherited by her granddaughters and resulted in a revolutionary shoe design that would turn the classic cowboy boot into a timeless, everyday staple, allowing each wearer to don Gigi’s confidence.
These bold strides started with a pair of little, red boots. Growing up in Jackson, Kasey and Lawren wore boots the way other children wore tennis shoes—religiously. “The first shoe we were walking in was a cowboy boot,” says Lawren. Their affinity for shoes and fashion took them outside of the walls of Magnolia State and into the design rooms of New York and Los Angeles. With careers in the fashion and marketing industries spanning several decades, Lemkin and Sample made individual names for themselves, working as marketing specialists and celebrity stylists, respectively. However, throughout their time working in the fashion industry, they never found a boot that felt “modern” to them. Instead of scouring for the right shoe, they pulled up their bootstraps, literally and figuratively, to create the perfect pair of cowboy boots.
It started with a mission—to design high-end, luxury boots that married timelessness with comfortability and confidence. The sisters sought out flexibility with the hope that women would able to wake up and wear these boots to a yoga class while finishing the night dancing in them at a wedding reception or gala. “We want these to be what the ‘little white sneaker’ was,” says Lemkin—an everyday shoe designed for confidence.
Since confidence stems from comfortability, Lemkin and Sample wanted to create a boot that could be worn all day. Each shoe is skillfully crafted with four layers of cushioning and a two-inch heel. The 12-inch shaft of Partlow’s boots is made of vegetable-dyed, calfskin leather sourced from Italy. The rounded toe and focus on clean lines allow the shoe’s design to mimic a crossover between a western boot and a riding boot. Due to the high-quality structure of the boot, there is no regular “break-in period.” The sisters honed their skills in marketing and fashion to create a shoe that is sleek and sophisticated. They carefully curated their color scheme, deciding to work with primarily browns and blacks. Sample says, “A lot of boots compliment your outfit as opposed to taking away from it.” Redefining the role of cowboy boots has created a new category for shoes and a resurgence in western wear both in and outside of the South.
In 2023, after months of extensive research, Partlow entered the market and eventually, the sales racks of Neiman Marcus and SSENSE. Since the launch of Partlow, Lemkin and Sample have been overwhelmed by the response. They are continuing to expand Partlow’s collection by adding a variety of new designs throughout the year. Currently, Partlow has six different boot designs, each named after a woman the sisters admire, available for sale on their website and at their partner stores. Visit partlowofficial.com
