In the 1930s, Jean Sartore ran a small shoe shop in Breil-sur-Roya, a village in the hinterland of Nice. In 1959 his son Paul and Paul's wife Marcelle opened the first factory, where they made moccasins with spiked driving soles under the name Sportsouple. It is a long way from a cowboy boot, and it is the reason I trust Sartore boots more than most western pairs.

The label itself arrived in 1980, when daughters Catherine and Françoise created SARTORE, two years after joining their parents, in the middle of the ready-to-wear boom. In the eighties they reinterpreted the American Santiague, the cowboy boot that sits behind everything in this edit. Production now happens in Italian workshops, mostly with vegetable-tanned leather. You can spot the house from across a room: the buckle, the thick sole, the curve of the heel and the flame motif. It reads as western seen through a French family, a little sharper and a little less costume.

Start the walk with the western ankle boots. The brown one with the pointed toe, side zip and slanted cuban heel is the easiest first pair, and I would wear it with straight jeans and a white tee. The Parma in black has panelled uppers, tonal stitching and elastic sides, so it slips on fast for a workday. The olive suede pair with embroidery wants a plain denim skirt, nothing else loud. The navy and cream two-tone boot is the playful one, and the tall black and white contrast-panel boot is the statement. If you want a lower heel, the brown suede pair has a 45mm cuban heel.

My tip: pick the pair by the toe first. Pointed toes run narrow, so try them on with the socks you will really wear and walk across a hard floor before you decide.

Esquire, the family's second label, is where the first women's riding boots came from, and you can still see that lineage in the tall pairs here. Before anything else, sit down in them. A shaft that looks sleek standing up can pinch behind the knee once you bend, and the rear zip should close without a fight over your calf.

The black polished leather knee-high with the low block heel, rear zip and strap is the most classic riding shape in the group. The black buckled pair has a rounded toe and an ankle strap, which keeps it from looking too formal under a midi skirt. For tan, there are two slim-shaft boots: one with a 90mm heel and one in the SR3047 style, both sharp over black tights and a camel coat. Then it turns western. The burgundy-brown Tailor boot stops mid-calf with embroidery on the shaft, the burgundy suede pair carries its embroidery higher, the stitched brown pair in SR4208 is the plain one, and the slate-purple embroidered boot is the one people will ask about.

Pair the western ones with a straight, slightly cropped jean so the shaft shows, and let the sleek riding boots go under trousers or a long skirt. Smooth leather likes a good wax spray, and these boots can be resoled, so treat them like shoes you plan to keep.

What I would skip: the 90mm tan boot if you walk across town daily. It is a lovely heel, but it is a heel.

The 1970s gave the family clogs, then boots with single, double, triple or even quadruple skates, the stitched lines across the toe that put the brand in the spirit of the times. You can see that love of stitching in the ankle boots here, and it is why I would turn each pair over and look at the sole and seams before buying.

The black pointed-toe Chelsea has western stitching, elastic gussets and a stacked heel, so it works as a Chelsea for people who think they dislike western. The dark brown pointed-toe pair with elastic sides and a block heel is quieter still. Two decorative-stitching boots, one in dark brown leather with a cuban heel and one in dark brown suede, are my picks for jeans and a knit. The brown embroidered leather pair with side gussets is the one for a plain black dress. The black Arbia has a 45mm heel and side elastics, which makes it the one I would walk in all day.

Test the elastic gusset by pulling the boot on and off a few times, because a good one eases over the ankle and does not grip. Smooth leather wants a wax spray, and suede wants a protective spray before the first outing.

What I would skip: the tan suede pairs on a forecast of rain, unless you have sprayed them first.

The details that make a Sartore boot unmistakable are the buckle, the thickness of the sole, the curve of the heel and the flame motif. This group is all about the first of those, plus studs and rings, and it is where the brand's biker and western sides meet. Flex every strap and tug every ring before you commit, since hardware is the first thing that tells you how a boot was made.

The black polished buckle-strap ankle boot has a gold-tone buckle across the ankle and a block heel, and it is the one I would wear with a slip dress. The Parma harness-detail pair swaps the buckle for a metal ring at the ankle. The black suede boot with buckle detail has a pointed toe, while the brown suede one carries a silver-tone strap. Studs come on the black 50mm leather boots, the tan pair with a pointed toe and the brown cuban-heeled pair. The big one is the quilted black leather knee-high biker boot with several buckle straps and a lug sole, which I would only wear with something very simple.

These Sartore boots look best when you match the hardware to your jewelry, gold with gold, silver with silver. And with studs, keep the rest of the outfit plain.

What I would skip: the studded pairs with loose knits that snag. A smooth tee or a leather jacket is safer.

The flame is the motif people tie most closely to the label, and the last group is where it shows up in force, with panels and embroidery around it. The French shoe federation connects the 1980s with western boots, so a flame on an ankle boot is a little piece of that decade. Every pair here is made in Italy.

The Postiano is dark brown leather with western-stitched panels, an elastic gusset and a block heel, and I would make it the first pair if you are nervous about flames. The chestnut embroidered ankle boot with tonal panels is just as calm. The navy blue boot with flame appliqué panels is the bright one, and the brown Texan suede pair has stitched gussets and a teal accent that I love with olive. Two flame pairs are quieter in color: the dark brown one with stitched flame overlays, and the washed gray one with studded flames and a 45mm heel. The taupe and brown suede cowboy boot has a wooden-look heel, and the tan distressed leather pair with tonal flames and a 45mm heel feels already broken in.

To test a flame boot, look at it from three feet away. If the overlay still reads as a design and not a logo, it will wear well. Try the pair with a dark straight jean first.

What I would skip: wearing a flame boot with a printed skirt. Let the boot be the pattern.

I would start with the brown pointed-toe ankle boot with the cuban heel, because it goes with everything I own. Then I would choose one tall pair, the tan knee-high or the burgundy suede, for coats and skirts.

After that, pick one detail you really want to look at: a buckle, a stud or a flame. Spray the leather, keep the shape with a boot tree, and take them to be resoled when the heel wears down.

A small shoe shop in Breil-sur-Roya turned into a family that reinterpreted the cowboy boot, and I like that the boots still feel like they were made by people who wear shoes. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Merrell Shoes and Charles & Keith.