Step 10: Getting dirty!!
The boot on the left was just glued together. The boot on the right has gone through years of rigorus use over the high seas! Well, not exactly. But if you're going to pull off a costume that looks like it's been "lived in", then you've gotta make it appear that way!

Let's face it, pirates never went to the dry cleaners. One of my biggest peeves is to find someone that has spent countless hours working on their costume, and they forget the most impartant thing- weathering!

Try different approaches. Use some black shoe polish, leave them out in the elements, take a rotary tool, and scrape up all the edges (including the sole itself!) And holes, add a few small holes in the shaft, here and there. I have handled a pair of the stunt shoes, and there are holes in there. Not in the bottom, in the heel or anything, but in the shaft, right where it folds over.

Now, if you can't find a way to have the ends stitched down, do not worry. Barge is one of the strongest cements around. My first pair of Jack boots were made for Halloween, and I never stitched anything together on those. They have yet to fall apart in any way. If you can get them stitched, then more power to 'ya! And they'll look all the more authentic.

Good luck!