As luxury marketers struggle to sell their goods in the economic downturn, a family-run boot manufacturer in Berlin, Wis., has a three-month-long waiting list for footwear that costs as much as $870.

Over the past three decades, Wyman Meinzer has worn Russell Moccasin Co. boots exclusively in the field. He bought his first pair in 1987, a decade before he was named the official State Photographer ...