As my regular readers know, I enjoy wearing boots. I wear them every day, usually two to three pairs each day, sometimes more, depending on what I am doing and where I am going.

Let me provide the context of my life: I am a middle-aged adult man, living in a single-family house in a quiet neighborhood in the suburbs of Washington, DC. I work in an office and am a middle-management professional. I ride a motorcycle (when the weather is suitable), and a four-wheel cage (truck) when not astride my Harley. I eschew the trappings of yuppiehood (fancy cars, the latest gadgets, and braggardry). In my off-time I build things, remodel homes, look after elderly friends, and serve as a civic leader in the community where I live (and where I grew up.) I am married to the love of my life. I am well-educated, including graduate-level studies in the field of observing human behavior and anticipating results of human action.

It is this latter element of my background that gives me some insight into the topic of this post — how men make decisions on footwear.
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I have made it very clear that I wear boots every day while doing everything that I do. I wear them with nice clothes that I wear to work. I wear them even with suits on the rare occasions that I have to dress up. I wear motorcycle boots while riding my Harley — always — no silly unsafe sneakers for me! I even wear boots when I do my long vigorous walks — hikers. Again, sneakers? Bah, humbug!

It is amusing to me how many people know that I’m a regular and reliable “boot guy.” I catch them stealing glances, asking themselves and sometimes voicing the question, “what boots does he have on today?”
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