Category Archives: Boots at Work

Smiling Boot Guy

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I was at a meeting in downtown Washington DC yesterday, and someone said something to me that I found amusing.

Setting: auditorium where people are gathering to listen to presentations that are rather geeky, but in my field. I was invited to join the panel as a “respondent,” meaning that after the speakers completed their presentations, I would join three people from other agencies to respond and engage a dialogue.

LuchornbackI was wearing the requisite jacket and tie, dress slacks, and a good-looking pair of black Lucchese hornback caiman boots.

Out of the blue, a gentleman came up to me and said,

“Oh, you’re that smiling boot guy.”

Huh?
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What Boots for the Holiday Party?

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I received an email the other day from a guy in Texas who asked,

I was invited to the office Christmas party at a restaurant in town. I was speaking with my wife about what to wear. She suggested a suit. I said that I wanted to wear my boots. She cringed and disagreed, saying that boots don’t go with a suit and pulled out a pair of black dress shoes and told me in no uncertain terms to wear them. Then I found your blog and now am questioning whether to go along with my wife or do what I wanted to do in the first place, wear my boots with a suit to the party. What is your opinion?

Okay, I’ll respond. But first…
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Not Some Office Clone

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I have been having conversations with a new guy on the block (so-to-speak)… a young man who recently joined the office staff, working under contract for a chief of a technical division. This guy is eager to make his mark. He arrives early, leaves late, and always appears to be working. I never observe him playing with a smartphone or surfing the web for personal reasons while on the clock. He has a good work ethic.

Now, about his attire…
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Booted Routine

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My poor ol’ spouse is having quite a time in ‘da ‘Burgh dealing with his mother. The tenor of his phone calls has been quite sad.

I sent him two care packages by overnight express. I hope, at least a little bit, he will have things he requested and a little solace.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
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Wear Cowboy Boots to the Office in DC?

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Lucblackgoat03My website’s cowboy boots collection and this blog receive a lot of visitors from men who are curious about whether or not it is acceptable to wear cowboy boots with a suit or dress clothing to a professional office, especially in stodgy, drab, dull, fashionless and conservatively dressed Washington, DC.

Recently, I received another email from a DC-based office professional who went on a business trip to Texas and bought himself a pair of nice boots, then began to question his decision after his girlfriend made some comments after he returned home with them. The email said:
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Loggers at the Office

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Yesterday, it was bitterly cold in these parts. New record low temperatures were reached at local airports. -15C… sounds colder than 5F. Nonetheless, whatever scale you use, it was damn cold!

The worst problem I have with cold — other than not being able to ride my Harley — is that my feet get cold. Even with boots and thick socks, I don’t like cold feet. (Ask my spouse!)

I have a fairly new and good-looking pair of Chippewa insulated “super loggers”. So I decided on casual dress-down Friday to…
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Cowboy Boots with Suits

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TLPecan19I work in a professional office. I seldom wear a suit or even a jacket, but there are occasions that I do. While I work in a professional office, the traditional business suit is not customarily worn any more, even by the big cheese to whom I report. However, I usually wear a shirt and tie, and keep a jacket handy (hanging on the back of my door) for times when custom demands.

And I always wear boots. No exception. Even with a suit or less formal attire — jacket and tie.

I received an email the other day from an instructor at a community college in Texas. She wrote:
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Youngster in the Suit on a Bike

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There is a young man who works where I work who rides a small motorcycle to work. I see him from time to time because we both park our motorcycles in the same place, though he arrives later than I do and leaves later than I leave. But over time, we have occasionally seen each other at our motorcycles when I leave late or he leaves early.

I see this young man around the building. He works in an entry-level position, and has been here for about two years. What I notice is that he always wears a suit. I asked him once about that, and his response was the typical brainwashed phrase from the Dress for Success bloggers — that is, “dress for the job you want, not the one you have.”

Okay, all well and good. We may differ on the suit stuff. He will realize as he matures that a suit isn’t the only thing on which a rising professional is judged.

But what has bothered me about the suit (and dress shoes), is that he wears it while…
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