Category Archives: Cowboy Boots

Distracting Attention From Colorful Cowboy Boots

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Fridays are known where I work as “casual Friday.” Most guys wear jeans, polo shirts, and sneakers. I take advantage of the unwritten rule that it is okay to wear jeans to work on Fridays, but along with the jeans, I decided to wear my Lucchese Classic “blue jeans” cowboy boots to work. I work in a professional office. Most other men wear drab, dull, dress shoes on most days, and sneakers on Fridays. Not me–always booted.

These boots, though, are noticeable because of their predominant blue color, with white inlays and black overlays. Not that I would care if anyone said anything, but I conducted an experiment.

I am known not to wear a necktie, except on rare occasions when I have a special meeting. But the day on which I wore those blue/white/black cowboy boots, I also wore a dress shirt and a blue leather tie with a pair of dark black jeans.

Yep, as I thought, most people noticed the tie and said something about it. Only one person — a woman — said, “those are snazzy-looking boots!” The men either noticed the boots and did not say anything, or were more focused on the tie business and did not say anything about the boots. I took a lot of good-natured ribbing about wearing a tie on “casual Friday.” Remarks like, “are you briefing [the big cheese]?” or “important lunch date?” or “presenting again?” were more common. And the tie being made of leather and not silk? No one said a thing.

Moral of the story: if you are concerned about what people may say about a pair of boots you may wear, then throw them off from looking down to looking up — wear a tie. Scare them (LOL! — that’s true in my case!)

Life is short: wear boots to work with dress clothes.

Must the Color of Your Boots Match the Color of Your Pants and Belt?

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Men are sometimes concerned with fashion considerations, such as the color of boots to wear with certain colors of clothing, particularly for office wear.

In my opinion, such color-matching considerations do not matter when a guy is wearing denim jeans since boots and jeans go well together in any combination. However, the color-matching concerns could be an issue, albeit more of a personal one, with dress clothes.
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Dress Shoes and Cowboy Hat?

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Another search that landed a visitor to my “Cowboy Boots Tutorial” on my website. The searcher asks, “can I wear dress shoes with a cowboy hat?”

… and the searcher is from McKinney, Texas?

Really? … the state with the most cowboy boot-wearing men in the U.S.? Really?

Well, I guess you “can,” as it, yes, it is possible to wear a cowboy hat and dress shoes, but the real question is, why?

For so long I have blogged about having the freedom to choose to wear boots with dress clothes, urging guys to let go of their trepidations, fears of what others may say, and so forth … so I guess I should not have a negative opinion about the other-way-around. That is, it is often perceived that cowboy boots are worn with casual, not business, attire. A cowboy hat is considered, inaccurately, as being a part of casual attire.

The opposite way of thinking is combining a “casual” cowboy hat with “business attire” dress shoes. Well, yeah, you can do that if you want. Probably few others do it, but that’s their problem, not yours. Wear what you want! Even in Texas, there are no rules that require a man who wants to wear a cowboy hat that he must wear cowboy boots.

“Can” you wear dress shoes with a cowboy hat? Answer: yes.

The real question is, “do you want to?”

Well, that’s up to you. Forget about what other people may say — that is their problem, not yours. If you want to wear a cowboy hat with dress shoes, then go for it! Even in Texas. You will not be shot for wearing both. Even in Texas.

Life is short: wear what you want (but boots are better than silly ol’ shoes… bleccchhh).

Ethnic Stereotypes of Clothes and Boots

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I received an email recently where someone asked me some questions about wearing boots with certain clothing choices. In that message, he also said,

I have recently acquired yellow Tony Lama boots and a pair of orange Dan Post boots. I plan on wearing them with jeans over the boots, but do not know what type of shirt to wear and not look like a Mexican.

Really? Honestly, this caught me by surprise. Does a certain combination of jeans over colorful boots and a certain kind or color of shirt make one “look like a Mexican?”

Okay, I admit, I live in a multicultural area, the suburbs of the capital of the United States, where people from all over the world live and work. Not only in the Diplomatic corps, but also those who come from other countries who work in various companies and international organizations that work with our country.

Further, the county where I live has become much more ethnically diverse. The little neighborhood that I developed has brought me neighbors who come from 13 countries of the world. So yeah, I am very accustomed to “living diversity” (one way of saying it) … or just recognizing that people are people from all over the place, and I enjoy being among it all.

When I look at someone, I never have given thought to the clothes (and boots) that they wear making them appear to be of a particular ethnic origin. I was stunned to think that wearing a certain color shirt with blue denim jeans and orange cowboy boots is considered by some people to be a “Mexican uniform.” Yowza! Never in a million years would I have thought that.

However, in doing more searching on the topic, I found a post in response to why younger people of today laugh at guys who wear cowboy boots and hats. The post said:

It depends on the culture. Cowboy hats and boots aren’t really “in style” for this generation of youth. However, in Mexican culture the men wear cowboy hats and boots all the time and even young Mexican kids do too. It’s just when they reach the teenage years, peer pressure tends to make them stray from that style.

Perhaps this is where the link to wearing cowboy boots being a “Mexican uniform” came from in the original writer’s inquiry.

To confirm my own thoughts that there is no such “uniform of ethnicity” (particularly of Hispanic origin) in the part of the U.S. where I live, I dropped by my local big box building supplies retailer (whose name will not be mentioned on this blog) and had a chat with a dozen day laborers. It is well known that day laborers gather at [building supplies retailer], hoping that someone will hire them to do labor. I have done that on occasion when I have needed help from very hard-working men.

During my conversation, I looked at what these guys were wearing. The UoD for Hispanic day laborers is jeans, work boots or sneakers, and various shirts. Flannel, denim, etc. Because it was chilly, the men were wearing cloth or denim jackets — what any worker would wear. I didn’t notice any particular color or style of clothing that might make someone think that if I wore it, I was Hispanic.

I dunno, perhaps it’s different where the writer of that email is from. Not where I live. And I am thankful for that.

Life is short: avoid furthering stereotypes that promote ongoing xenophobia and arrogance.

Breaking In New Boots?

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Was Santa good to you and brought you a new pair of boots?  Perhaps you’re not accustomed to wearing boots that often, and want to know how to break them in?  Take some simple tips from a guy who has been wearing boots for well over 40 years as his exclusive form of footwear….

First, after you take the boots out of the box, make sure that there is no paper or cardboard stuffed deep in the foot of the boots. Better bootmakers do that sometimes.

Next, before you try to pull the boots on, check your feet — make sure you are wearing a decent pair of socks. The best socks to wear with boots are made of a combination of three components: cotton (for comfort); rayon/dacron/nylon synthetic (for longer wear and durability, as well as maintaining shape); and wool. Yes, wool. Why wool? Best for absorbing sweat and wicking it away from your feet, so your feel feel comfortable in boots all day long.

Contrary to popular myth, you do NOT need “boot socks” that come up high on your calf. If boots are made well, they will not rub on the inside of your legs, so regular socks (made of the three materials listed above) will work fine. Most of my socks are “gold toe” socks that I buy at KMart. I don’t spend tons of money on socks when what I can get at my local KMart will last me just as long.

Now — to your boots. Feel how stiff the shaft is. If the shaft is rather stiff — that is, if it doesn’t bend easily because the leather from which it is composed is thick, then I suggest breaking in the crease at the ankle manually. This is a rather simple but very important thing to do: hold the boot in one hand and crease the back of the boot shaft straight by bending it backwards, then forward, then backward again. (Please see this post and video for visual demonstration — it works the same for cowboy boots as it works for Dehner Patrol boots).

If the leather on the boot shafts is soft and bends easily, you can skip the manual ankle creasing method described above. But that manual creasing method is very important for stiff-shafted boots, because you want the crease to come straight across at the back of the ankle, and not at an angle. If the crease forms at an angle, it will probably rub against the back of your ankle inside the boot and cause sores. Once the crease forms it cannot be “retrained,” so get the crease right from the beginning.

Then hold the boot by the boot straps (or if necessary, use boot pulls attached to the boot straps) and pull one boot on one foot, then the other, by pointing your toes into the boots and just pulling. The boot should come on rather easily, but it may take a bit of a tug. That’s okay. New boots are stiff and aren’t easy to pull on or take off before they are completely broken in.

Stand up. However, before you walk in them, try wiggling your toes. Can you feel your toes inside the boots? Do your toes feel squeezed, or do the feet feel like they are swimming? Try flexing your foot up and down within the confines of the boot foot. Again, does it feel squeezed or like there is too much room?

If the foot feels like it is squeezed, then the boots may be too small. Even if they are marked your regular shoe size, there is no consistency from manufacturer to manufacturer on actual size. If the boots are small on you, you won’t wear them. See if you can exchange them for a half-size larger.

If the foot feels like it is swimming — that actually is a good thing. Get a pair of gel insoles (such as made by Dr. Scholl’s) that you can find at any drug store or well-stocked grocery store. Follow the directions to trim the gel insoles for the insides of your boots, then carefully fit them in. I think you will find — as I do — that gel insoles provide much more comfort and allow the boots to be worn all day long with comfort.

Then stand tall, walk proudly as the Boot-wearer you should be. Be careful where you step — for example, if you got new cowboy boots, they probably have all-leather soles, and therefore do not provide traction if you walk on wet, snowy, or icy surfaces. If you got motorcycle boots with a lug sole, you won’t have trouble with traction, but you probably will have trouble with mud and dirt getting stuck in between the lugs. If you don’t take your boots off before coming indoors, then once the mud dries up, it will fall out — and you’ll be in a situation that I have been in too often — the other half has words with you about being such a slob. (ooops!)

At the end of the day, use a boot jack or ask a spouse/partner/friend to pull the boots off. It’s hard for one person to pull of a pair of boots by himself if the boots are still stiff and not broken in.

Leave the boots in open air but out of direct sunlight for at least a day, so the boots can air out. Sweat from the feet and legs absorbs into the interior of the boot and takes a while to evaporate. If you don’t let boots “breathe” between wearings, then it may turn into a growth medium for fungus, which can be bad for your feet. So guys — if you like to wear boots as I do — use this excuse to justify having at least two pairs, if not more, of boots in your wardrobe.

Soon enough, you will find out that boots are far better for your feet, and you look better in them, too. You will find a place to donate your dress shoes and begin wearing boots to work each day of the year (as I do.)

For more tips and information on wearing boots (including wearing boots with khakis or business suits), visit my “Cowboy Boot How To” on my website.

Life is short: wear boots!

Comfort of Snakeskin Boots

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Someone entered a question into a search engine which landed on my website. The question was, “how comfortable are snakeskin boots?”

And the answer is…

… it varies. The comfort of a boot to a guy’s feet is determined by what is on the inside of the boot, not the outer skin. Perhaps the person who asked this question didn’t realize that. Or, perhaps he did and thought that different manufacturers of snakeskin boots may be more comfortable than others.

I will address the question both ways.

Well-constructed cowboy boots will have an insole made of materials that provide comfort to the foot — usually a cushion comfort pad made of composite materials. The boots will also have a steel shank that is embedded in the sole of the boot. That shank adds support (particularly good for high arches) which makes the boot more comfortable to wear. The inside of the boot’s foot will also have enough room for your foot to spread out — it happens naturally when you walk and apply weight to your foot as you move along.

Boots feel uncomfortable when your foot cannot flex as you walk, or if it feels as if you are walking on rocks. A boot’s supplied insole should be thick enough to provide some cushioning to the bottom of the foot. Further, if the boot’s foot is sized appropriately for your foot, there should be enough room to insert an added insole, such as Dr. Scholl’s gel insoles. These insoles add significantly to the comfort of the boot.

Notice in this description, I am talking about what is inside the boot — not the outer skin that is visible to you and others who look at your boots. Comfort of a boot has nothing to do with the outer skin.

It is the manufacturer of a boot that makes a big difference in the comfort. I have described how I rate comfort of boots in a previous blog post, here. My ratings are my own observations. I have observed that cowboy boots made by Lucchese, Dan Post, Nocona, Justin, and Tony Lama, are comfortable. Boots made by Acme, Cowtown, and Sendra, for example, are not (to me). But a word of caution — each person feels comfort in different ways. Just because I listed a manufacturer (or not) on this blog about comfortable boots should not be taken as an absolute. I do not describe anything about certain manufacturers because I do not own any boots made by them — Laredo is an example.

Generally speaking, look for these features in a cowboy boot. Each feature adds to comfort and quality:

  • Pegged soles
  • Steel shank in the insole
  • Sewn-on, not glued, soles
  • Ample room inside the foot to add an additional insole if you want
  • Flexible outsole (that is, the bottom of the boot)
  • Wide enough calf circumference for air to be able to circulate around your lower leg (so the boots do not feel hot.)
  • Not previously worn — used boots conform to another guy’s feet, then harden that way. You may or may not find used boots comfortable. It varies.

To summarize, snakeskin boots are — or are not — as comfortable as any other boot. It’s not what is on the outside, it is what is on the inside that counts.

Life is short: know and wear quality boots.

Cowboy Boots In Style for Men?

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This kind of stuff makes me nuts sometimes, but when someone uses a search engine to look for an answer to, “are cowboy boots in style 2011 for men?” and lands visitors to this blog… I just have to comment.

Cowboy boots are timeless. They are in style all the time, year after year, summer, fall, winter, spring… any time of year in any year. If you have to wonder if boots are in style for men in any particular year, then in my opinion — you obsess too much.

Just put your boots on, stand tall, walk confidently, and smile.

If you cannot do that, or if you have to wonder and worry if what you are wearing on your feet is in style or not, then just put on a pair of sneakers and sell any boots your own on eBay. By thinking that is a serious question and worrying about whether cowboy boots are in style or not, then in my opinion, you have lost any authorization to wear boots. Turn ’em in, mister. Men who wear boots are confident, relaxed, and secure. They could give a shit about what’s in style.

End-of-story; end-of-rant.

Life is short: wear boots and tell the style-worriers to take a hike (in sneakers).

Comfort Rating of Boots

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Those who have studied my cowboy boot collection or my motorcycle boot collection have noticed that I rate each pair of boots for their comfort (C), look/appearance (L), and for cowboy boots, how they sound (S).

Recently, I received an email about my “C” — comfort — rating. The question was:

I wanted to know about the C rating you have. When a boot has a low C rating, what makes them hard to wear for long periods? What gets uncomfortable about the boot? Is it they are too stiff? Too hard on the bottom of your feet? The insides are too rough (unfinished leather)? Just curious about your rating system as I am looking for comfortable boots that can be worn for a while without the torture!

My response:

Thanks for your message! I appreciate the inquiry.

When I give a pair of boots a lower comfort rating, I am expressing an opinion about the overall comfort of the boots when I have worn them after they are well broken in.

Some boots are my size, but still do not fit well. Some of the more uncomfortable boots that I own are used boots that I bought on eBay. Even though the boots were my size, they still did not fit right.

One would think that used boots would be comfortable, because they are broken in. However, I have learned that boots conform to the original wearer’s feet and legs, and do not change when someone else puts them on. So if the first guy who broke them in made the footbed conform in a particular way to his foot, it could cause my foot to ache because the dimensions of my foot are different from his. If that happens, then I give the boots a lower comfort rating. Or, some old boots have narrower boot shafts than I require, so the boots hurt my legs by squeezing them.

New boots generally have a higher comfort rating. Particularly, boot makers are learning to install comfortable insoles and more flexible outsoles, which add to the overall comfort when the boots are worn for a long time. Also, some of my boots are custom made, and therefore they should be more comfortable because they are made to my size requirements. This is especially true for tall boots that I own, like those made by Wesco and Dehner.

Overall, the predominant reason that I may rate a pair of boots lower on my comfort scale is that the footbed is hard, inflexible, and there is not enough room inside the boot to install a gel insole. A good gel insole will make the bottom of my feet comfortable, but pushes the tops of my feet against the inside of the boot foot — and thus makes the boots uncomfortable again. This happens mostly with some low-end commercial boot labels like Cowtown, for example. (But it also happens to me with
higher-end commercial boots made by Sendra, which makes a smaller-than-average area for the foot to fit into.)

Again, the comfort ratings are my personal opinions about boots that I own. I know guys who swear by the comfort of some brands of boots that have been uncomfortable to me, and vice-versa. It is a personal thing, and quite dependent on your own feet (arches, metatarsals, bunions, etc.)

So that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Life is short: wear comfortable boots!

Cowboy Boots Rubbing Legs

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Occasionally, I receive questions from visitors to my website or this blog.

A recent question was, “do any of the cowboy boots that you own rub your legs and cause sores or blisters?”

My answer to that question was…

…yes, some of my cowboy boots have done that. This problem occurs when the boot shafts are a bit narrow (so they are closer to my legs) and the stitching on the inside of the shafts is not finished well. That is, the stitching may be loose or uneven. The threads used these days are usually nylon, which is rather rough and abrasive when it rubs on the side of legs. (Kevlar is even worse). Walking can cause the threads to rub against the legs in the same places over and over again, causing (in the worst circumstances), the skin to be abraded and maybe even a bleeding sore.

There are four ways that I have dealt with this problem when I feel it.

1. I will closely examine the inside of the boot shafts where I am feeling the rubbing sensation. If there are any loose threads or unfinished ends of leather, I will try to cut them off or if I can’t cut them, to melt them. Yeah, I said “melt.” Boot threads made of nylon will melt when exposed to a flame. So I will take the boots and my lighter outside to a clear area (I am always a fire-safety guy!) … light the lighter and carefully wave the end of the flame near the threads to melt them. I am very careful not to get the flame too close to the leather, because it will cause leather to discolor and to shrink (in the area directly exposed to flame.) I am also very careful not to burn the threads completely through — if that happens, the boot may begin to fall apart.

After the threads are melted, I will carefully pull or break off the melted ends to smooth them out. Then I proceed with the next step.

2. I will get some medium (100 grit) sandpaper and rub it on the offending loose threads, beading, or ends-of-leather. Essentially, I will “sand down” the parts that are causing the rubbing. After I have sanded all areas that I think are causing the problem, I will gently wipe the areas that I sanded with a damp cloth, then pull the boots on to check if the problem has gone away. If not, I will repeat the process until the problem is resolved.

3. In cases where I cannot melt or sand an offending area to smoothness — such as where a boot pull attaches to the inside of a boot — then I will get some regular masking tape (“paper tape”) and carefully place the tape over the offending area. Usually that works, but not always. Tape also has to be replaced from time to time, as it is not a permanent fix.

4. I may use the professional boot stretcher that I own to try to stretch the boot shafts, slowly over time. If I am able to stretch the shafts of leather boots even 1/4″ (6mm), I may eliminate the problem because the area that was rubbing is no longer close to my legs for me to feel it.

Such is life of a Bootman. Not all boots are made the same. I hate to say it, but it doesn’t really matter if the boots are made by an expensive custom one-of-a-kind bootmaker, a commercial mass-production vendor, or where in the world the boots are made. Sometimes there may be loose threads, beading, or bits of leather that will rub on your legs. It is fairly easy to resolve yourself with a bit of ingenuity and tactics as described above.

Life is short: make your boots comfortable!

Boot Daddy

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Sorry, fellas … not what you think. This time I am writing about something that a friend brought to my attention — the marketing of a line of products (boots, hats, and cologne) for men that has been named, “Boot Daddy.”

Oh…my…gosh. My first thoughts?

Are they nuts? Well, not really, they’re trying to come up with some kind of name to hold a line of products together, but there is something “not right” about a name “Boot Daddy” for marketing cowboy boots, hats, and fragrance to men. They obviously have no knowledge of how such a term could be interpreted in the gay community (LOL!)

In the ad, they are trying to market “the baddest boots on the boulevard” then display a rather standard line of Lucchese 1883 cowboy boots. These are the low-end of the Lucchese line. Some of what may make them think that the boots are the “baddest” is that the line includes some stonewash (colors), exotic skins, and multi-colored leathers. But to me, as an experienced Bootman, a boot is a boot… and just because a pair of boots is made with exotic skins or unusual colorings doesn’t make it the “baddest.” Just different.

But what really got me was the marketing of the cologne. In my opinion, men should not wear fragrances. Yuck. Makes them smell like a wannabe dimestore cowboy. Nope. A man is a man and smells like a guy. Not raunchy with sweat, but not something stinky from a bottle, either. Just wash each day with unscented soap and be done with it.

Obviously, you can tell that I am not a fan of cologne, or any perfume for men. Or women for that matter. I don’t like fragrances on people — just on flowers like roses. My partner and I wholeheartedly agree on that one. We purchase unscented everything (laundry detergent, soap, even air freshener) because we gag on artificial smells.

I know, I know… some men wear fragrances sometimes. Usually after-shave, but sometimes even perfume. But really, the name “Boot Daddy?” Like, “who’s your Daddy?” Sorry, ain’t gonna fly with me. As I said, the naming of this product just set me off on guffaws of laughter.

Life is short: men should smell like men, not something out of a bottle — even if the label on the bottle has “boots” on it! LOL!