Category Archives: Cowboy Boots

How Do You Wear Cowboy Boots?

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Believe it or not, someone entering that question into a search engine is quite common. I get about ten or twenty visits each day to the page on my website about how to wear cowboy boots as a result of someone entering that question or one similar to it.

I’ve wondered why. I mean, what does the person really want to know? What to wear with cowboy boots? How to wear them (jeans inside or not?), or what?

I’ve quit being over-analytical, and just realized that this is a common question. So rather than just have a demonstration as I originally had on that page about how to get jeans to stay down inside cowboy boots if that’s how someone wants to wear them, I provided some more detail and realistic information about just how men wear cowboy boots in the U.S.

Just put on your jeans, pull on your boots, and stand tall. But… there is a little bit more to it, if you care to read on. Here are three primary components to the topic, which really relate more to the clothing worn with cowboy boots than the boots themselves:

  • Do guys wear jeans inside or outside boots?
    — outside. Sure you see a lot of pics of the cowboy boots on my website with me wearing jeans inside them. That’s really just to show the boots for purposes of a boot-related website. But in the day-to-day, men wear jeans over boots. The only times I see men wearing jeans inside their boots is if they are riding rodeo or attending an event such as a “boot night” where you want people to see the boots.

Rattlesnake boots

  • What are “stacked jeans”?
    — you want to have jeans that are long enough to come down to the foot of the boot, but not so long as to drag on the floor behind the heel. The jeans may form a soft fold along the foot of the boot. That is “stacked jeans” — simply, the jeans are long enough to stack (or fold) on top of the boot foot. This is the way most men wear jeans with boots. If jeans are shorter than that, they don’t look right with boots and sometimes the man wearing jeans that ride up the boot shaft suffers consequences of ridicule. Goodness knows, I’ve endured that when some people who “don’t get it” have visited my website, linked to it from a blog or forum, and then made comments that reflect their lack of intelligence.
  • Wranglers, Levis, or designer jeans?
    –Cowboys, especially those who ride horses, and Bikers (that is, those of us who ride motorcycles), prefer Wranglers since the inseam of Wranglers is on the outside of the leg, whereas the inseam of Levis is on the inside. An “inside inseam” can rub against the leg and get really uncomfortable after a few hours. Levis were really popular years ago. But since their production was moved outside the U.S. in 1996, the quality is not in the product like it once was. And designer jeans? FuggetAboutIt (as they may say in New York City). Unless you’re on a fashion runway, save your money and get Wranglers. Masculine men — gay or straight — wear regular-old straight-legged blue jeans. (Don’t even ask about how silly baggy and low-rise jeans look on adult men. They’re for kids.)

Now, back to cowboy boots, a few questions that search engines bring to my blog or website have included:

  • What color of cowboy boots should I get?
    — if you wear boots in an office, then get solid-color, all-leather black, brown, black cherry, or grey. If you like a distinctly different style, snakeskin cowboy boots look really good, and come in a wide variety of colors. For more detailed answers, see my tutorial on choosing boots on my website.
  • How tall should the boots be?
    — Since most men wear jeans or pants over boots, the height of the boot really doesn’t matter. That’s why most standard cowboy boots are 13″ (33cm) tall. Tall enough to feel like a boot. There are taller cowboy boots available, either as Buckaroo boots or from custom shops, and I have some of those. They feel great on the legs. Answer is: get what you want.
  • Do men wear cowboy boots with suits?
    — Yes, especially in the U.S. Midwest and some states in the South, it is quite common to see men dressed in a suit, tie, and cowboy boots. Don’t worry about what others may think. Be a man. You like boots? Wear ’em. If you are worried about what other people may say, then you probably are better off wearing tassled loafers, anyway.

So, that’s the story, as simple as it is — How Do You Wear Cowboy Boots? Confidently, proudly, and with pleasure.

Life is short: Wear your boots!

Booted Travel

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Someone asked me what other pair of boots besides Dehners did I travel with when I went on my recent trip. Pictured, I wore my Nocona Rattlesnake cowboy boots. Man, these boots are comfortable, look great, and are easy to slip off at security. They look great with jeans, which I wear when I travel on airplanes. (Fortunately, I do not have to dress up when I fly; that seems just so darned uncomfortable. Everyone in a suit on a plane grimaces all the time, like someone is pinching them or they are angry. Guess it goes with having a noose around the neck.)

Further, I was asked if anyone made any remarks about my boots. A few minor comments, but nothin’ much.

1. When my airport shuttle van stopped at a hotel to drop off another passenger, a bellhop helping the passenger get out of the van noticed my boots and asked, “what kind of skin are they?” I replied, “Rattlesnake.” He said, “Cool!” .. and that was it.

2. One day of the two-day meeting, I wore my Dehner Patrol Boots with a nice pair of dress black slacks. I sat at a table with law enforcement leaders from different jurisdictions around the U.S. One of them noticed my boots, which led to a conversation about bike cops in general, but alas, not much about boots.

And that’s that. No one else anywhere — at the airports, on transit, at the hotel, or during the meeting — made any remarks about the boots on my feet.

To tell you the truth, most people had their noses buried in their Blackberries, writing email or reading it. They were so self-absorbed that they weren’t looking at other people, much less boots or anything else. Most wouldn’t have a clue if the sky fell in around them or what was going on in the conference. I saw one guy tapping away on his Crackberry at National Airport*, and he walked into a pillar. He really hit his nose hard, as I saw blood. He seemed to want to yell at the pillar for being in his way. What a fool.

There are a lot of people — mostly men — who become so oblivious to everything going on around them because they get so caught up with their electronic gadgets. If not a Blackberry, a cell phone. If not that, a PDA. Whatever, all those toys… sheesh, how did we survive without them?

I’ll tell ya: easily! I don’t have those things and I am so glad I don’t! Well, I do have a cell phone but only because my work requires it, and pays for it. I usually have it turned off and check it for messages when I am on a break or after-hours. I figure if someone is paying me to come give a speech and attend a meeting, the least I could do is give my undivided attention.

Some people have told me that they feel self-conscious about wearing boots in public. I’ve blogged a lot about that before. I won’t repeat myself, but only to emphasize that nobody cares. They really don’t. Wear what you like, and as long as you don’t cause trouble for other people (such as wearing boots that are very hard to remove at security), then don’t worry about it.

* Nota bene: It is very easy to tell if someone is not a native of the Washington, DC, Metro area by what they call the airport with the designator “DCA”. It is, and always will be, “National Airport.” Anyone who calls it by the name of the President who fired all of the air traffic controllers is not a native, and unaware of the huge gazillion-dollar waste of taxpayer money to rename the airport after one of the worst Presidents of this century.

Life is short: Wear your boots!

Mexican Boots

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UPDATE: December 3: See the comment attached to this note — one of my friendly lurkers who works for Justin Brands left me a correction, which I appreciate. I have adjusted the post below to be more accurate in what I said about where some major boot brands are made.

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Having a website and a blog generates questions from time to time from various people seeking information. That’s the wonder and beauty of the Internet: just enter keywords into your favorite search engine, and soon enough, you find links to websites offering all sorts of content. Many of the links for boot-related key words link to my website.

Last night, someone found my website and then wrote me an email asking about boots made in Mexico. He was concerned about the quality. Here’s a part of what I said:

Boots have been manufactured in Mexico for a long, long time. The area in the State of Guanajuato best known for bootmaking is Leon. I have about a dozen pairs of boots that were made there. They’re all good. They wear well, and are fairly comfortable. I have no complaints.

I can understand your hesitation to buy boots made in China, because indeed the reputation for making cheap junk with cheap materials and automated methods is ongoing. But the same isn’t true for Mexico, where boot crafting still engages many hand-made processes. In my opinion, bootmaking by hand results in a better-quality product.

Don’t be afraid of boots made in Mexico. If you check the label or imprint in most cowboy boots sold by major labels in the U.S., such as Justin, Nocona, Dan Post, Tony Lama, and many others: some of them are made in Mexico (with others are still made in the USA). Boots are made in Mexico since quality materials and craftsmanship is still widely available there. The cost of labor and ongoing availability of quality materials and craftsmanship of workers were primary drivers for major USA boot brands to develop boot manufacturing facilities over the Southern border.

Most Mexican boot makers run very small shops. Many are one-man operations. When I took a stroll in Leon several years ago, I saw hundreds of small shops where boots were being made. I tried many of the boots on, and enjoyed long conversations in the dwindling sunlight at the end of the day over a cervesa and enjoyed learning from hard-working men who knew their craft, their materials, and their boots!

It is appropriate to be concerned about quality for a major purchase. Good boots aren’t cheap. Consider them an investment to last for years. Go Mexican! I have no concerns whatsoever.

Men Wear Boots!

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On Thanksgiving day, among our 106 guests, my partner and I enjoyed the company of a gentleman who owned and operated a western store in Oklahoma, but moved “back East” after he sold the store to live closer to his children, all of whom settled in the sprawling ‘burbs of Maryland. He lives in a retirement community where several of my family members live, and where I visit often. I met him when someone referred him to me when he needed some minor electrical repairs done.

We hit it off great — especially the first time when I walked in his door and he made remark about the boots on my feet. I remember what he said to this day: “Men wear boots!” That is a statement he has made to me each time I have seen him over the past dozen years or so.

It’s unfortunate that my friend’s children and grandchildren, all of whom live within five miles of his home, only go to see him about twice a year. They expected him to drive over to their houses for holidays, birthdays, or other family events. As he aged, he stopped driving at night, and last year, he stopped driving all together. He acknowledged that his reaction times were much slower, and he was afraid of all of the other “kooky drivers” on the road.

Unfortunately, his family’s ignorance persists. They told him that they were going this-way-or-that for Thanksgiving, and that none of them could pick him up or spend any time with him on the holiday. It’s so sad… family so nearby and so callously ignoring their own father.

We were delighted that he joined us for our holiday event. My niece picked him up (along with some others). He walked in the door with the biggest smile on his face. Surreally, the cacophony stilled. He exclaimed, “Men Wear Boots!” and handed me a box.

Inside the box was a pair of black Dan Post Vegas Cut ostrich toe cowboy boots. These are really cool-looking, dressy boots! He said that he noticed that I wore boots like those (in a different color) when I saw him earlier this year. He ordered them from his old store. He said that he thought I would like them. That’s for sure!

In turn, I handed my friend a box that I asked a close friend from Oklahoma to send to me. In the box was real honest-to-goodness mistletoe, which grows parasitically on trees in Oklahoma. He had mentioned that he missed his “Okie-toe,” a nick-name he has called the plant since his childhood. He told me that when his wife was alive, he would hold it over his head and chase her around with it. On Thanksgiving, he shed a tear as he removed the mistletoe from the box, held it over his head, and accepted a kiss from my niece, and a hug from me (a Christmas-time custom: anyone who is under mistletoe is to be kissed.)

There are little things that we learn about each other, build friendships, and extend bonds beyond age, race, gender, or sexual orientation. Thanks, “F”, for your gift. I can see from your eyes that you enjoyed mine.

Life is short: wear your boots, and show those that you love that you love them.

A Peek Inside The Closet

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Over time, some people have asked me, “where do you keep all those boots in your collection?” … fair question.

I live with someone who doesn’t like clutter, and who has some trouble walking so we have to keep the floors clear so he won’t trip. In fact, that’s how my website began back in early 2005. My partner had entered our bedroom and tripped over a pair of boots. Let’s say the resulting “discussion” wasn’t pretty. But what happened soon after that is that I organized my boots and took some pictures, which eventually became the hyper-organized view of my boot collection on my website.

This past weekend, my partner and I spent a significant amount of time doing housecleaning in advance of our big Thanksgiving event. Some people do this once-a-year scrub-the-baseboard thorough cleaning in the Spring. We do it now, since this is the only time of year that we entertain.

As we were cleaning, my partner was saying things like, “these boots seem to be multiplying,” or “they’re like rabbits… you have one, then it seems like you have six.” Then, entirely on his on volition, on Saturday afternoon he removed a bunch of clothes that he doesn’t wear from a section of one of our closets and said, “install some more shelves for your boots here, now that there is room.”

I decided to go through the same closet and find clothing that I won’t wear any more — mostly t-shirts and golf shirts with my former employer’s name on it — and gather them for donation, too. Removing those clothes from the closet opened up a fairly large amount of room. In fact, so large, 27 pairs of boots fit nice and neatly on new shelving that didn’t take long to install, and newly-opened closet floor space. Best yet, the boots are so well-organized that it is easier for me to find boots that I want to wear, from tall cop boots to motorcycle boots to cowboy boots to work boots. Because I change boots several times each day, having that number of boots at the ready is great. No longer do I have to run into the basement boot closet for a day’s choice. Instead, I can just rotate boots from the basement closet to the upstairs new storage area once a week or so.

Hmmm… and to think that at one time I once resisted all this “get your stuff organized” commentary from my partner. I found it a drudge and a chore. But now, I know that going through these periods of cleaning and organizing has long-term benefits. (Including additional “benefits” that my partner showed me for his appreciation on my being a good sport about doing this work with nary a complaint. Whew!)

Life is short: Wear your boots!

Organized

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So here’s the back of my newly reorganized garage. My bike, a few of my less-often-worn boots (mostly Fryes), my biker jackets and most-frequently-worn chaps. The boot storage is relatively new. I wrote a step-by-step instruction guide on this storage method which was posted on the hotboots.com website.

The motorcycle helmets (I have several) are inside the house. I don’t want gas vapors from my truck or my partner’s car to damage the helmet lining, which many reputable motorcycle magazines and experts have warned about.

I mentioned in a blog post the other day that my partner and I spent some time reorganizing the back of the garage so I can park my bike back there. I’m glad that worked out, so my Harley is warm and snug against winter’s wrath, but remains available should I want to go out for a ride when weather permits. I have, however, discontinued using my bike to ride to the Metro in the morning. It has just been too blasted cold.

Before I put the bike in it’s new storage area, it got a good washing. Lingering dirt and road spray could lead to premature dulling of the paint, or worse: rust. The battery is on its trickle charger. The fuel is stabilized. My lovely Harley is in its “winter nap” mode. sigh….

I have been “accused” sometimes of being over-organized. I guess that comes from leading a multi-tasking life. I have to be well-organized to get everything done and be everywhere I need to be! But ask my partner — he will tell you honestly — if I didn’t have my head screwed on, I would probably lose it. Thank goodness for calendars and lists (and his patience). I’m not one to use one of those technological gadgets such as a PDA or Blackberry. I’d probably lose it, and resent paying monthly service fees to keep rich companies richer. Plain old lists work fine for me. (Some day I’ll blog about my sticky-note office!)

I guess you could say that my website is evidence of my being hyper-organized. If that’s the case, well, so be it. At least I know what I have, what I like, and where it is! For the real evidence of my personal organization, though, just watch me at a public hearing sometime….

Have an organized day!

Buckaroo Booted At The Office

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I bought a pair of 17″ genuine Olathe buckaroo boots when a buddy and his partner took me to Kleinschmidts Western Wear in Higginsville, Missouri, this past July. I had gone to Kansas City for a business trip. This Western Store, right off of I-70, is quite a ways away from the city, but a nice drive. The boots have a blue shaft, black foot, pull holes, fake mule ears, a 2-1/2″ (6.3cm) riding heel and a smooth all-leather sole. They are fully leather lined, so they keep my feet and legs warm, especially on cold days.

When you get a pair of real cowboy boots like this, you want to wear ’em! And I have, around the neighborhood with jeans inside and the beautiful tall blue shafts showing. I have even put a pair of spurs on them, riding on the spur ridge as designed. The boots make quite a visible presence, and a firm, masculine, clunk when I walk in them. They are fairly comfortable when worn with thick socks. Their only downfall has been that the left boot had a nylon stitching thread come loose while I was wearing them the first day, and it caused a small bleeding sore. I melted the offending thread with a flame from a lighter, and all was well again.

Since I work in an office where “business casual” is the norm, I can’t really wear boots showing the shafts there. But I wear cowboy boots to work all the time, so these boots, worn with pants over, looked like any other boots on my feet. I enjoyed wearing them to work yesterday.

The only comment anyone made was as I entered a conference room for a meeting. A colleague said, “Oh, he’s coming” as I was walking down the hallway. When I entered the room, my colleague said, “I heard you coming … nice boots.” I guess that’s my signature — boot clunking down the tile floors.

A guy on the Metro on my way home kept staring at my boots. The train was crowded at first, but as the crowds thinned, he moved to the seat across from me. He then asked, “what kind of boots are they? How tall? Where can I get a pair?” He was impressed, and said that he always wanted a pair of boots like that, but wasn’t sure he could wear them to work.

I asked him if he liked his black wingtip dress shoes. He said, “no, but that’s what everyone else wears at my office.” I asked if there were a dress code requiring a certain kind of footwear to be worn at his office. He said, “no…” and I could see the wheels turning in his mind. I told him not to be concerned about following the pack, and be his own man. I enjoyed a nice conversation with a young man who just may become another Olathe Buckaroo cowboy boot-wearing office worker in Washington, DC.

Boots at the Office

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I have been enjoying a wonderful email dialogue with an intelligent, insightful guy who, like me, appreciates boots. He works in the banking industry. He has said that he does not get to wear boots to work very often because it would not be well tolerated. He says that he wears boots to work occasionally on casual Fridays, or sometimes when he knows he will not be meeting with upper management.

I work in a management position in professional business setting, yet I only wear boots to work (and everywhere else). Seriously, I don’t own a pair of shoes or sneakers. Do I have something against shoes or sneakers? Not really (except that shoes/sneakers are absolutely not acceptable for use while operating a motorcycle). I just don’t like that kind of footwear. I think they look funny, frumpy, and personally I would feel extremely uncomfortable. My discomfort would be more from emotion than from actual foot pain, but the emotional pain would be severe.

I’m not quite sure why I feel that way. I guess it is just because of how I am wired. I was just born to be a Bootman. My twin brother got the shoe genes — and he and Matt Lauer (who is reported to be quite a shoe-fiend) would probably be in competition if they compared closets. While I don’t have much of a competitive spirit, I guess my 136+ pair boot collection would qualify to compare with some of the most prolific Bootmen I’ve come to know or observe who participate on hotboots.com.

This dialogue also caused me to think about my choice of where to work. Would I choose to work at an employer that had restrictions on what I could wear on my feet, either by written policy or internal peer pressure? I reflected on when I changed jobs a few years ago. Where was I applying? When I had four successful interviews and was offered a job at all four employers, I was elated. But I also really wonder if I rejected at least two of the employers because the dress code was much more formal than I was comfortable with. The job duties were #1, the commute was #2, the pay was also up there in strong consideration, but I have to say that the dress code was strongly considered as well. I just don’t think I would be happy being forced to wear a suit or shirt & tie all day, not to mention shoes instead of boots. If I were unhappy and uncomfortable at work, I would be unproductive. I am much more productive when I have the freedom to be creative, and express myself as I am, within limits that I consider to be reasonable.

A funny aside — when I began working in my first professional non-acacemic position in 1987, that employer had a fairly strict dress code. Shirt and tie was required every day, and wearing a jacket at meetings was written policy. But there wasn’t anything in the dress code about footwear. So there I was in a suit and boots. Sometimes the old fuddy-duddies around me might say something, but I just ignored it. If my boots were shined and weren’t outrageous (with x-toes or extremely underslung, high heels), we just lived with the fact that I wore boots, period. Eventually, like most employers did during the 90s, the dress code was slowly relaxed. The jacket was shucked, the tie became less of a menace. But the boots always remained.

My buddy said that “most people who I know professionally are always taken aback when they see me outside of work and I’m in boots, Wranglers and a belt with a buckle. Sometimes people get used to seeing colleagues in a certain situation and don’t stop to think that someone’s job doesn’t necessarily define who they are as a person outside of work.”

He is absolutely right. And let me tell ‘ya, I’ve seen photos of my buddy in his boots & Wranglers, and he’s definitely a HOT man! Woof!

While I very seldom see people with whom I work outside of the office, I don’t think they would react as my friend’s colleagues may react, because the guy (me) that they see at work is pretty much the same guy they would see outside the office. A guy dressed in clean but casual clothes, and boots. Now if they saw me all decked out in leather, that might be a different story. (smile).

Life is short: Wear your boots!

Doubled Up

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As much as we could have been called “lazy bums” yesterday, today we made up for it and doubled-up our work. Today, we got everything done on our list, plus more.

We went to church early, and I was wearing my dress Nocona ostrich inlay boots with a nice pair of slacks and dress shirt (no tie; I just don’t wear ties unless I absolutely must). After returning home, I changed clothes, and put on jeans and Justin roughout cowboy boots while taking my aunt and her friends grocery shopping.

It was a beautiful day, perfect for yard work. There was a lot of it, but we feel our yard and gardens are ready for winter now. (If you’re interested, I wore my Thorogood Station Boots for this work.) I even got to spend a couple hours in my gourmet kitchen (while Dan Post cowboy booted), making a five-apple pie and focaccia from scratch for dinner. My partner loved it! Nice crunchy crust, with tasty toppings.

In between, as I multitask regularly, I took several phone calls from seniors requesting rides to the voting polls on Nov. 4, and organized them using an on-line database that I built and posted to a secure side of one of my websites to align those needing rides with drivers and requested time slots. My co-organizers can access the database and update it real-time, so we all know what the others are doing. It’s a cool way to make all this happen and avoid double-booking or missing someone.

Man, I’m tired and a bit sore. But today was highly successful and we got a whole lot done. After I showered and changed before dinner, I put on my very comfy Chippewa Firefighter Boots, just ’cause. I would have liked to have been out riding my Harley, but I try to balance fun with work and community commitments. I feel good about all we got done today. I anticipate I will retire early tonight, and sleep soundly. I’ma pooped!

Harness Booted Biker

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I dunno, there’s just something that catches my eye when a biker has on harness boots. These ruggedly good-looking harness boots shown in this photo were a gift from a friend who lives in Ottawa, Canada. I have worked with him professionally for more than 20 years. I enjoyed several visits with him.

Out-of-the-blue about a month ago, he sent me these boots. They are made by Boulet, a Canadian bootmaker with a fine reputation.

I like the color, especially. It contrasts well with blue denim jeans. The rubber sole makes them great for use on my Harley.

The boots took a little work to break in, including some stretching in the heel so they wouldn’t rub. But that’s all fixed, and they’re on my feet feelin’ and lookin’ smokin’ hot!