{"id":9768,"date":"2015-06-02T06:52:13","date_gmt":"2015-06-02T10:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/?p=9768"},"modified":"2019-04-10T07:27:35","modified_gmt":"2019-04-10T11:27:35","slug":"review-of-a-bad-review-about-cowboy-boots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/?p=9768","title":{"rendered":"Review of a Bad Review about Cowboy Boots"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Lucclassicbrown09-248x300.jpg?resize=248%2C300\" alt=\"Lucclassic\" width=\"248\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-2471\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Lucclassicbrown09.jpg?resize=248%2C300&amp;ssl=1 248w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Lucclassicbrown09.jpg?resize=300%2C364&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Lucclassicbrown09.jpg?resize=124%2C150&amp;ssl=1 124w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Lucclassicbrown09.jpg?w=495&amp;ssl=1 495w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 248px) 100vw, 248px\" \/>A buddy sent me a link to a posting found on the &#8220;Art of Manliness&#8221; blog titled, &#8220;A Man\u2019s Guide to Western Boots: A Cowboy Boot Primer.&#8221;  This post started off well with some encouraging statements:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Most men, though, will go through life without ever having tried a cowboy boot on.  My advice? Don\u2019t be that guy. Give it a shot. You don&#8217;t have to be a cowboy to wear and appreciate Western boots.<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;a man can enjoy a touch of Western style in his outfits now and again&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;well-dressed men can be comfortable taking the cowboy boot out of the Southwest and into America\u2019s most fashionable cities.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>  Further, the blog described the different styles of western boots. <\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, after it began encouragingly, the post spiraled into total stereotyping, clich\u00e9s, and ridicule from there.  It turned out to be a badly-written piece because&#8230;<br \/>\n<!--more--><br \/>\n<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Lucclassicbrown12-101x300.jpg?resize=101%2C300\" alt=\"Lucclassicbrown12\" width=\"101\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-3309\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Lucclassicbrown12.jpg?resize=101%2C300&amp;ssl=1 101w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Lucclassicbrown12.jpg?resize=50%2C150&amp;ssl=1 50w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Lucclassicbrown12.jpg?w=236&amp;ssl=1 236w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 101px) 100vw, 101px\" \/>&#8230;instead of doing what it claimed to be doing &#8212; providing a primer for men about wearing cowboy boots &#8212; it fulfilled all the wrong-headed stereotypes about cowboy boots.  Examples (as a review, I am quoting verbatim employing the &#8220;Fair Use&#8221; doctrine of U.S. Copyright Law):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Your cowboy boots are going to be social wear rather than business (unless you\u2019re a Texan)<\/li>\n<li>A T-shirt and blue jeans with cowboy boots will fit right in at a country music show, but unless that\u2019s where you\u2019re actually going, you should wear something else.<\/li>\n<li>Jackets really help take you from \u201curban cowboy\u201d to \u201csnappy dresser.\u201d I would almost tell you to never wear cowboy boots without a jacket, at least in a major metropolitan area.<\/li>\n<li>If we haven\u2019t made it clear by now, Western-style boots are casual clothing.<\/li>\n<li>They&#8217;re not business wear unless your business involves cattle or oil.<\/li>\n<li>Every once in a while you&#8217;ll see a businessman wearing a fancy suit with cowboy boots, but you don&#8217;t want to be that kind of eccentric.<\/li>\n<li>For the most part we recommend keeping the cowboy boots to &#8220;fun&#8221; social events.<\/li>\n<li>Good places for cowboy boots include: Most kinds of step dancing \u2014 salsa, square, etc.; Bars; Casual restaurants; County\/state\/grange\/etc. fairs; Rock and country concerts; Comedy shows (but if you sit in the front row they might say something).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Holy crap!  What a bunch of stereotyping is going on here.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Lucbcgoat10-114x300.jpg?resize=114%2C300\" alt=\"Lucchese Black Cherry Goatskin Dress Cowboy Boots\" width=\"114\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-2383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Lucbcgoat10.jpg?resize=114%2C300&amp;ssl=1 114w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Lucbcgoat10.jpg?resize=57%2C150&amp;ssl=1 57w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Lucbcgoat10.jpg?w=266&amp;ssl=1 266w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 114px) 100vw, 114px\" \/>Here is my refutation by personal experience:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Your cowboy boots can and should be worn both socially AND professionally, such as I do when I wear boots every day with dress clothes to the office (and I am not a Texan).<\/li>\n<li>I wear cowboy boots with a t-shirt and blue jeans every day, casually, as I go about my daily business such as grocery shopping, visiting with family &#038; friends, etc.<\/li>\n<li>I don&#8217;t wear jackets or sport coats &#8212; too &#8220;uppity&#8221; and confining for my personal style.<\/li>\n<li>Western-style boots are both dress and casual clothing.<\/li>\n<li>I wear western boots as business wear in a professional office (an my office has nothing to do with cattle or oil.)<\/li>\n<li>Every once in a while, I have to wear a suit.  Always with cowboy boots.  Always. And I&#8217;m not an eccentric.<\/li>\n<li>Keep wearing the cowboy boots to all events: fun, social, professional, political, wherever.<\/li>\n<li>Good places for cowboy boots include: home, office, attending sports events, dining out, dancing, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bootedman.com\/how\/howto.html\" target=\"_blank\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Suitblog2.jpg?resize=171%2C250\" alt=\"rp_Suitblog2.jpg\" width=\"171\" height=\"250\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-9318\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Suitblog2.jpg?w=171&amp;ssl=1 171w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Suitblog2.jpg?resize=103%2C150&amp;ssl=1 103w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 171px) 100vw, 171px\" \/><\/a>Seriously, fellas, if you read the insidiously &#8220;anti-boot&#8221; statements riddled throughout the blog post, you&#8217;ll see that the author&#8217;s primary purpose was two-fold:  1) discourage, rather than encourage, men to wear cowboy boots; and 2) ridicule boot wearing in the majority of places that men go.<\/p>\n<p>It is no wonder that my <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bootedman.com\/how\/howto.html\" target=\"_blank\">Guide to Wearing Cowboy Boots<\/a> remains the most popular page on my website.  When men read the badly-written non-objective drivel in that &#8220;Art of Manliness&#8221; blog, it&#8217;s no wonder that they revert to wearing silly dress shoes, sneakers, flip-flops, and the worst yet: crocs.  Men fear trying anything new to them, and with blog posts like that, they won&#8217;t wear men&#8217;s boots because it fulfills and reinforces long-held stereotypes.<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Legendaryoffice2.jpg?resize=584%2C284\" alt=\"Legendaryoffice2\" width=\"584\" height=\"284\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6270\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Legendaryoffice2.jpg?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Legendaryoffice2.jpg?resize=300%2C146&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Legendaryoffice2.jpg?resize=150%2C73&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Legendaryoffice2.jpg?resize=768%2C373&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Legendaryoffice2.jpg?resize=500%2C243&amp;ssl=1 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/>Life is short:  wear cowboy boots every day, everywhere &#8212; to work, school, around the community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A buddy sent me a link to a posting found on the &#8220;Art of Manliness&#8221; blog titled, &#8220;A Man\u2019s Guide to Western Boots: A Cowboy Boot Primer.&#8221; This post started off well with some encouraging statements: Most men, though, will &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/?p=9768\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cowboy-boots"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9768\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}